Synthesis of English intonation using explicit models of reading and spontaneous speech.pdfVIP

SYNTHESIS O F ENGLISH INTONATION USING EXPLICIT MODELS OF READING AND SPONTANEOUS SPEECH M. E.Johnson Department of Linguistics University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, U.K. ABSTRACT nkm), it is natural to adopt a a e r e n t approach to modelling it. In one form of intonation production, downward trends A model of Ehglish intonation is presented in which a variety may or may not occur, depending on local decisions about of intonation contours can be generated from a quantitative the FO values needed to elicit a particular level of promi- prominence labelling of stressed syllables. In one style of nence on the accented syllables, made on the basis of what speech production, spontaneous speech, a short-lookahead has been uttered and what is still to be uttered. This im- model can generate a variety of contours from the same plies a short-term closed-loop control mechanism,and this is quantitativeprominence labelling. For another style, reading conjectured to be more common in spontaneous speech. In aloud, a long-lookahead model determines the types of into- another form, downward trends occur naturally asa result of nation patterns assodated with texts. These typically come a long-term closed-loop control mechaniJm; this mechanism out as sequences of downward-stepping contours, given ap- is conjecturedto be more common in read speech. Thispaper propriate initial conditions (though there is no explicit down- outlines a model of intonation production which can utilise step co