Expressive Speech Synthesis for Speech-Generating Devices

语音生成设备的表达性语音合成

• 批准号: 8903390
• 负责人: SUSAN R HERTZ
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: SYNFONICA, LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-04-01 至 2016-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8903390
• 关键词: Acoustics; Address; Algorithms; American; Anger; BLase; Books; Characteristics; Communication; Complex; Cues; Depressed mood; Devices; Elements; Emotional; Emotions; Encapsulated; Expressed Emotion; Flavoring; Frequencies; Glosso-Sterandryl; Human; Impairment; Individual; Knowledge; Language; Learning; Linguistics; Maps; Marketing; Memory; Modeling; Operating System; Output; Pattern; Persons; Phase; Phonation; Process; Production; Property; Reader; Running; Specific qualifier value; Speech; Stress; Structure; System; Technology; Testing; Text; Toy; Variant; Voice; Wheelchairs; Work; base; falls; handheld mobile device; improved; knowledge base; mobile application; news; novel; phonology; practical application; public health relevance; response; showing emotion; software development; sound; tool

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The ability to express emotion through speech is an essential element of human communication, yet individuals with speech impairments who rely on speech-generating devices to communicate are often deprived of this ability. Current speech-generating devices offer at most a limited number of expressive speech modes (e.g., a "happy" voice or a "sad" voice), and even when those are provided, they are often not perceived by listeners in the intended way. The proposed project aims to remedy this unfortunate situation by enhancing the rule-based Synfonica text-to-speech system with the ability to accurately convey a broad range of emotional states. The approach to be tested centers on a set of expressive speech meta-parameters that collectively describe the "higher-level" characteristics of the speech output required for conveying the intended emotion for a given utterance. Examples of such meta-parameters include speaking rate, pitch range, and degree of breathiness. The text-to-speech rules will implement the complex mapping from meta-parameter values to the relevant "lower-level" acoustic parameter values used by a synthesizer to produce the final speech waveform. Examples of such acoustic parameters are the fundamental frequency of voicing, formant frequencies, and voicing amplitude. The Phase I project aims to test the feasibility of this approach by enhancing the Synfonica system to convey four emotions-elation, sadness, and two flavors of anger ("hot" anger and "cold" anger)-on a restricted set of utterance types. A set of perceptual tests will be conducted to determine the extent to which listeners recognize the intended emotions in the synthesized speech. If successful, the Phase I project will lay the groundwork for providing users of speech-generating devices with the means to effectively convey their emotional states through speech. It also will further scientific knowledge regarding the perceptual cues used by listeners in gauging a speaker's emotional state.

 描述（由申请人提供）：通过语音表达情感的能力是人类交流的基本要素，然而依赖语音生成设备进行交流的有语音障碍的个体通常被剥夺了这种能力。当前的语音生成设备至多提供有限数量的表达语音模式（例如，“快乐”的声音或“悲伤”的声音），并且即使提供了这些声音，它们也常常不能被听众以预期的方式感知。拟议的项目旨在通过增强基于规则的Synfonica文本到语音系统来纠正这种不幸的情况，使其能够准确地传达广泛的情绪状态。待测试的方法集中在一组表达性语音元参数上，这些元参数共同描述了用于传达给定话语的预期情感所需的语音输出的“更高级别”特性。这样的元参数的示例包括说话速率、音高范围和呼吸程度。文本到语音规则将实现从元参数值到合成器所使用的相关“较低级别”声学参数值的复杂映射，以产生最终的语音波形。这样的声学参数的示例是发声的基频、共振峰频率和发声幅度。第一阶段的项目旨在测试这种方法的可行性，通过增强的Synfonica系统传达四种情绪-愤怒，悲伤，和两种口味的愤怒（“热”愤怒和“冷”愤怒）-在一组有限的话语类型。将进行一组感知测试，以确定听众在多大程度上识别合成语音中的预期情绪。如果成功的话，第一阶段项目将为语音生成设备的用户提供通过语音有效传达其情绪状态的手段奠定基础。它也将进一步科学知识的感知线索所使用的听众在衡量一个发言者的情绪状态。