IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Information
A Variable Break Prediction Method Using CART in a Japanese Text-to-Speech System
Summary :
Break prediction is an important step in text-to-speech systems as break indices (BIs) have a great influence on how to correctly represent prosodic phrase boundaries. However, an accurate prediction is difficult since BIs are often chosen according to the meaning of a sentence or the reading style of the speaker. In Japanese, the prediction of an accentual phrase boundary (APB) and major phrase boundary (MPB) is particularly difficult. Thus, this paper presents a method to complement the prediction errors of an APB and MPB. First, we define a subtle BI in which it is difficult to decide between an APB and MPB clearly as a variable break (VB), and an explicit BI as a fixed break (FB). The VB is chosen using the classification and regression tree, and multiple prosodic targets in relation to the pith and duration are then generated. Finally, unit-selection is conducted using multiple prosodic targets. The experimental results show that the proposed method improves the naturalness of synthesized speech.
- Publication
- IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Information Vol.E92-D No.2 pp.349-352
- Publication Date
- 2009/02/01
- Publicized
- Online ISSN
- 1745-1361
- DOI
- 10.1587/transinf.E92.D.349
- Type of Manuscript
- LETTER
- Category
- Speech and Hearing
Authors
Keyword
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Deok-Su NA, Myung-Jin BAE, "A Variable Break Prediction Method Using CART in a Japanese Text-to-Speech System" in IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Information,
vol. E92-D, no. 2, pp. 349-352, February 2009, doi: 10.1587/transinf.E92.D.349.
Abstract: Break prediction is an important step in text-to-speech systems as break indices (BIs) have a great influence on how to correctly represent prosodic phrase boundaries. However, an accurate prediction is difficult since BIs are often chosen according to the meaning of a sentence or the reading style of the speaker. In Japanese, the prediction of an accentual phrase boundary (APB) and major phrase boundary (MPB) is particularly difficult. Thus, this paper presents a method to complement the prediction errors of an APB and MPB. First, we define a subtle BI in which it is difficult to decide between an APB and MPB clearly as a variable break (VB), and an explicit BI as a fixed break (FB). The VB is chosen using the classification and regression tree, and multiple prosodic targets in relation to the pith and duration are then generated. Finally, unit-selection is conducted using multiple prosodic targets. The experimental results show that the proposed method improves the naturalness of synthesized speech.
URL: https://global.ieice.org/en_transactions/information/10.1587/transinf.E92.D.349/_p
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@ARTICLE{e92-d_2_349,
author={Deok-Su NA, Myung-Jin BAE, },
journal={IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Information},
title={A Variable Break Prediction Method Using CART in a Japanese Text-to-Speech System},
year={2009},
volume={E92-D},
number={2},
pages={349-352},
abstract={Break prediction is an important step in text-to-speech systems as break indices (BIs) have a great influence on how to correctly represent prosodic phrase boundaries. However, an accurate prediction is difficult since BIs are often chosen according to the meaning of a sentence or the reading style of the speaker. In Japanese, the prediction of an accentual phrase boundary (APB) and major phrase boundary (MPB) is particularly difficult. Thus, this paper presents a method to complement the prediction errors of an APB and MPB. First, we define a subtle BI in which it is difficult to decide between an APB and MPB clearly as a variable break (VB), and an explicit BI as a fixed break (FB). The VB is chosen using the classification and regression tree, and multiple prosodic targets in relation to the pith and duration are then generated. Finally, unit-selection is conducted using multiple prosodic targets. The experimental results show that the proposed method improves the naturalness of synthesized speech.},
keywords={},
doi={10.1587/transinf.E92.D.349},
ISSN={1745-1361},
month={February},}
Copy
TY - JOUR
TI - A Variable Break Prediction Method Using CART in a Japanese Text-to-Speech System
T2 - IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Information
SP - 349
EP - 352
AU - Deok-Su NA
AU - Myung-Jin BAE
PY - 2009
DO - 10.1587/transinf.E92.D.349
JO - IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Information
SN - 1745-1361
VL - E92-D
IS - 2
JA - IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Information
Y1 - February 2009
AB - Break prediction is an important step in text-to-speech systems as break indices (BIs) have a great influence on how to correctly represent prosodic phrase boundaries. However, an accurate prediction is difficult since BIs are often chosen according to the meaning of a sentence or the reading style of the speaker. In Japanese, the prediction of an accentual phrase boundary (APB) and major phrase boundary (MPB) is particularly difficult. Thus, this paper presents a method to complement the prediction errors of an APB and MPB. First, we define a subtle BI in which it is difficult to decide between an APB and MPB clearly as a variable break (VB), and an explicit BI as a fixed break (FB). The VB is chosen using the classification and regression tree, and multiple prosodic targets in relation to the pith and duration are then generated. Finally, unit-selection is conducted using multiple prosodic targets. The experimental results show that the proposed method improves the naturalness of synthesized speech.
ER -
English
