In a language translation system, a method for providing a guide for a user. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of receiving (302) an input that is representative of at least one word in a source language, and generating (1402) at least one recognition hypothesis in the source language in response to the input. The method further comprises the steps of selecting (406) a best hypothesis from the at least one recognition hypothesis in the source language, presenting (408) the best hypothesis in the source language to a user, and presenting (408) alternatives to a portion of the best hypothesis in the source language to the user. The method further includes receiving (410) an indication of a choice of one of the alternatives from the user, and presenting (306) a revised version of the best hypothesis including the alternative chosen to the user.

A method and apparatus for interactive source language expression recognition and alternative hypothesis presentation and selection

Smoothed frame labeling associates phonetic frame labels with a given speech frame as a function of (a) the closeness with which the given frame compares to each of a plurality of acoustic models, (b) which frame labels correspond with a neighboring frame, and (c) transition probabilities which indicate, for the frame labels associated with the neighboring frame, which frame labels are probably associated with the given frame. The smoothed frame labeling is used to divide the speech into segments of frames having the same class of labels. The invention represents words as a collection of known diphone models, each of which models the sound before and after a boundary between segments derived by the smoothed frame labeling. At recognition time, the speech is divided into segments by smoothed frame labeling; diphone models are derived for each boundary between the resulting segments; and the resulting diphone models are compared against the known diphone models to determine which of the known diphone models match the segment boundaries in the speech. Then a combined-displaced-evidence method is used to determine which words occur in the speech. This method detects which acoustic patterns, in the form of the known diphone models, match various portions of the speech. In response to each such match, it associates with the speech an evidence score for each vocabulary word in which that pattern is known to occur. It displaces each such score from the location of its associated matched pattern by the known distance between that pattern and the beginning of the score's word. Then all the evidence scores for a word located in a given portion of the speech are combined to produce a score which indicates the probability of that word starting in that portion of the speech. This score is combined with a score produced by comparing a histogram from a portion of the speech against a histogram of each word. The resulting combined score determines whether a given word should undergo a more detailed comparison against the speech to be recognized.

Speech recognition method

A method and apparatus for adaptive speech recognition hypothesis are provided, wherein a number of ordered recognition hypotheses are generated and presented in response to a received speech input comprising natural spoken language. Generation of the recognition hypotheses comprises assigning (408) basic probabilities to at least one basic component of the speech input using language models and calculating (410) an overall probability of each of the recognition hypotheses using the assigned basic probabilities. The best hypothesis is selected (1802) by a user from the recognition hypotheses. Hypothesis generation is adapted (1810) in response to the selected best hypotheses, wherein the selected hypothesis is analyzed, a list comprising the basic components of the selected best hypothesis and the assigned basic probabilities is generated, credit is assigned to the basic components of the selected hypothesis by raising the assigned basic probabilities, and the basic probabilities of the language model are renormalized. An output is provided (306) comprising the best hypothesis; moreover, the input is translated in response to the selected best hypothesis, and a synthesized translated speech output is provided.

A method and apparatus for adaptive speech recognition hypothesis construction and selection in a spoken language translation system

A two-way voice messaging terminal for communicating with a receiving terminal which may or may not be capable of reproducing a voice message transmitted from the voice messaging terminal. A voice message is digitally encoded and stored in a memory. A receiving terminal selection unit connected to the first memory preferably allows for the selection of the receiving terminal(s) to which the voice message is to be transmitted. The receiving terminal selection unit then receives the stored, digitally encoded voice message and determines whether the selected receiving terminal(s) is(are) capable of reproducing the voice message. If the receiving terminal(s) can reproduce the voice message, the voice message is transmitted to the selected receiving terminal(s). If the terminal(s) is(are) not capable of reproducing the voice message, the voice message is converted into a text message in a speech-to-text converter in the voice messaging terminal and then transmitted to the selected receiving terminal(s). The voice messaging terminal may also have a text-to-speech converter to convert a response text message into a synthesized voice message, the response text message being sent from the selected receiving terminal(s) in response to the voice message transmitted by the voice messaging terminal.

Two-way voice messaging terminal having a speech to text converter

The noise suppressor utilizes statistical characteristics of the noise signal to attenuate amplitude values of the noisy speech signal that have a probability of containing noise. In one embodiment, the noise suppressor utilizes an attenuation function having a shape determined in part by a noise average and a noise standard deviation. In a further embodiment, the noise suppressor also utilizes an adaptive attenuation coefficient that depends on signal-to-noise conditions in the speech recognition system.

Apparatus and method for noise attenuation in a speech recognition system

Phoneme recognition uses the silence-phoneme and phoneme-phoneme transition spectral information rather than the phoneme information itself. The transition detector features first and second differences in level for each frequency band.

Speech-recognition method and apparatus for recognizing phonemes in a voice signal

Verfahren und schaltungsanordnung zum erkennen bestimmter phoneme in einem sprachsignal sowie zum erzeugen von signalen zur anzeige von uebergaengen in einem sprachsignal

Procede et appareil de reconnaissance de paroles permettant de reconnaitre des phonemes particuliers du signal vocal quelle que soit la personne qui parle

Akabane Makoto

Papers

Speech-recognition method and apparatus for recognizing phonemes in a voice signal

Verfahren und schaltungsanordnung zum erkennen bestimmter phoneme in einem sprachsignal sowie zum erzeugen von signalen zur anzeige von uebergaengen in einem sprachsignal

Procede et appareil de reconnaissance de paroles permettant de reconnaitre des phonemes particuliers du signal vocal quelle que soit la personne qui parle