Patent ID: 6236963
Filing Date: 2001-05-22
Classification: G10L

Abstract:
A speaker normalization processor apparatus comprising:a first storage unit for storing speech waveform data of a plurality of normalization-target speakers and text data corresponding to the speech waveform data;a second storage unit for storing Formant frequencies of a standard speaker determined based on a vocal-tract area function of the standard speaker;estimation means for estimating feature quantities of a vocal-tract configuration showing an anatomical configuration of a vocal tract of each normalization-target speaker, by looking up to a correspondence between vocal-tract configuration parameters and Formant frequencies previously determined based on a vocal tract model of the standard speaker, based on the speech waveform data of each normalization-target speaker stored in said first storage unit;function generating means for estimating a vocal-tract area function of each normalization-target speaker by changing feature quantities of a vocal-tract configuration of the standard speaker based on the feature quantities of the vocal-tract configuration of each normalization-target speaker estimated by said estimation means and the feature quantities of the vocal-tract configuration of the standard speaker, estimating Formant frequencies of speech uttered by each normalization-target speaker based on the estimated vocal-tract area function of each normalization-target speaker, and generating a frequency warping function, which shows a correspondence between input speech frequencies and frequencies after frequency warping, and which is used for performing the frequency warping by converting an input speech frequency so that Formant frequencies of speech of each normalization-target speaker after the frequency warping respectively coincide with the corresponding Formant frequencies of the standard speaker stored in said second storage unit.