Patent ID: 8438032
Filing Date: 2013-05-07
Classification: G10L

Abstract:
1. A method of tuning synthesized speech, said method comprising: synthesizing user supplied text to produce synthesized speech by a text-to-speech engine; maintaining state information related to said synthesized speech; receiving a user modification of duration cost factors associated with said synthesized speech to change the duration of said synthesized speech, including modifying a search of speech units when the text is re-synthesized to favor shorter speech units in response to user marking of any speech units in the synthesized speech as too long and modifying the search of speech units to favor longer speech units in response to user marking of any speech units in the synthesized speech as too short; receiving a user modification of pitch cost factors associated with said synthesized speech to change the pitch of said synthesized speech; receiving a user indication of segments of the user supplied text and/or the synthesized speech to skip during re-synthesis of said speech; displaying a waveform associated with said synthesized speech and receiving user manipulations of the waveform; and re-synthesizing said speech based on said user supplied text, said user modified duration cost factors, said user modified pitch cost factors, said user indicated segments to skip and said user manipulations of the waveform.