This is the master table of contents for the DECtalk Software for the Digital UNIX Runtime User's Guide --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preface + About this Guide + What's the Difference Between the DECtalk Runtime Kit and the DECtalk Software Application Kit? + License Requirements + Features in DECtalk Software 4.2A + Purpose and Audience + Structure + On-line Help + Conventions --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1: Installing DECtalk Software + Preinstallation Tasks + Accessing the Release Notes + Registering Your Software Licenses + Checking the Software Distribution Kit + Installation Procedure Requirements + Hardware Requirements + Software Requirements + Checking Current Disk Space + Increasing Disk Space by Using Alternative Disks + Installation Tasks + Using the CD-ROM Consolidated Distribution Media + Using an RIS Distribution Area + Starting the Installation Procedure + Selecting Subsets + Stopping the Installation + Post-Installation Tasks + Running the Installation Verification Procedure + Deleting DECtalk Software from Your System + Displaying Documentation from the CD-ROM Distribution Disc + Correcting Problems During Product Installation + Reporting Problems --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2: Introduction to DECtalk Software + Overview o DECtalk Software Features + Latest Version of Digital Speech Synthesis Technology + Letter Mode, Word Mode, and Clause Mode + Short Command Strings + High-Quality Speech and Word Pronunciation + Pronunciation Heuristics + DECtalk Software API + Voice-Control Commands + DECtalk Software Dictionaries o DECtalk Software Components o Sample Applet o Sample Programs + say Program + mailtalk Program + aclock Program o User Dictionary Program (windict) o Unsupported Applications + DECface + Emacspeak o DECtalk Software: How are the Components Used? + By the Programmer + By the Application User o How DECtalk Software Works --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3: Getting Started + Running speak + Step-By-Step Instructions + Additional Syntax Rules + Changing Voice Selections + Editing a Text File and Changing the Speaking Rate + Overview of the User Dictionary Build Tool + Building a User Dictionary + Running mailtalk + Mailtalk.ini File --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:Advanced Voice-Control Topics * Changing Rhythm, Stress, and Intonation * Speaking Rate * Adjusting Period and Comma Pause Durations * Text-Tuning Example * Original Version * Revised Version * Developing an Advanced Speech Application * Developing an Electronic Mail-Reading Application * Optimizing the Quality of Spoken Text * Avoiding Common Errors --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overview * Comma Pause * Error * Index Mark * Log * Mode * Mode Name Example * Pause * Period Pause * Phoneme Interpretation * Pronounce Alternate * Pronounce Name * Resume * Say Mode * Comma Pause * Voice Selection * Volume * Play Wave Files * Dial Tones * Tone --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix B:Reference Tables + Phonemic Symbols + Stress and Syntactic Symbols + DECtalk Singing + Homographs + American English Phoneme Codes DECtalk Software for Digital UNIX Runtime User's Guide March 1996 This manual provides information on installation, overview, getting started and step-by-step procedures for the DECtalk Software Runtime kit for the Digital UNIX product. Revision/Update Information: This is a revised manual Operating System: Digital UNIX 3.0, later Software Product Version: 4.2A Digital Equipment Corporation Maynard, Massachusetts --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Preface: About this Guide This guide contains instructions for the installation of the Runtime segment DECtalk Software product. It also contains the information you need to run the DECtalk Software applications that are included with this product. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] What's the Difference Between the DECtalk Software Runtime Kit and the DECtalk Software Development Kit? DECtalk Software is packaged as a Runtime kit and a Development kit. The Runtime kit gives you access to the following DECtalk Software applications: mailtalk, say, speak, emacspeak, DECface, aclock, and windict. In order to develop your own DECtalk Software applications, you must order the DECtalk Software Developer's kit. DECtalk Software Developer's kit gives you access to the DECtalk Software API and sources for some sample application programs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] License Requirements You can run one copy of any DECtalk Software application at a time without needing an LMF license. A license is required to run more than one copy. See the section on LMF Licensing in Chapter 1 for more information. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Features in DECtalk Software 4.2A The following is a list of important features in DECtalk V4.2A: Expanded main dictionary Added user-dictionary suffix processing to help locate words in user dictionary Expanded pronunciation rules and improved pronunciation Homograph processing Improved inline index-mark processing Added the following inline commands: Play command to play audio files in line with text Tone command to generate tones Dial command to generate DTMF tones used to dial telephone numbers Stereo volume control commands A new version of the mailtalk program that is fully integrated with mail An enhanced Motif windows-based user dictionary builder that automatically translates text strings into phonemes An improved command-line program, say, used to run DECtalk from the Digital UNIX command line Improved computational efficiency Two new sample applications DECface Emacspeak Support for CDE desktop environment --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Purpose and Audience This guide is for the user who wants to run the text-to-speech applications that are part of DECtalk Software Runtime kit. The instructions documented in this guide do not cover basic Digital UNIX operating instructions or program-development instructions for designing Digital UNIX applications other than that information specific to building a DECtalk application. This guide contains instructions for installing DECtalk Software.The installation procedure installs all files in subdirectories under: /usr/opt/DTKRT420 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Structure This guide is designed to provide you with quick and easy access to all information. You can easily learn about new topics and perform specific tasks related to running DECtalk Software application programs for the Digital UNIX operating system. This guide's organization is listed below: Chapter Description Chapter 1 Installing DECtalk Software Chapter 2 Introduction to DECtalk Software Chapter 3 Using DECtalk Software Chapter 4 Advanced Voice Control Topics Appendix A Voice Control Commands Appendix B DECtalk Reference Tables Glossary Index --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] On-line Help DECtalk Software on-line help is accessible in two forms: * Manpages --Invoke manpage help from the UNIX command line with the %man speak command * HTML Hypertext -- Start Netscape hypertext help by launching Netscape and loading the DtkUsersGuide.html file. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Conventions This guide uses the following conventions: Convention Explanation enter Enter means type the required information and press the Return key. mouse Mouse refers to any pointing device, such as a mouse, a puck, or a stylus. MB1 MB1 indicates the left mouse button click on Click on means to press and release MB1. double click Double click means to press and release MB1 twice in rapid succession without moving the mouse. drag The phrase drag means to press and hold MB1, move the mouse, and then release MB1 when the pointer is in the desired position. Ctrl/x A sequence such as Ctrl / x indicates that you must press the Ctrl key while you press another key. Menu Command The right arrow key indicates an abbreviated instruction for choosing a command from a menu. For example, File Exit means pull down the File menu, move the pointer to the Exit command, and release MB1. Courier type Courier type indicates text that you type and is displayed on the screen. This is most often used for program code examples. User Input Boldface type in interactive examples indicates information you enter from the keyboard. For example: % ls speak " xxx" Indicates a word, words, or phrases you must speak. Unless otherwise noted, press Return after entering commands or responses to command prompts. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Chapter 1: Installing DECtalk Software [Image] This chapter covers the preinstallation, installation and post installation tasks required to install DECtalk Software on your system. Topics include: o Preinstallation Tasks + Accessing the Release Notes + Registering Your Software Licenses + Checking the Software Distribution Kit o Installation Procedure Requirements + Hardware Requirements + Software Requirements + Checking Current Disk Space + Increasing Disk Space by Using Alternative Disks + Installation Tasks + Using the CD-ROM Consolidated Distribution Media + Using an RIS Distribution Area + Starting the Installation Procedure + Selecting Subsets + Stopping the Installation o Post-Installation Tasks + Running the Installation Verification Procedure + Deleting DECtalk Software from Your System + Displaying Documentation from the CD-ROM Distribution Disc + Correcting Problems During Product Installation + Reporting Problems --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Preinstallation Tasks This section covers the tasks you must perform before installing DECtalk Software. Topics include: * Accessing the release notes (see Accessing the Release Notes, page 12) * Checking installation procedure requirements (see Installation Procedure Requirements, page 18) * Hardware requirements (see Hardware Requirements, page 18) * Checking current disk space (see Checking Current Disk Space, page 19) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Accessing the Release Notes DECtalk Software provides release notes. The release notes contain information about changes to DECtalk Software for Digital UNIX. Digital strongly recommends that you read these release notes before using the product. See the Compact Disc User's Guide shipped with your media for instructions about how to access the release notes prior to the software installation. The release notes for DECtalk Software are in the following files after the DTKRTRELNOTES420 subset is installed: /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/ascii/release_notes_rt.txt /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/postscript/release_notes_rt.ps Use the following command to read the release notes for DECtalk Software after the DTKRTRELNOT420 subset is installed: # more /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/ascii/release_notes_rt.txt You can also print either file. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Registering Your Software Licenses DECtalk Software includes support for the License Management Facility (LMF). You must register your license product authorization keys (License PAKs) in the license database (LDB) in order to use DECtalk Software on a newly licensed system. The License PAKs is shipped with the kit if you ordered the licenses and media together; otherwise, they are shipped separately to a location specified on your license order. Note You must have superuser privileges to install the DECtalk Software and to register the license PAK. If you are installing DECtalk Software as an update on a node already licensed for this software, you have already completed the License PAK registration requirements. To register a license under the Digital UNIX operating system: Log in as root. At the superuser prompt, edit an empty PAK template with the lmf register) command as follows, and include all the information on your License PAK: # lmf register LMF displays a blank template and invokes an editor to allow you to edit the template. LMF invokes the editor that is defined by your EDITOR environment variable. If the environment variable is undefined, LMF invokes the vi editor. You must enter the license information from the PAK accurately. When you finish entering the license data, exit from the editor. If the license data is correct, LMF copies it into the license Database. If the license data is incorrect, you may reenter the editor and correct mistakes. Alternatively, you can create a command script enclosing the license information (the license information is in the cover letter with this kit) found between lmf register - << ENDLMF and ENDLMF Execute this script as root. After you register your license, use the following commands to copy the license details from the license database (LDB) to the kernel cache: # lmf load 0 DECTALK-SW For complete information on using the License Management Facility, see the Guide to Software License Management and the lmf reference page. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Checking the Software Distribution Kit Use the bill of materials (BOM) to check the contents of your DECtalk Software software distribution kit. In addition to this guide, the software distribution kit includes the following: CD-ROM optical disc for systems with optical disc drives CD-ROM booklet If your software distribution kit is damaged or incomplete, contact your Digital representative. Directories and files included in the distribution kit are listed in the following screen display. /usr/opt/DTKRT420/decface/bin: DECFace.ini DECface* decface.gif /usr/opt/DTKRT420/decface/docs/ascii: decface.txt /usr/opt/DTKRT420/decface/facedata/modelbase: betty.eyes harry.eyes rita.eyes betty.face.indices harry.face.indices rita.face.indices betty.face.polyline harry.face.polyline rita.face.polyline betty.muscles harry.muscles rita.muscles betty.teeth.indices harry.teeth.indices rita.teeth.indices betty.teeth.polyline harry.teeth.polyline rita.teeth.polyline dennis.eyes kit.eyes ursula.eyes dennis.face.indices kit.face.indices ursula.face.indices dennis.face.polyline kit.face.polyline ursula.face.polyline dennis.muscles kit.muscles ursula.muscles dennis.teeth.indices kit.teeth.indices ursula.teeth.indices dennis.teeth.polyline kit.teeth.polyline ursula.teeth.polyline frank.eyes paul.eyes wendy.eyes frank.face.indices paul.face.indices wendy.face.indices frank.face.polyline paul.face.polyline wendy.face.polyline frank.muscles paul.muscles wendy.muscles frank.teeth.indices paul.teeth.indices wendy.teeth.indices frank.teeth.polyline paul.teeth.polyline wendy.teeth.polyline /usr/opt/DTKRT420/decface/facedata/texture_images: betty.face.ppm frank.teeth.ppm paul.face.ppm ursula.teeth.ppm betty.teeth.ppm harry.face.ppm paul.teeth.ppm wendy.face.ppm dennis.face.ppm harry.teeth.ppm rita.face.ppm wendy.teeth.ppm dennis.teeth.ppm kit.face.ppm rita.teeth.ppm frank.face.ppm kit.teeth.ppm ursula.face.ppm /usr/opt/DTKRT420/decface/visemes/whole_visemes: PH.00 PH.08 PH.16 PH.24 PH.32 PH.40 PH.48 PH.56 PH.64 PH.72 PH.01 PH.09 PH.17 PH.25 PH.33 PH.41 PH.49 PH.57 PH.65 PH.73 PH.02 PH.10 PH.18 PH.26 PH.34 PH.42 PH.50 PH.58 PH.66 PH.74 PH.03 PH.11 PH.19 PH.27 PH.35 PH.43 PH.51 PH.59 PH.67 PH.75 PH.04 PH.12 PH.20 PH.28 PH.36 PH.44 PH.52 PH.60 PH.68 PH.76 PH.05 PH.13 PH.21 PH.29 PH.37 PH.45 PH.53 PH.61 PH.69 PH.06 PH.14 PH.22 PH.30 PH.38 PH.46 PH.54 PH.62 PH.70 PH.07 PH.15 PH.23 PH.31 PH.39 PH.47 PH.55 PH.63 PH.71 /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/ascii: dtk420_release_notes_rt.txt filelist_rt.txt dtk420_start_guide.txt /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/html: dt_3.html dt_u2111.gif dt_u313.gif rainbowl.gif dt_4.html dt_u2112.gif dt_u314.gif redball.gif dectalk.gif dt_a.html dt_u2113.gif dt_u315.gif dt_1.html dt_b.html dt_u311.gif dt_u316.gif dt_2.html dt_u.html dt_u312.gif pinkball.gif DtkUsersGuide.html /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/man/man1: DECface.1 dectalk.1 mailtalk.1 speak.1 aclock.1 emacspeak.1 say.1 windict.1 /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/postscript: dtk420_release_notes_rt.ps dtk420_start_guide.ps /usr/opt/DTKRT420/emacspeak/Macros: HELP emacspeak-ispell.el Makefile emacspeak-keymap.el dtk-macros.el emacspeak-kotl.el dtk-mme* emacspeak-load-path.def dtk-sh.el emacspeak-oo-browser.el dtk-spatial.el emacspeak-outline.el dtk-speak.el emacspeak-perl.el dtk-voices.el emacspeak-redefine.el emacspeak-advice.el emacspeak-replace.el emacspeak-auctex.el emacspeak-setup.def emacspeak-bbdb.el emacspeak-sounds.el emacspeak-c.el emacspeak-speak.el emacspeak-calc.el emacspeak-tabulate.el emacspeak-calendar.el emacspeak-tcl.el emacspeak-compile.el emacspeak-tempo.el emacspeak-dired.el emacspeak-vm.el emacspeak-dmacro.el emacspeak-w3.el emacspeak-ediff.el emacspeak-wrolo.el emacspeak-eterm.el emacspeak.def emacspeak-fix-interactive.el emacspeak.el emacspeak-folding.el html-voice.el emacspeak-gnus.el play.def emacspeak-hyperbole.el voice-lock.el emacspeak-info.el w3-util.el /usr/opt/DTKRT420/emacspeak/docs/ascii: emacspeak-README.txt /usr/opt/DTKRT420/emacspeak/docs/postscript: emacspeak.ps /usr/opt/DTKRT420/etc/dt/appconfig/appmanager/C/Multimedia: dtk_decface* dtk_speak* dtk_windict* /usr/opt/DTKRT420/etc/dt/appconfig/icons/C: dtk_decface.l.bm dtk_decface.t.bm dtk_speak.s.bm dtk_windict.m.bm dtk_decface.l.pm dtk_decface.t.pm dtk_speak.s.pm dtk_windict.m.pm dtk_decface.m.bm dtk_speak.l.bm dtk_speak.t.bm dtk_windict.s.bm dtk_decface.m.pm dtk_speak.l.pm dtk_speak.t.pm dtk_windict.s.pm dtk_decface.s.bm dtk_speak.m.bm dtk_windict.l.bm dtk_windict.t.bm dtk_decface.s.pm dtk_speak.m.pm dtk_windict.l.pm dtk_windict.t.pm /usr/opt/DTKRT420/etc/dt/appconfig/types/C: dtk_decface.dt dtk_speak.dt dtk_windict.dt /usr/opt/DTKRT420/examples/dtk/dtsamples: aclock* demo.txt mailtalk.ini say* user.dic birthday.txt mailtalk* noglass.txt startup.txt user.tab /usr/opt/DTKRT420/examples/dtk/speak: bitmaps/ speak* speak.uid /usr/opt/DTKRT420/examples/dtk/speak/bitmaps: bet16a.gif dtk.gif har16b.gif pau16b.gif urs16b.gif bet16b.gif fra16a.gif kid16a.gif rit16a.gif wen16a.gif den16a.gif fra16b.gif kid16b.gif rit16b.gif wen16b.gif den16b.gif har16a.gif pau16a.gif urs16a.gif windict.gif /usr/opt/DTKRT420/ivp: DTKRT420.ivp /usr/opt/DTKRT420/lib/dtk: dectalk.dic /usr/opt/DTKRT420/share/man/man1: DECface.1dtk dectalk.1dtk mailtalk.1dtk speak.1dtk aclock.1dtk emacspeak.1dtk say.1dtk windict.1dtk /usr/opt/DTKRT420/shlib: libtts.so* libttsmme.so* /usr/opt/DTKRT420/tools: dumpdict* userdict* windict* windict.uid --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Installation Procedure Requirements This section discusses the requirements for installing DECtalk Software. Installing DECtalk Software takes approximately 5 minutes, depending on your type of media and system configuration. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Hardware Requirements To install DECtalk Software, you need the following: Software distribution device (if installing from media) Locate the drive for the CD-ROM software distribution media. The CD booklet or the documentation for the CD-ROM drive you are using explains how to load the CD-ROM media. Terminal You can use either a hardcopy or video terminal to communicate with the operating system and respond to the prompts from the installation procedure. See the DECtalk Software for Digital UNIX Software Product Description (SPD) for additional hardware requirements. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Software Requirements DECtalk Software for Digital UNIX Version 4.2A requires the Digital UNIX operating system Version 3.x or 4.0. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Checking Current Disk Space To check the current amount of free space for a directory path, log in to the system where you will install DECtalk Software. You can check which directories are mounted and their locations by viewing the /etc/fstab file. For example: # more /etc/fstab /dev/rz3a / ufs rw 1 1 /dev/rz3g /usr ufs rw 1 2 /dev/rz3b swap1 ufs sw 0 2 The display indicates that /usr mounted on /dev/rz3g is the only mount point that affects where DECtalk Software files will reside; the system has only one local disk drive, and the /usr/opt file system resides in the g partition of the disk on that drive. To check the total space and the free space for the directories where DECtalk Software will reside, enter the df command. Given the previous display of the /etc/fstab) file, which shows that only /usr is a mount point, you need to check free space only in the /usr file system. For example: # df /usr Filesystem 512-blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted on /dev/rz3a 79608 45648 25998 64% / /dev/rz3g 1482190 921846 412124 69% /usr This display shows that there are 412124 kbytes free. This free space must accommodate the subsets that you opt to install. If you choose to install all the subsets in the DECtalk Software Runtime kit you will need approximately 15Mbytes of free disk space. Of this, the two unsupported subsets use: * DECface 10 Mbytes * Emacspeak 1 Mbyte --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Increasing Disk Space by Using Alternative Disks The DECtalk Software installation procedure creates and loads files into the subordinate directory: /usr/opt/DTKRT420 If any of the previously listed directories already exists, the installation procedure uses it. If you find that there is insufficient disk space for the DECtalk Software subsets and you know that you have additional space on alternative disks or disk partitions for your system, perform the following steps before installing DECtalk Software: Log in as superuser. Create the following directory: /usr/opt/DTKRT420) Specify in the /etc/fstab file that one or more of the newly created directories are mount points to new disk partitions where there is additional space. Enter the mount -a command so that the new mount points take effect. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Installation Tasks This section covers the tasks you must perform to install DECtalk Software. Topics include: Using the CD-ROM consolidated distribution media (see Using the CD-ROM Consolidated Distribution Media, page 21) Responding to installation procedure prompts (see Starting the Installation Procedure, page 22) Selecting subsets (see Selecting Subsets, page 23) Using a RIS distribution area (see Using an RIS Distribution Area, page 21) Starting the installation procedure (see Starting the Installation Procedure, page 22) Stopping the installation (see Stopping the Installation, page 29) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] name="Rtftoc12">Using the CD-ROM Consolidated Distribution Media The following procedure loads DECtalk Software files onto a disk belonging to the system where you perform the installation. When DECtalk Software is run, its executable images are mapped into memory on your system. To install DECtalk Software from CD-ROM media: Mount the media on the appropriate disk drive. Log in as superuser login name root to the system where you will install DECtalk Software. Make sure that you are at the root (/) directory by entering the following command: # cd / Specify the /cdrom directory to be the mount point for the distribution file system on the drive. If your drive is rz4c, enter the following command: # mount -dr /dev/rz4c /cdrom Enter a setld) command that requests the load function -l and identifies the directory in the mounted file system where DECtalk Software subsets are located. For example, if the directory location for these subsets is /cdrom/DTK420/kit, enter the following command: # /usr/sbin/setld -l /cdrom/DTK420/kit The installation procedure now displays the names of DECtalk Software subsets and asks you to specify the subsets you want to load. See Starting the Installation Procedure, page 22 to continue the installation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Using an RIS Distribution Area If you are installing DECtalk Software subsets that reside in an /etc/ris RIS distribution area on a remote system, take the following steps: Log in as superuser login name root to the system where you will install DECtalk Software. Make sure that you are at the root directory (/) by entering the following command: # cd / Enter a setld command that requests the load function (-l) option and identifies the system where the DECtalk Software subsets are located. For example, if you are loading DECtalk Software subsets from a RIS distribution area on node axpmme, enter the following: /usr/bin/setld -l axpmme RIS now displays a menu that lists all the software subsets available to you and asks you to specify the subsets you want to load. See Starting the Installation Procedure on page 22 to continue the installation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Starting the Installation Procedure Before starting the installation procedure, log in as a superuser and verify that you are at the root directory. Check to see if there are any previously installed DECtalk Software subsets by entering the following command: % su root # cd / # /usr/sbin/setld -i | grep DTK Deinstall any installed subsets with the prefix DTK by entering the following command: # cd / # /usr/sbin/setld -d (name of subset) To start the installation procedure, enter the following command: # /usr/sbin/setld -l /dev/rmt0h Then, respond to the installation procedure prompts as described in Selecting Subsets on page 23. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Selecting Subsets The following section presents a complete installation procedure, including all messages that are displayed on your screen during the installation. You must specify which DECtalk Software subsets you want to load. If you specify more than one number at the prompt, separate each number with a space, not a comma. # /usr/sbin/setld -l /cdrom/DTK420/kit The subsets listed below are optional: There may be more optional subsets than can be presented on a single screen. If this is the case, you can choose subsets screen by screen or all at once on the last screen. All of the choices you make will be collected for your confirmation before any subsets are installed. 1) DECface, A Talking Articulated Face - Sample Program (unsupported). 2) DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX CDE Integration. 3) DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Release Notes. 4) DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Runtime Kit. 5) DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Runtime Users Guide. 6) Emacspeak, Speech Enabled Emacs - Sample Program (unsupported). Or you may choose one of the following options: 7) ALL of the above 8) CANCEL selections and redisplay menus 9) EXIT without installing any subsets Enter your choices or press RETURN to redisplay menus. Choices (for example, 1 2 4-6): 7 Next, the script lets you verify your choice. For example, if you enter 7 in response to the previous prompt, you will see the following display: You are installing the following optional subsets: DECface, A Talking Articulated Face - Sample Program. DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX CDE Integration. DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Release Notes. DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Runtime Kit. DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Runtime Users Guide. Emacspeak, Speech Enabled Emacs - Sample Program. Is this correct? (y/n): If the displayed subsets are not the ones you intended to choose, enter n. In this case, the subset selection menu is displayed again and you can correct your choice of optional subsets. If the displayed subsets are the ones you want to load, enter y. After you respond to this question, the rest of the installation proceedes automatically and all the selected subsets are loaded. A sample of the rest of the installation script is listed below. Checking file system space required to install selected subsets: File system space checked OK. 6 subset(s) will be installed. Loading 1 of 6 subset(s).... *********************************************************************** * * * DECtalk Software Application Services V4.2A * * Runtime Subset * * * * Copyright(c)Digital Equipment Corporation, 1996 All Rights Reserved * * * * Unpublished rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United * * States. The software contained on this media is proprietary to * * and embodies the confidential technology of Digital Equipment * * Corporation. Possession, use, duplication or dissemination of the * * software and media is authorized only pursuant to a valid written * * license from Digital Equipment Corporation. * * * * RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND Use, duplication, or disclosure by the * * U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in * * Subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of DFARS 252.227-7013, or in FAR 52.227-19, * * or in FAR 52.227-14 Alt. III as applicable. * * * *********************************************************************** DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Runtime Kit. Copying from . (disk) Verifying Loading 2 of 6 subset(s).... DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Runtime Users Guide. Copying from . (disk) Verifying Loading 3 of 6 subset(s).... DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Release Notes. Copying from . (disk) Verifying Loading 4 of 6 subset(s).... *********************************************************************** * * * DECtalk Software Application Services V4.2A * * DECface Subset * * * * Copyright(c)Digital Equipment Corporation, 1996 All Rights * * Reserved * * * * Unpublished rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United * * States. The software contained on this media is proprietary to * * and embodies the confidential technology of Digital Equipment * * Corporation. Possession, use, duplication or dissemination of the * * software and media is authorized only pursuant to a valid written * * license from Digital Equipment Corporation. * * * * RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND Use, duplication, or disclosure by the * * U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in * * Subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of DFARS 252.227-7013, or in FAR 52.227-19, * * or in FAR 52.227-14 Alt. III as applicable. * * * *********************************************************************** DECface, A Talking Articulated Face - Sample Program. Copying from . (disk) Verifying Loading 5 of 6 subset(s).... *********************************************************************** * * * DECtalk Software Application Services V4.2A * * Emacspeak Subset * * * * Copyright(c)Digital Equipment Corporation, 1996 All Rights * * Reserved * * * * Unpublished rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United * * States. The software contained on this media is proprietary to * * and embodies the confidential technology of Digital Equipment * * Corporation. Possession, use, duplication or dissemination of the * * software and media is authorized only pursuant to a valid written * * license from Digital Equipment Corporation. * * * * RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND Use, duplication, or disclosure by the * * U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in * * Subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of DFARS 252.227-7013, or in FAR 52.227-19, * * or in FAR 52.227-14 Alt. III as applicable. * * * *********************************************************************** Emacspeak, Speech Enabled Emacs - Sample Program. Copying from . (disk) Verifying Loading 6 of 6 subset(s).... DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX CDE Integration. Copying from . (disk) Verifying 6 of 6 subset(s) installed successfully. *********************************************************************** DECtalk Software V4.2A runtime subset (DTKRT420) installation completed successfully. To verify that the kit installed properly please run the Installation Verification Program by typing: /usr/sbin/setld -v DTKRT420 *********************************************************************** Configuring "DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Runtime Kit." (DTKRT420) *********************************************************************** DECtalk Software V4.2A runtime documentation subset (DTKRTDOC420) installation completed successfully. This installation puts the DECtalk Software runtime documents in html format in the following directory /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/html. You can view the document with a Netscape(TM) browser. Open the file /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/html/DtkUsersGuide.html. *********************************************************************** Configuring "DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Runtime Users Guide." (DTKRTDOC420) **************************************************************************<> DECtalk Software V4.2A runtime release notes subset (DTKRTRELNOT420) installation completed successfully. This installation put DECtalk Software development subset release notes in the following directories: /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/ascii and /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/postscript **************************************************************************<> Configuring "DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX Release Notes." (DTKRTRELNOT420) *********************************************************************** DECtalk Software V4.2A runtime subset (DTKDFCRT420) installation completed successfully. To run the program, at the command prompt please type: DECface An introduction to the application is located in: /usr/opt/DTKRT420/decface/docs/ascii To access man pages, please install the subset DTKRTDOC420.scp and type: man 1 DECface *********************************************************************** Configuring "DECface, A Talking Articulated Face - Sample Program." (DTKDFCRT420) *********************************************************************** DECtalk Software V4.2A runtime subset (DTKEMSRT420) installation completed successfully. To run the program, please refer to the emacspeak-README.txt file in: /usr/opt/DTKRT420/emacspeak/docs/ascii *********************************************************************** Configuring "Emacspeak, Speech Enabled Emacs - Sample Program." (DTKEMSRT420) **************************************************************************<> DECtalk Software V4.2A CDE Integration subset (DTKRTCDE420) installation completed successfully. **************************************************************************<> Configuring "DECtalk Software V4.2A for Digital UNIX CDE Integration." (DTKRTCDE420) # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Stopping the Installation To stop the installation procedure at any time, enter Ctrl/C. Then, interactively delete the files created by the installation up to the point where you stopped the installation. The directories and files created during the DECtalk Software installation are listed in the following file: /usr/opt/DTKRT420/docs/ascii/filelist.txt If you encounter any failures during installation, see Reporting Problems, page 32. You may interrupt the installation procedure at any point. However, if you do, the installation may not be left in a useful state. Remove all the subsets you installed and reinstall them. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Post-Installation Tasks This section explains what you need to do after the installation to make DECtalk Software ready for use. Topics include: * Running the installation verification procedure (see Running the Installation Verification Procedure , page 30) * Deleting DECtalk Software from your system (see Deleting DECtalk Software from Your System, page 30) * Displaying documentation from the CD-ROM distribution disk. (see Displaying Documentation from the CD-ROM Distribution Disc, page 31) * Solving problems during product installation (see Correcting Problems During Product Installation , page 31) * Failures during product use. (see Reporting Problems, page 32) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Running the Installation Verification Procedure You can run the Installation Verification Procedure (IVP) during the installation or you can run the IVP independently after installing DECtalk Software to verify that the software is available on your system. You might also want to run the IVP after a system failure to be sure that users can access DECtalk Software. To run the IVP command: % su root #/usr/sbin/setld -v DTKRT420 The DECtalk Software IVP verifies the installation as follows: A check for a valid LMF license is made. If no license is found, the IVP fails because the software cannot be tested. DECtalk Software requires that the Multimedia Software for Digital UNIX server mmeserver be up and running. If the mmeserver is not already running then the IVP fails. Start the server and try again. To start the server follow the sequence shown below: % su root # mmeserver& --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Deleting DECtalk Software from Your System If you must remove a version of DECtalk Software from your system, delete each subset that you previously installed. For example to delete a subset, do the following: Log in as superuser login name root, as follows: % su root Verify that you are at the root directory (/) by entering the following command: # cd / Enter the following form of the setld) commands: # setld -i | grep DTK Look for the word installed in the listing produced, and then delete the installed subsets. For example: # setld -d DTKRT420 DTKDEV420 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Displaying Documentation from the CD-ROM Distribution Disc The DECtalk Software documentation is provided on the Digital UNIX Layered Products Online Documentation CD-ROM in Bookreader (.decw_book) file format. You can display the Bookreader files on your workstation using the DECwindows Bookreader application. For information on accessing and displaying these files, see the Digital UNIX Layered Products Disc User's Guide. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Correcting Problems During Product Installation If errors occur during the installation, the system displays failure messages. For example, if the installation fails due to insufficient disk space, a message similar to the following is displayed: There is not enough space for subset SUBSET_NAME SUBSET_DESCRIPTION (SUBSET_NAME) will not be loaded. where: SUBSET_NAME is the name of the subset SUBSET_DESCRIPTION is the description of the subset For example, DTKRTRELNOT420 is a subset name and DECtalk Software for Digital UNIX Release Notes V4.2A is a subset description. Errors can occur during the installation if any of the following conditions exist: 1. Operating system version is incorrect. 2. Prerequisite software version is incorrect. 3. Disk space is insufficient. 4. System parameter values for successful installation are insufficient. For descriptions of error messages generated by these conditions, see the Digital UNIX documentation on system messages, recovery procedures, and software installation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Reporting Problems If an error occurs while DECtalk Software is in use and you believe the error is caused by a problem with the product, take one of the following actions: If you have a Software Product Services Support Agreement, contact your Customer Support Center (CSC) by telephone or by using the electronic means provided with your support agreement (such as DSNlink). The CSC provides telephone support for high-level advisory and remedial assistance. When you initially contact the CSC, indicate the following: 1. The name and version number of the operating system you are using 2. The version number of DECtalk Software you are using 3. The hardware system you are using (such as a model number) 4. A brief description of the problem (one sentence, if possible) 5. How critical the problem is 6. If you have a Self-Maintenance Software Agreement, you can submit a Software Performance Report (SPR). 7. If you do not have any type of software services support agreement and you purchased DECtalk Software within the past year, you can submit an SPR if you think the problem is caused by a software error. When you submit an SPR, take the following steps: 8. Describe as accurately as possible the circumstances and state of the system when the problem occurred. Include the description and version number of the DECtalk Software being used. Explain the problem with specific examples. 9. Reduce the problem to its elements. 10. Remember to include listings of any command files, include files, relevant data files, and so forth. 11. Provide a listing of the program. If the program is longer than 50 lines, submit a copy of it on machine-readable media (floppy diskette or magnetic tape). If necessary, also submit a copy of the program library used to build the application. For information about submitting media, see the tar(1) reference page. 12. Report only one problem per SPR. This will facilitate a faster response. 13. Mail the SPR package to Digital. If the problem is related to DECtalk Software documentation, you can do one of the following: 14. Report the problem to the CSC (if you have a Software Product Services Support Agreement and the problem is severe). 15. Fill out the Reader's Comments form (located at the back of the document that contains the error) and send the form to Digital. Be sure to include the action and page number where the error occurs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Chapter 2: Introduction to DECtalk Software [Image] This chapter provides a general overview of DECtalk. Topics include: + Overview o DECtalk Software Features + Latest Version of Digital Speech Synthesis Technology + Letter Mode, Word Mode, and Clause Mode + Short Command Strings + High-Quality Speech and Word Pronunciation + Pronunciation Heuristics + DECtalk Software API + Voice-Control Commands + DECtalk Software Dictionaries o DECtalk Software Components o Sample Applet o Sample Programs + say Program + mailtalk Program + aclock Program o User Dictionary Program (windict) o Unsupported Applications + DECface + Emacspeak o DECtalk Software: How are the Components Used? + By the Programmer + By the Application User o How DECtalk Software Works --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Overview DECtalk Software extends the capabilities of your workstation by turning text files into spoken words. It can accurately read ASCII text from a variety of sources, such as electronic mail and word processors, using a standard audio device for output. Nine different voices are provided and users can control voice pitch, rate of speech, and word or phrase emphasis. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] DECtalk Software Features DECtalk Software provides the following features: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Latest Version of Digital Speech Synthesis Technology DECtalk Software contains the latest version of DECtalk Software speech synthesis. This incorporates a number of improvements from earlier versions of DECtalk Software and is a software-only version of DECtalk Software offered by Digital. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Letter Mode, Word Mode, and Clause Mode DECtalk Software can immediately speak single characters without waiting for an entire clause to be buffered. This feature is useful in applications requiring tactile feedback for what was entered on the keyboard. It also provides normal clause buffering for natural speech. DECtalk Software can speak letters, words, phrases, clauses, paragraphs, and whole documents. DECtalk Software allows the application to terminate speech immediately instead of waiting for the buffered text to complete processing. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Short Command Strings Many of the command strings, such as change rate, change voice, start, stop, and index marks can be abbreviated for greater ease of use in applications. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] High-Quality Speech and Word Pronunciation DECtalk Software speech retains its high quality. In addition, a number of improvements have been made in functionality and acoustic phonetic quality. The accuracy of word pronunciation is higher than in any previous version of DECtalk Software. There have been significant improvements in the accuracy and quality of letter-to-phoneme rules. Also, DECtalk Software has a large built-in dictionary that is used in the accurate pronunciation of individual words as well as enhancing their rhythmic naturalness. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Pronunciation Heuristics Certain heuristics have been improved and made more intelligent. For example, DECtalk Software is able to recognize and parse unpronounceable sequences such as uppercase initials (FBI, AAA, and so forth) in addition to the normal unpronounceable sequences such as those with no vowels (CBS or NBC, for example). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] DECtalk Software API The Text-To-Speech API is the Digital extension to Multimedia Services for Digital UNIX. You can use this API to write your own applications. You will need the DECtalk Software Development kit in order to access the APIs. The API function set gives you a flexible method of manipulating DECtalk Software functionality from within your application. These functions perform a wide range of tasks associated with the Text-To-Speech system. See DECtalk Software Programmer's Reference Guide (QA-228AA-WZ.4.2A) for a complete list of API functions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Voice-Control Commands DECtalk Software programming aids include Voice-Control commands, also called inline commands. These commands can be used to perform simple voice-control operations, such as changing the speaking rate or speaking voice while DECtalk Software is speaking, or more complex operations, such as modifying the characteristics of each voice, controlling intonation and stress within written text, or creating special effects such as singing. Commands are inserted into ASCII text files displayed in one of the program applets or directly into the application sources through the API functions. Commands have special syntax rules and components that you need to use when you insert them into files. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] DECtalk Software Dictionaries DECtalk Software has two pronunciation dictionaries: a large internal (built-in) dictionary and an optional user-defined dictionary. With the large built-in dictionary, developers can easily use many proper names and normally unpronounceable sequences, such as uppercase initials, in their applications. With the user dictionary build tool, developers can load application-specific words, or cultural- or language-specific terms into the user dictionary. A sample user-dictionary file is installed with the software. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] DECtalk Software Components The DECtalk Software components now installed on your system include: * A sample applet * Some sample programs * A user dictionary builder * Two unsupported sample programs --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Sample Applet A sample applet, called speak, is bundled along with the DECtalk Software kit. This applet demonstrates the capabilities of DECtalk Software. A detailed description on the use of speak is provided in the next chapter. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Sample Programs DECtalk Software comes with several sample programs. These are: * say * mailtalk * aclock * DECface * emacspeak --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] say Program The say program is a command-line program that produces synthesized audio of the input ascii text. It has the following command line switches: say [-h] [-s #] [-r #] [-d #] [file] [-a "text"] -a "text" This command line switch is followed by the quoted string. The text in the quoted string is spoken, at the end of which the program returns to the Digital UNIX command prompt. -d # Is used to select the audio output device. -e # Is used to select the the output wave file format. Integers 1 to 3 are valid input to this option and they specify the following: 1. PCM, 16 bit Mono 11 KHz format 2. PCM, 8 bit Mono 11 KHz format 3. Mu-law, 8 bit Mono 8 KHz format -f Output wave file name -h Displays the command line parameter list -r # Speaking rate (75 - 650) -s # Speaker number (1-9) Name of an input ascii file to synthesize. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] mailtalk Program The mailtalk is a program applet included with DECtalk Software that announces the arrival of mail messages as they are delivered to your system. Depending on the options you select, mailtalk announces the sender of the message, its subject, or both. A more detailed explanation of this program is presented in next chapter. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] aclock Program aclock announces the time of the day. It takes the following command line parameters: aclock [-h] [ # ] where # is the interval in minutes 5 - every five minutes 15 - every fifteen minutes 30 - on the hour and half hour 60 - on the hour -h - Displays the command line parameter list --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] User Dictionary Program (windict) The user dictionary program, windict, is used to create special dictionary files. The dictionary file contains words which have special user-specified pronunciation rules. Dictionary work files are compiled into dictionaries that can then be loaded into the speak and say programs. More details of this tool are provided in the next chapter. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Unsupported Applications The following unsupported applications are shipped with DECtalk Software 4.2A. Unsupported applications are provided to demonstrate the advanced capabilities of DECtalk Software. They are provided for demonstration purposes only and are not fully supported by Digital Equipment Corporation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] DECface DECface is a computer-generated, synthetic face that synchronizes facial movements to synthesized speech provided by DECtalk. As DECtalk generates speech, DECface displays the facial expressions of a human actually speaking those words. DECface offers the ability to develop a large variety of new applications by combining the audio functionality of a speech synthesizer with the graphical functionality of a computer-generated face. A synthetic character can give multimedia presentations, or monitor a system and report anomalies as a feedback agent. DECface enhances DECtalk by providing an obvious and immediate visual feedback mechanism. In particular, multimedia projects involving direct user interaction can be enhanced to better attract and maintain the attention of viewers. Specific information on how to invoke and use DECface can be found in the documents located in: /usr/opt/DTKRT420/decface/docs or by typing: man DECface. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Emacspeak Emacspeak uses text-to-speech extensively to provide emacs with access for the visually impaired. Emacspeak is context sensitive emacs extension that intelligently reads the contents of the screen rather than just scanning the screen and literally reading characters off the screen. Information on how to use emacspeak is provided in the documents located in the directory: /usr/opt/DTKRT420/emacspeak/docs or by typing: man emacspeak --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] DECtalk Software: How are the Components Used? DECtalk Software applications and application-building components are targeted at two specific audiences: the application builder and the application user. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] By the Programmer As a DECtalk Software developer, you can use the DECtalk Software API calls to create a DECtalk Software application. The DECtalk Software API is made avilable in a separate product, the DECtalk Software Development kit. Click here for Picture --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] By the Application User The DECtalk application user accesses the application through the Motif windows environment or at the Digital UNIX command line. DECtalk Software also provides a CDE integration subset that can be installed on systems that support CDE. DECtalk Software provides several methods of control. The user can use the abbreviated command set provided with the application to control basic operations, such as, the speaking rate or the speaking voice. The user can also use the user dictionary to fine-tune the application's basic pronunciation and voice characteristics. Finally, the user can also embed in-line commands into text files to control DECtalk operations. Refer to the specific sections for more information on which method to use. Click here for Picture --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] How DECtalk Software Works DECtalk Software converts ASCII English language text into speech output through a speech synthesizer. There are two ways to feed text into the speech synthesizer: through the user interface or through the API. The flow of the text-to-speech process is explained below. Figure: Flow of the DECtalk Software Text-to-Speech Conversion Process Legend for Figure: Action of the DECtalk Software Module 1. A sentence parser breaks the input stream into separate words and locates some clause boundaries (indicated by commas and other punctuation marks as well as by special words loaded in the DECtalk Software internal dictionary). The sentence parser also recognizes and deals with phonemic symbols and commands that you might have added to the input text. 2. A word parser breaks words into their component parts, dividing words by their final pronounceable form. Strings of text that do not form pronounceable English words are spelled out letter by letter. A number formatter is used if the text contains numerals. The number formatter applies the rules for many common number formats and converts the numbers into English words. The number formatter also recognizes many common abbreviations, such as lb for pound. 3. A dictionary lookup routine searches the pronunciation dictionaries. DECtalk Software has a built-in dictionary of many commonly used words. DECtalk Software also has a user dictionary that can be filled with words specific to an application. This dictionary and how to load it are described in Chapter 3. While this version of DECtalk Software has greater pronunciation accuracy than its predecessors, it may sometimes be necessary to send DECtalk Software the correct phonemics for words important for a particular application. This can be done by using the user dictionary. 4. A phrase structure module recombines all phonemic output from the dictionary search and other modules. Durations of phonemes and pitch commands are computed for the clause, and appropriate sound variants are selected for those phonemes that can be pronounced in more than one way. 5. A letter-to-sound module uses a set of English pronunciation rules to assign phonemic form and lexical stress patterns to words not found in the dictionary. 6. The phoneme-to-voice module processes clauses passed from the phrase structure module and converts them to control signals for the speech synthesizer. This module modifies the clauses by changing the phonemes/allophones into parameters that determine the natural resonant frequencies of the vocal tract (formats), and sound source amplitudes. The control parameters are sent to the speech synthesizer for output. 7. The Digital speech synthesizer computes a speech wave form with acoustic characteristics that are determined by the synthesizer control commands received. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Chapter 3: Getting Started [Image] This chapter provides an introduction to basic voice and program control operations. It gives you step-by-step instructions on how to perform each operation. Basic operations are explained from the perspective of the application user. That approach gives you a feel for using DECtalk Software whether you are using the sample program or inserting commands on the Digital UNIX command line. Topics include: + Running speak + Step-By-Step Instructions + Additional Syntax Rules + Changing Voice Selections + Editing a Text File and Changing the Speaking Rate + Overview of the User Dictionary Build Tool + Building a User Dictionary + Running mailtalk + Mailtalk.ini File --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Running speak The speak program can be started at the Digital UNIX command line or from an icon in the CDE Multimedia Program Group. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Step-By-Step Instructions Starting speak (See Figure 3-1 - Starting the Speak Application ) Task/Location Action Result Starting speak from the Digital UNIX Command Line Digital UNIX 1. Enter: % speak The speak application is command line launched. (2)Speak program Starting speak from the CDE Multimedia Program Group CDE Multimedia 1. Double click on the The speak application is Program Group speak icon. (1) launched. (2) Opening a Text File for the speak application to speak speak window (2) 1. Pull down the File The Open File dialog box is menu and select Open (3) displayed. (4) Open File 2. Select the file you The file is displayed in the dialog box want DECtalk Software sample program window. (5) to speak. Play button (6) 3. Click on the play DECtalk Software starts button. speaking the file. Pause and stop 4. Click on the Pause DECtalk Software pauses or buttons (7) (8) and Stop buttons. stops the speaking session. Figure 3-1 - Starting the Speak Application Click here for Picture Inserting Voice-Control Commands (Syntax Rules) Before you can use DECtalk Software commands to modify speech output, you need to know the proper syntax with which to include those commands into a text file. Figure 3-2 illustrates the rules of DECtalk Software command syntax. Figure 1-2 -- Rules for Voice-Control Command Syntax Click here for Picture Legend Enclose every command in brackets. Begin every command with a colon. Separate each command and its parameter or parameters from the text by a valid word boundary marker, such as a space, tab, or carriage return. A space is used here. You can include several commands within the same brackets. Include several parameters within the same brackets if the command allows more than one parameter. If you use several parameters, enter each command's parameters before you enter a second command in the same bracket. (In this example, the parameter group modifies the [:dv] command.) If you give two conflicting parameters or commands Rhythm:control ofSyllabic stress:control ofDECtalk Software uses the last command in the sequence. (In this example, Rhythm:control ofSyllabic stress:control ofDECtalk Software uses Paul's voice.) You can use phonemic symbols within the same brackets with voice commands. In this example, the phonetic spelling of word really (r"iyliy) is included. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Additional Syntax Rules If the value in a [:dv] command is too low, DECtalk Software uses the minimum valid value. If the value is too high, it uses the maximum valid value. Once you enter a command, that command applies to the remaining text until it is overridden by another command. For example, the command [:nk] invokes Kit's voice on all entered text until you enter another voice-selection command. Invalid commands are ignored. By setting the [:error speak] command, you can receive an audible warning that an invalid command has been entered. DECtalk Software interprets text between brackets as phonemes only after the [:phoneme arpabet speak on] command has been sent to the application. If [:phoneme arpabet speak on] has not been sent DECtalk Software interprets the brackets and characters between them literally. The [:phoneme arpabet speak off] command must be sent with literal characters if you want to insert brackets in normal text. If the command [:phoneme arpabet speak on] is set and you forget the right bracket ( ] ), DECtalk Software attempts to interpret all text following the ASCII text as phonemes, skipping over illegal letter combinations. The resulting text sounds garbled. Enter a right bracket to fix this problem. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Changing Voice Selections You can change a speaking voice by inserting DECtalk Software commands into the text-collection area displayed in the speak applet window or by selecting text and then clicking on one of the nine picture buttons at the top of the speak window. Voice changes made with commands are permanent for the session and remain intact as along as the command remains in the file. Voice changes made from the menu only remain in effect as long as the current DECtalk Software session is running. Each voice selection is inserted into the command [:n x] where x is a value representing one of the voices. Table 3-2 -- Changing Voices, lists the names and their corresponding values. You can change voices with a new voice command as in the following example. [:nb] Hello. I'm Betty. You can also change voices in the middle of a sentence. [:np] This is a demo [:nb] of a sudden change in voice. If a voice-change request occurs in the middle of a sentence, DECtalk Software automatically pauses. The pause is the equivalent of inserting a comma, or about half a second. [:np] This is a demo, [:nb] of a sudden change in voice. Table 3-1 -- DECtalk Voices and Their Associated Values Name Value Name Value Paul P Betty B Harry H Ursula U Frank F Wendy W Dennis D Rita R Kit K Figure 3-2 -- Changing DECtalk Software Voices Click here for Picture Table 3-2 -- Changing Voices (See Figure 3-2 -- Changing DECtalk Software Voices) Task/Location Action Result Using the Picture IconsVoice selections:changing from the Sample applet Speak applet 1. Click on the window (1) picture of the desired speaking voice (each of the picture buttons represents one of the nine DECtalk voices). (2) 2. Press the start The entire file or selected button. (3) section is spoken. Using Voice-Control CommandsVoice-control commands:inserting in the Sample applet Speak applet 1. Insert Rhythm:control ofSyllabic window (1) voice-definition stress:control ofDECtalk commands in the text Software changes the speaking at the points where voice at the point where you you want a new voice insert commands. to take effect. (4) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Editing a Text File and Changing the Speaking Rate DECtalk Software lets you edit text -- select, cut, paste, append other text files -- that is displayed in the speak applet window and then play segments or all of the edited text. You can also increase and decrease the rate at which DECtalk Software speaks a file or a section of a file. Figure 3-3 -- Editing a Text File and Changing the Speaking Rate Click here for Picture Table 3-3 -- Editing the Input Text File and Changing the Speaking Rate Task/Location Action Result To Edit the file and play selected segmentsText file:editing from within the Speak appletEditing:step-by-step Speak applet 1. Select the range of Window (1) text you want to edit. To play the selected range, click on the right mouse (MB2 or 3) button. (2) 2. Use cut, copy, paste, Rhythm:control delete, and insert ofSyllabic stress:control selections from the Edit ofDECtalk Software speaks pull-down menu to the edited file in the manipulate the selected new, edited format. text. (3) For example, select a single sentence for Rhythm:control ofSyllabic stress:control ofDECtalk Software to speak. Click on the Start button. (4) To change the output rateRate:changing from within the Speak applet Speak applet 1. Use the mouse to The speed at which window as position the pointer on Rhythm:control ofSyllabic Rhythm:control the rate slider bar. Press stress:control ofDECtalk ofSyllabic the left mouse (MB1) Software speaks the file stress:control button and drag the slider changes. It increases if ofDECtalk to the left and wait for you drag to the right and Software is the speaking voice change decreases if you drag to speaking a file to occur. Then drag the the left. The rate in slider to the right. (5) words per minute is displayed to the right of the slider bar. Changes in the speaking rate occur only on a clause boundary, after all the previously queued audio has played. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Overview of the User Dictionary Build Tool The User Dictionary Build Tool creates a loadable dictionary file (.dic) from a list of words and their corresponding pronunciations. The dictionary is loaded with a call to the TextToSpeechLoadUserDictionary() function or from the File menu in the Speak Program applet. The Translate command is new for DECtalk version 4.2A. Use it to create phonemic translations of words or phrases. Figure 3-4 -- Components of the User Dictionary Build Tool Click here for Picture Legend (1) Text-collection Area Enter word-pronunciation pairs in the text window. Word-pronunciation pairs are words that are not predefined or not pronounced as desired in the Rhythm:control ofSyllabic stress:control ofDECtalk Software user dictionary. (2) File pull-down menu Open... A pop-up dialog box that opens up a dictionary definition file (*.tab). Save... A pop-up dialog box that saves the file and calls the compiler to create a dictionary file (*.dic). Save as... A pop-up dialog box that lets the user rename the file. This also calls the compiler to create a dictionary file (*.dic). Compile Compiles the current file to a .dic file with the same name. Exit Exits the program and, if the entries in the Text Window have been modified, it pops up the Save dialog box. (3) Edit pull-down menu Undo Undo the previous command. Cut Cut the selected region. Copy Copy the selected region. Paste Paste the selected region. Delete Delete the selected region. Select All Select all of the word-pronunciation pairs from the text-collection area. Find... A pop-up dialog box that prompts you to search for selected text. (4) Translate Menu Translates selected text into phonemic spelling. (5) Pronounce Word, Next, and Previous buttons When these buttons are pressed, all the phonetic pronunciations that are listed in the text-collection area are spoken. If a range of word-pronunciation pairs is selected, then only the phonetic pronunciation for the corresponding words is pronounced. If only one word is selected, then the Pronounce Word, Next, and Previous buttons force Rhythm:control ofSyllabic stress:control ofDECtalk Software to pronounce the highlighted selection. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Building a User Dictionary Building a user dictionary is a two-step process. First you create a .tab source file with the User Dictionary Build Tool to define the pronunciation of special words you want to place in the dictionary. Then you compile the .tab file to produce a .dic file. This file is loaded into a DECtalk Software session through the Speak applet or an API call. Figure 3-5 -- Building a User Dictionary Click here for Picture Table 1-5 -- Building a User Dictionary (See Figure 3-6 -- Building a User Dictionary) Task/Location Action Result Multimedia 1. Double click on the The Rhythm:control program group User Dictionary icon ofSyllabic stress:control (windict). ofDECtalk Software Help Builder window is displayed. (2) To Open an Existing Dictionary File File 1. Select Open to open a The Open File Selection pull-down new or existing dialog box is displayed. (4) menu (3) dictionary file. 2. Select the dictionary The file is loaded in the file you want to load and user dictionary window. click on OK. To Create a New Dictionary User 1. Enter word-pronunciation pairs for words that are Dictionary not predefined or not pronounced as desired in the window (1) Rhythm:control ofSyllabic stress:control ofDECtalk Software user dictionary. A word-pronunciation pair is written in the following format with the pronunciation enclosed in brackets. Note, that each word-pronunciation pair must be on a separate line in the dictionary. word [pronunciation] As an example, define the word soda to be equivalent to pop; define water to be pronounced with a New England accent; and take into account the dialectic regional preferences so that the word sub is called a hero. Use the following pronunciation pairs: soda [p'aap] water [w'aotrr] subs [hx'iyrow] Use the Translate command menu to translate desired words into a proper phonemic spelling (5) Refer to Appendix C or Rhythm:control ofSyllabic stress:control ofDECtalk Software online help (the Advanced Topic Index) for a complete list of phonemic, stress, and syntactic symbols. Refer to Chapter 4 for more on modifying and enhancing pronunciation. To save the Dictionary .tab File File 1. Select Save or Save The Save dialog box is pull-down as... to save the .tab displayed (not shown here). menu (3) file. Save as 2. Name the file in which You are prompted if you dialog box you want the dictionary want to save the file with session saved. Click on a dialog box. (6) OK. To compile the Dictionary (You must save before you compile) File 1. Select Compile to The dictionary session is pull-down compile the current saved and compiled to a menu (3) session. Click on OK. .dic file. The Compile dialog box confirms the compile. (7) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Running mailtalk The mailtalk program applet is included with DECtalk Software and announces the arrival of mail messages as they are delivered to your system. Depending on the options you select, mailtalk announces the sender of the message, its subject, or both. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Mailtalk.ini File The installation procedure places the default mailtalk.ini file in the directory /usr/lib/dtk/. The .ini file contains the boilerplate text that is spoken by mailtalk. You may modify this and place it in your login directory. mailtalk first looks in your login directory for a mailtalk.ini file; if it does not find one then it uses the default mailtalk.ini file in /usr/lib/dtk/. Standard DECtalk Software voice-control commands can be embedded in the text strings to control attributes, such as speaking voice and speaking speed. See Chapter 4 for information about DECtalk Software in-line commands. The maximum length of any string is 256 characters. Characters beyond 256 are truncated. The format for the ini file is as follows: [mailtalk] INCOMING = You have just received a mail message UNREAD = You have unread mail messages FROM = from SUBJECT = In regards to INIT = [:np :ra 180] Upon receving an incomming mail message mailtalk will first speak out the INCOMING mesage, in this case it will say - "You have just received a mail message". mailtalk will then announce the FROM and finally the SUBJECT fields. The DECtalk Software in-line commands in INIT set up the mailtalk, in this case, to use Paul's voice at a rate of 180 words per minute. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface [Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Chapter 4: Advanced Voice Control Topics [Image] This chapter provides an in-depth look at controlling voice characteristics within a DECtalk Software text file or application. Topics include: * Using advanced voice modification commands * Text-tuning example * Developing an advanced speech application. DECtalk Software provides several advanced methods of controlling speech output in addition to changing the speaking voices and rearranging the text file format and speaking sequence as dscussed in the previous chapter. These include: * Changing rhythm, stress, and intonation with symbols * Increasing or decreasing the speaking rate with the Rate Selection command [:ra _] * Controlling speech-pause durations with the Comma Pause [:cp _] and Period Pause durations [:pp _] commands --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Changing Rhythm, Stress, and Intonation DECtalk Software uses stress and syntactic symbols to control aspects of rhythm, stress, and intonation patterns within a spoken text file. These symbols include punctuation marks such as commas, periods, and open and close parentheses. Punctuation marks are recognized by DECtalk Software as indicating special phrasing requirements. Table 4-1 and Table 4-2 list these symbols. Table 4-1 -- Stress Symbols Symbol Name Indicates [ ' ] apostrophe primary stress [ ` ] grave accent secondary stress [ " ] quotation mark emphatic stress [ / ] slash pitch rise [ \ ] backslash pitch fall [ / \ ] slash and pitch rise and fall backslash Table 4-2 -- Syntactic Symbols Symbol Name Indicates [ - ] hyphen syllable boundary [ * ] asterisk morpheme boundary [ # ] number sign compound noun [ ) ] close parenthesis beginning of verb phrase [ , ] comma clause boundaryClause boundary: defining symbol [ . ] period end of sentence [ ? ] question mark end of question [ ! ] exclamation point end of exclamation [ + ] plus sign new paragraph --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Speaking Rate The default speaking rate is 180 words per minute. DECtalk Software speaking rates now range from 75 to 600 WPM. Speaking rates can beadjusted to be very slow, very fast, or anywhere in between by using the following commands: Valid speaking rates are between 75 and 600 in the [:ra ] command. Rates specified outside this range are limited to the nearest legal value. [:ra 120] Although the slowest possible rate is 75 wpm, 120 wpm is ideal for situations where material such as a phone number has to be copied down by a listener. Note that it might be frustrating to listen to extended speech at slow rates unless the listener is actually copying down each numeral. [:ra 160] This rate is moderate [160 wpm]. It sounds a little slow, but is sometimes preferred in certain examples. For example, when DECtalk Software is speaking math equations or long lists of acronyms. [:ra 180] This rate is the default rate for DECtalk Software (180 wpm). It is ideal for listening to continuous text under optimal conditions. [:ra 240] This rate is faster, (240 wpm). Practiced listeners might prefer to skim material at this rate. Inexperienced listeners might not understand every word at this rate. [:ra 350] This rate is very fast, (350 wpm). In fact, it is too fast to follow, but it does have applications in special circumstances where an individual needs to scan sections of text quickly. [:ra 550] This rate is the fastest usable rate. It is too fast for many people to follow, but it does have applications for individuals who want to scan text very quickly. Changes in the speaking rate influence the duration and the number of pauses in text, as well as the duration of individual phonemes. At rates below 140 wpm, DECtalk Software inserts pauses at all phrase boundaries and pauses, and inserts phonemes near the ends of phrases. At rates faster than 240 wpm, DECtalk Software deletes all pauses and shortens phonemes. (Near the beginning of phrases, phonemes are fairly short at both slow and fast speaking rates.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Adjusting Period and Comma Pause Durations At the default speaking rate (180 wpm), DECtalk Software pauses about half a second after a period in the text and about a sixth of a second after a comma. However, pause durations are adjusted automatically when you change the speaking rate. In some situations, you might prefer a pause after a period without changing the speaking rate. For example, to get DECtalk Software to read a list of words at a normal rate with five-second pauses after each word (to allow the listener to write them down), you can use one of the following commands and end each word with a comma or a period: [:pp 4500] Adds a period pause of 4500 ms (4.5 seconds) to the standard half-second pause that occurs after a period in text. The total pause between words is about five seconds. The accepted range for a period pause is from -380 to 30000 ms. A negative value shortens the standard period pause. [:cp 4800] Adds a comma pause of 4800 ms (4.8 seconds) to the standard sixth of a second pause that occurs after a comma in the text at normal speaking rate. The total pause between words separated by a comma is about five seconds. The accepted range for a comma pause is from -40 to 30000 ms. Values specified outside this range are limited to the nearest legal value. [:pp 0 :cp 0] Resets the period pause and comma pause to their normal default values. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Text-Tuning Example Even though DECtalk Software allows for natural text-to-speech synthesis, the quality of speech can often be enhanced by giving it a more natural flow. Much of this tuning involves the strategic placement of commas and periods, which tell the application to pause, as a native speaker of English does when speaking. The spoken language and written text are different as spoken text generally does not contain information about pausing. The text that follows is presented twice, the first time as originally written, and the second time after phonemic and textual fixes were applied. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Original Version [:np] A California Shaggy Bear Tale for Seven DECtalk Software Voices by Dennis Klatt [:np] Once upon a time, there were three bears. They lived in the great forest, and tried to adjust to modern times [:nh] I'm papa bear. I love my family but I love honey best. [:nb] I'm mama bear. Being a mama bear is a drag. [:nk] I'm baby bear and I have trouble relating to all of the demands of older bears. [:np] One day, the three bears left their condominium to search for honey. While they were gone, a beautiful young lady snuck into the bedroom through an open window. [:nw] My name is Wendy. My purpose in entering this building should be clear. I am planning to steal the family jewels. [:np] Hot on her trail was the famous police detective, Frank. [:nf] Have you seen a lady carrying a laundry bag over her shoulder? [:np] A woman kneeling with her left ear firmly placed against a large rock responded. [:nu] No. No one passed this way. I've been listening for earthquakes all morning, but have only spotted three bears searching for honey. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Revised Version In this section, text from the original example has been enhanced with DECtalk Software embedded commands. [:np] Add periods to add brief pauses after the title and author. A California Shaggy Bear Tale for Seven DECtalk Software Voices. By Dennis Klatt. [:np] Once upon a time, there were three bears. They lived in the great forest and tried to adjust to modern times. Add commas to increase pause length and quotation marks for emphatic stress. [:nh] I'm papa bear. I love my family, but I love ["]honey best. [:nb] I'm mama bear. Being a mama bear is a drag. [:nk] I'm baby bear and I have trouble relating to all of the demands of older bears. [:np] One day, the three bears left their condominium to search for honey. While they were gone, a beautiful young lady snuck into the bedroom through an open window. [:nw] My name is Wendy. My purpose in entering this building should be clear. I am planning to steal the family jewels. Use a new paragraph symbol [+] to begin a new paragraph. [:np] [+] Hot on her trail was the famous police detective, Frank. [:nf] Have you seen a lady carrying a laundry bag over her shoulder? Add commas to increase pause length and phrasing. [:np] A woman, kneeling with her left ear firmly placed against a large rock, responded. Use pitch rise and fall symbols [/ \] and emphatic stress symbols [ ' ] to add pitch control and emphatic stress. [:nu] ["]No. No [/]one passed this [/ \]way. I've been listening for"["]earthquakes all morning, but have only spotted three bears searching for honey. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Developing an Advanced Speech Application The development process described in this guide assumes that your application has full control of the text being spoken. However, if you are developing an application that reads arbitrary text (such as electronic mail messages), your task is more difficult because almost anything can appear in the text. You can put application-specific text filters in the controlling computer, rather than add many additional special cases (and switches to enable and disable them) to DECtalk Software. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Developing an Electronic Mail-Reading Application You can write an electronic mail preprocessor to make the following text conversions before sending the text to DECtalk Software: * Parse the header boiler plate to remove extraneous information. * Add the new paragraph symbol [+] to each blank line between paragraphs if DECtalk Software is speaking paragraphs of text. * Create your own application-specific dictionary for words, such as proper names, that DECtalk Software mispronounces. If DECtalk Software is connected to a database containing names, consider adding a pronunciation field to the name record or entering phonemic text when appropriate. (DECtalk Software can handle many proper names and addresses using the [:pronounce name] or [:mode name ] commands.) * Scan the text for strings of numbers in a format understandable to your application but not to DECtalk Software. For example, if you can extract the time format from an electronic mail message, you can add code to your application to expand it to its "o'clock" form. * In many applications, the listener might want to write down number strings (such as prices or telephone numbers). Your application can scan the text for strings of numbers and, when found, send them to DECtalk Software in such a way that includes pauses at critical locations. For example: The number is, 1 (800) 5 5 5, 1 2 3 4. [:ra 120] That is, [_<300>] 1 (800), [_<500>] 5 5 5, [_<900>] 1 2 3 4. [:ra 180]. The spaces between the numbers ensure that "five five five" is spoken rather than "five hundred fifty five." (You can also use the [:mode spell on] command. The slower speaking rate, [:ra 120], and the silence phonemes, [_<300>], [_<500>], [_<900>], of specified durations, were carefully selected to allow enough time for the listener to write down the entire number. Silence phonemes were positioned after the commas (that is, [_<300>] 1 (800), [_<500>]), to maintain appropriate intonation. As another example, if your application is required to speak sums of money (such as bank balances or item costs), you might code the text to say: Your balance is $244.05. That is, 2 4 4, [_<400>] point 0 5, [_<400>] dollars. When spelling an item out, your application might need to distinguish the case of letters. Consider using different voices to distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters. For example: [:nf]Maynard [:nf]M[:nb]a y n a r d [:nf]Maynard. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Optimizing the Quality of Spoken Text In some applications, it might be important to get a few sentences to sound natural and pleasing to the listener because they hear them more often. Therefore, you might want to improve the quality of a particular sentence. The following steps are suggested: 1. Send the sentence to DECtalk Software and listen to it a number of times, focusing on each word to detect any mispronunciations. 2. Change text to phonemic text for all mispronounced words. Note For words that have two pronunciations (homographs), see online help or Appendix B. DECtalk Software can choose the correct pronunciation by itself. For example, if you enter the following sentences: He produced a lot of REFUSE. He REFUSEd the produce. He INSERTS 5 INSERTS per minute. He DELIBERATEd DELIBERATEly for a long time. You can see how some of these words could be pronounced incorrectly. You can correct such mispronunciation by doing one of the following: Replace the correct spelling of the word with a clever misspelling. I red yesterday that . . . Spell the word phonetically I [r'ehd] yesterday that . . . Additionally, use the following steps to optimize spoken text. 1. If the word is a compound, use a hyphenated spelling to help DECtalk Software see the two parts of the compound. The slide-show host . . . 2. Replace the text version by a phonemic string. Use the commands and phonemic symbols, but make sure to place the lexical stress pattern correctly. Note Sometimes, a word does not sound quite right even when the best phonemic representation is selected. Usually, such subtle pronunciation defects are not correctable. 3. Now that each word has been pronounced in the best possible way, listen to the total sentence rhythm and accent pattern. If it is not right, follow these steps. (a) If it sounds like there should be a short pause in a particular sentence location, but DECtalk Software says the sentence without a pause, insert a comma between the words in question. (b) If the wrong word is emphasized in the sentence, emphasize the word that is suppose to take the emphasis with the correct stress symbols . The ["] younger man is the trouble-maker, not the older one. (c) Use the pitch control symbols slash [/], backslash [\], and slash and backslash [/ \] to make final adjustments. (d) If none of these actions gives you a satisfactory sentence, you can still specify duration and fundamental frequency motions for all phonemes with the voice-control commands discussed fully in Chapter 5. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Avoiding Common Errors When using DECtalk Software, try to avoid making two common errors by doing the following: * When making voice-selection changes, always return to the default voice you have chosen. If you forget to return DECtalk Software to the default voice after using one of the other voices, all future text uses the currently selected voice. * Enter a right bracket ( ] ) at the beginning of your text. If the [:phoneme arpabet speak] command is entered allowing phonemic input, it is possible for DECtalk Software to enter phonemic mode unintentionally if the text being spoken contains an unexpected left bracket ( [ ), or if you forget to enter a right ( ] ) bracket after a phonemic entry. DECtalk Software is left in a state where it will interpret all remaining text phonemically. For example: ] [:phone on] [:ra 220 [:nh] Ladies and Gentlemen ^ (right bracket ( ] ) is missing --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface[Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Appendix A: DECtalk Software Voice Control Commands [Image] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Voice-Control Commands: Overview DECtalk Software includes voice-control commands, also called inline commands. You can use these commands to perform simple voice-control operations, such as changing the speaking rate or speaking voice while DECtalk Software is speaking. Commands are inserted into ASCII text files displayed in one of the program applets or directly into the application sources through the API functions. DECtalk Software also has a more complex set of voice-control commands to modify the characteristics of each voice, control intonation and stress within written text, or to create special effects, such as singing. Commands have special syntax rules and components that you need to use when you insert them into files. Commands are synchronous unless otherwise stated. Also, when you use several commands together, they might interact with each other and affect the output. If incorrect syntax is used in a command, the right bracket ( ] ) is ignored as it might be considered part of the illegal string. To fix this situation, insert an extra right bracket ( ] ) in the command and set the [:error] command on. Table A-1 DECtalk Software Voice-Control Commands Command Function Play Wave Files Plays wave files embedded in text strings ToneTone Creates tones of a specified length and frequency Dial Tones Dial telephone numbers Comma Pause Inserts a comma pause into spoken text. Error Sets the error mode for a module. Index Mark Inserts marks, which are recognized by the application, into text. Log Sets logging modes for the module. Mode Allows uppercases words to be interpreted for special use. Pause Pauses the audio output of the module. Period Pause Inserts a pause equivalent to a period in a sentence into spoken text. Phoneme Interpretation Allows everything within brackets to be interpreted as phonemic text. Pronounce Alternate Speaks alternate pronunication of a word Pronounce Name Pronounces words as proper names. Punctuation Turns punctuation on and off. Rate Selection Selects speed at which text is spoken Resume Resumes speech after a pause. Say Mode Allows DECtalk to speak words before they are queued. Synchronization Synchronizes activity between and DECtalk and an application program Voice Selection Selects the voice. Volume Sets the volume. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Comma Pause This command increases or decreases the length of the comma pause. Comma pause can be increased and decreased. [:cp 0] resets the comma pause to its default state (approximately 160 ms). Comma pauses can be increased to 30,000 ms and decreased to -40 ms. All values outside legal range default to the nearest legal values. SYNTAX [:comma DDD] or [:cp DDD] OPTIONS None PARAMETERS Pause time in milliseconds DEFAULT 160 ms EXAMPLES [:comma 250] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Error This command sets the error mode for the module. This command is useful for debugging an application. SYNTAX [:error XX YY] OPTIONS ignore Ignore all errors. speak Speak error string in current command. tone Generate tone if error. PARAMETERS on Absolute mode off Enable mode set Disable Mode DEFAULT off EXAMPLES [:error ignore on] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Index Mark Index marks are used to report the progress of the text as it is spoken. Index marks are position markers; they do not modify heuristics or word pronunciations in any way. The index mark sequence inserts a flag into the text stream. When DECtalk encounters an [:index mark 01] command, a message is sent to the user's callback function corresponding to the callback function passed in the TextToSpeechStartup() function. The LPARAM field of the message contains the index value. The index mark value can be any number between 00 and 99. If a callback function is not specified in the TextToSpeechStartup() call, index marks in the text are ignored. SYNTAX [:index mark DD] OPTIONS None PARAMETERS Value = DD DEFAULT None EXAMPLES [:index mark 01] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Log The in-line log command is used to log either text, phonemes, at a time. This command will not open a file if any other Text-To-Speech file is open or if the system is in speech-to-memory mode. In these cases, the in-line [:log XX on] command will be discarded and the in-line [:log XX off] command will cause an error. Example; [:log phonemes on] The phonemes for this sentence will be stored in a file named log.txt [:log phoneme off] SYNTAX [:log xx yy] OPTIONS text Log all text except escape sequences (Earlier versions of DECtalk Software used escape sequences for control). syllable Log converted syllables. s phonemes Log converted phonemic text. PARAMETERS on (Absolute mode) off (Enable mode) set (Disable Mode) DEFAULT off EXAMPLES [:log text on] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Mode This command changes the mode for all text processed after the mark. It remains until to the end of the file is reached or until the next mode command is encountered. SYNTAX [:mode XX YY] OPTIONS Description math Change interpretation of selected symbols europe Select European cardinal pronunciation spell Spell all words name Pronounce all uppercase verbs as proper nouns see also [:pronounce name]) homograph Reserved for future use PARAMETERS on Absolute mode off Enable mode set Disable Mode DEFAULT off EXAMPLES [:mode spell on] Europe Mode Example When mode is set to Europe, a comma (,) is the separator between the integer and fraction part of a number. A period (.) is the separator between three- digit blocks. 1.255 (United States) = 1,255 (Europe) 125,873 (United States) = 125.873 (Europe) Math Mode Example Math takes special symbols and characters and pronounces them with mathematical meanings. Specifically, the following characters are treated differently: Symbol Name DECtalk Software Says... + plus plus (no change from normal speech) - hyphen minus * asterisk multiplied by / slash divided by ^ circumfl to the power of ex < less less than than > greater greater than than = equal equals sign % percent percent sign . period decimal point xxE-xx (spelled (scientific notation) ) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Mode Name Example Mode name allows uppercase words that occur in non sentence initial position to be interpreted as special cases and pronounced as names. Note Do not enable [:mode name] except when pronouncing lists of names. Mode Name interprets any uppercase word as a name. When finished, make sure that this mode is set to OFF. For the occasional use of this utility, use the [:pronounce name] command. Mode commands are asynchronous. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Pause This command pauses the audio output. Any pending but unspoken text is retained, including index marks that might have been sent by the application. All text that occurs after the pause is not processed until the pause time is exceeded. Unlike previous versions of DECtalk hardware products, the in-line pause command is a synchronous command. This means that all text which occurs after the pause is not processed until the pause time is exceeded. SYNTAX [:pause DDD] OPTIONS None PARAMETERS Pause time in milliseconds; 0 = forever DEFAULT None EXAMPLES [:pause 1000] Pause for one second. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Period Pause The length of the period pause can be increased and decreased with the Period Pause command. This command [:pp 0] resets the period pause to its default state (approximately 640 ms). Period pauses can be increased to 30,000 ms and decreased by -380 ms. All values outside the legal range default to the nearest legal values. SYNTAX [:period DDD] or [:pp 0] OPTIONS None PARAMETERS Pause time in milliseconds DEFAULT 640 ms EXAMPLES [:period 250] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Phoneme Interpretation When set, this command allows everything within brackets to be interpreted as phonemic text. When phonemicizing text, simply put legal phoneme strings in brackets. This allows for the preferred pronunciation of a word or phrase. This command is extremely important because it sets the left bracket ( [ ) and right bracket ( ] ) characters as phoneme delimiters. When this command is set, all text and characters that appear between brackets is interpreted as phonemic text and is pronounced as such. This is useful when you do not want to turn this command on but want to have something read phonetically. For example, to say the word associate, simply embed the phonemic string [axs'owshiyeyt] in the text string. SYNTAX [:phoneme XX YY] or [:phoneme on] or [:phoneme arpabet on] OPTIONS ASCI Reserved for future use. arpabet Set phonetic interpretation to arpabet alphabet. speak Speak encountered phonemes. silent Do not speak encountered phonemes. PARAMETERS on Set phoneme interpretation on off Set phoneme interpretation off DEFAULT off EXAMPLES [:phoneme arpabet speak on] Note Make sure that you use a right bracket after entering phonetic text when this command is set. If you do not, any normal text appearing after the right bracket will sound garbled. One right bracket is sufficient to close phonemic mode. It is sometimes useful to begin a text file with a right bracket (]) to ensure that text is not interpreted phonetically. Also, the command sequence consisting of a left bracket followed by a colon ([:) is always interpreted as the beginning of a voice command. Default for phoneme mode is Off, and it must be turned On by a special command.[:phoneme on] is an abbreviated version of the [:phoneme arpabet speak on] command. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Pronounce Alternate This command pronounces the alternate pronunciation for the word immediately following it. Use a [:pron alt] to obtain an alternative pronunciation for a word listed in the Homograph table in Chapter 6. For example, the primary pronunciation of the word wind is w'ihnd, as in 'the wind is blowing'. The secondary pronunciation, denoted by [:pron alt] wind, is w'aynd, as in 'wind up the top'. SYNTAX [:pron alt] OPTIONS None PARAMETERS None DEFAULT Off EXAMPLES He played [:pron alt] bass in the band. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Pronounce Name This command pronounces the word immediately following it as a proper name. First names, last names, street names, and place names are all examples of proper names. This command can be used when DECtalk Software mispronounces a proper noun. Note This command must be used each time a new name is encountered but is also useful when the location of a name field is known. SYNTAX [:pron name] OPTIONS None PARAMETERS None DEFAULT Off EXAMPLES Terry [:pron name] Aresenault --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Resume Unlike previous versions of DECtalk hardware products the resume command is a synchronous command. Thus the Resume command will not restart the system after an in-line pause command. The in-line resume command may be used if the computer is not fast enough to run real time and the amount of text is not greater than approximately 256 characters. In this case the system would be paused by the TextToSpeechPause() function before queuing text by the TextToSpeechSpeak() function and the in-line resume command would be placed at the end of the text message. If the text is too long then the in-line resume command may never be processed. Code Example: TextToSpeechPause( phTTS ) /* Pause the system */ TextToSpeechSpeak( phTTS, "This is a slow computer. [:resume]", TTS_FORCE ); SYNTAX [:resume] OPTIONS None PARAMETERS None DEFAULT N/A EXAMPLES [:resume] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Say Mode In DECtalk each clause, word, or letter is spoken as it is queued. In word and letter mode, DECtalk does not need to wait for a clause terminator to begin speaking. This command interacts with the rate selection command so that you can set both rate selection and speak word or rate selection and letter mode for the optimal output. Word mode is similar to letter mode except text is spoken a word at a time. A space after a character or string of characters causes that string to be spoken. This mode interacts with the rate selection command so you can increase or decrease the rate at which letters or words are spoken. In clause mode, speaking starts when DECtalk is sent a clause terminator (period, comma, exclamation point, or question mark) followed by a space. There is no time-out limit. This is the normal mode where text is spoken a phrase, clause, or sentence at a time. Clause mode is the default. SYNTAX [:say XX] OPTIONS put a table bozo clause Speak on end of clause. word Speak on end of word. letter Speak on end of letter. line Speak on end of line. PARAMETERS None DEFAULT [:say clause] EXAMPLES [:say word] Note In [:say letter] mode, the left bracket is spoken only after the next character is entered because DECtalk needs to know if this is the beginning of a new command. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Comma Pause This command increases or decreases the length of the comma pause. Comma pause can be increased and decreased. [:cp 0] resets the comma pause to its default state (approximately 160 ms). Comma pauses can be increased to 30,000 ms and decreased to -40 ms. All values outside legal range default to the nearest legal values. SYNTAX [:comma DDD] or [:cp DDD] OPTIONS None PARAMETERS Pause time in milliseconds DEFAULT 160 ms EXAMPLES [:comma 250] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Volume DECtalk changes the audio system gain in increments from 0 to 99. Increments or decrements of 10 to 20 provide a perceptual increase or decrease in volume. The volume command is an absolute command; [volume up] and [volume down] are relative commands and increase or decrease the original value. This does not affect the volume when writing wave files or using the speech-to- memory capability. Stereo Volume Control The following monaural volume commands were supported in DECtalk Software V4.1. [:volume set XX] Set left and right channel volume to XX [:volume up XX] Raise left and right channel volume by XX [:volume down XX] Lower left and right channel volume by XX where XX is always from 0 to 99. The following stereo commands have been added to DECtalk Software 4.2. [:volume lset XX] Set left channel volume to XX [:volume lup XX] Raise left channel volume by XX [:volume ldown XX] Lower left channel volume by XX [:volume rset XX] Set right channel volume to XX [:volume rup XX] Raise right channel volume by XX [:volume rdown XX] Lower right channel volume by XX [:volume sset XX, YY] Set left channel volume to XX and right channel volume to YY. The volume commands are synchronous commands. The volume may not be raised above 99 or lowered below 0. Any attempt to do so will result in limiting to these values. SYNTAX [:volume XX DD] OPTIONS put a table hereset Sets the volume to the desired level up Increases the volume by the desired amount down Decreases the volume by the desired amount PARAMETERS Volume or delta volume EXAMPLES [:volume up 30] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Play Wave Files This command plays any wave file that is supported by your computer's audio system. The command is synchronous. This command does not work if the Text-To-Speech system is writing a wave file or writing the speech samples to memory. SYNTAX [:play ] OPTIONS none PARAMETERS A directory path and file name. DEFAULT none EXAMPLES [:play bell.wav][:play /usr/examples/noise.wav] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Tone This command generates sounds of different frequencies and lengths based on the parameters you set. This command allows you to make a wide variety of sounds for purposes such as notification or warnings. Regular tones can also be used for a number of other purposes such as indications of margin bell, etc. COMMAND [:tone FF, DD] OPTIONS None PARAMETERS Frequency: Tone frequency in Hertz Duration: Tone duration in milliseconds EXAMPLES [:tone 500,500] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image]Title Page [Image]Preface[Image] Chapter 1 [Image] Chapter 2 [Image] Chapter 3 [Image] Chapter 4 [Image] Appendix A [Image] Appendix B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Appendix B: DECtalk Software Reference Tables [Image] This chapter provides reference information for phonemic symbols, stress and syntactic symbols, singing tones, homographs, and American English phoneme codes. This information is presented in table form and includes the following. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Reference Tables Reference tables in this appendix include: 1. Phonemic Symbols 2. Stress and Syntactic Symbols 3. Tone Table 4. Homographs 5. American English Phoneme Codes --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Phonemic Symbols The table below lists the phonemic alphabet that uses, along with an example of each sound. Some dictionaries put the stress symbol after the vowel nucleus or at the start of the syllable. However, DECtalk Software requires that the stress symbol appear immediately before the vowel. Table A -- Phonemic Symbols Consonants Vowels b b et aa Bo b ch ch in ae ba t d d ebt ah bu t dh th is ao bou ght el bottle aw bou t en button ax a bout f f in ay bi te g g uess eh be t hx h ead ey ba ke jh g in ih bi t k K en ix kisses l l et iy bea t m m et ow boa t n n et oy boy nx sing rr bi rd p p et uh bo ok r r ed uw lu te s s it yu cu te sh sh in Allophones t t est dx rid er th th in lx el ectric v v est q we e at w w et rx or ation yx y et tx Lat in z z oo Silence zh az ure _(underscore) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Stress and Syntactic Symbols The tables list DECtalk Software stress and syntactic symbols and their purposes. For more information on these symbols, see Chapter 4 of the User's Guide. Table D -- Stress Symbols Symbol Name Indicates [ ' ] apostrophe Primary StressIDH_Primary_Stress [ ` ] grave accent Secondary StressIDH_Secondary_Stres s [ " ] quotation mark Emphatic StressIDH_Emphatic_Stress [ /] slash Unstressed SyllablesIDH_Unstressed_S yllables [ \ ] backslash Pitch ControlIDH_Pitch_Control [/ \] slash and Pitch rise and backslash fallIDH_Pitch_Control Table E -- Syntactic Symbols Symbol Name Indicates [ - ] hyphen Syllable BoundryIDH_Syllable_Boundar y [ * ] asterisk Morpheme BoundryIDH_Morpheme_Boundar y [ # ] number sign Compound NounsIDH_Compound_Noun [ ) ] close parenthesis Beginning of a Verb PhraseIDH_Beginning_of_Verb _Phrase [ , ] comma Clause BoundariesIDH_Clause_Bounda ry [ . ] period About PeriodIDH_Period [ ? ] question mark Question MarkIDH_Question_Mark [ ! ] exclamation point Exclamation PointIDH_Exclamation_Point [ + ] plus sign New ParagraphIDH_New_Paragraph --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] DECtalk Singing DECtalk Software can be used to sing songs or make various sounds associated with singing and musical tones. The Tone table provides the pitch numbers, associated notes, and frequencies that you need to code a phonemic sequence to produce musical sounds. The example that follows is the code for the song, "Happy Birthday." The command syntax for coding musical sequences is: [phoneme] Table F -- DECtalk Software Sample Singing Program [:phoneme on] [hxae<300,10>piy<300,10> brr<600,12>th<100>dey<600,10> tuw<600,15> yu<1200,14>_<120>] [hxae<300,10>piy<300,10> brr<600,12>th<100>dey<600,10> tuw<600,17> yu<1200,15>_<120>] [hxae<300,10>piy<300,10> brr<600,22>th<100>dey<600,19>dih<600,15>rdeh<600,14&g;ktao<600,12>k_<120>_<120>] [hxae<300,20>piy<300,20> brr<600,19>th<100>dey<600,15> tuw<600,17> yu<1200,15>] Tone Table Error! Reference source not found. can be used to sing songs or make various sounds associated with singing and musical tones. The Tone table provides the pitch numbers, associated notes, and frequencies that you need to code a phonemic sequence to produce musical sounds. The example that follows is the code for the song, "Happy Birthday." The command syntax for coding musical sequences is: [phoneme] Tone Table Pitch Note Pitch Vocal Ranges Number 1 C2 65 2 C# 69 3 D 73 4 D# 77 5 E 82 B 6 F 87 A 7 F# 92 S 8 G 98 S B 9 G# 103 A 10 A 110 R 11 A# 116 I 12 B 123 T 13 C3 130 O T 14 C# 138 N E 15 D 146 E N 16 D# 155 O 17 E 164 R 18 F 174 A 19 F# 185 L 20 G 196 T 21 G# 207 O 22 A 220 23 A# 233 24 B 247 S 25 C4 261 O 26 C# 277 P 27 D 293 R 28 D# 311 A 29 E 329 N 30 F 348 O 31 F# 370 32 G 392 33 G# 415 34 A 440 35 A# 466 36 B 494 37 C5 523 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Homographs Homographs are two or more words that have the same spelling but are pronounced differently. These are often different in terms of which syllable is accented. For example, if permit is a noun, the accent is on the first syllable (permit); if, however, the word is used as a verb, then the accent is on the second syllable (permit). This often makes a great deal of difference in understanding DECtalk when it is speaking such words in connected discourse. The default is the more frequent form. In the event the alternate pronunciation is needed, you can insert the correct phonetics from the homograph index below. Use a [:pron alt] command to obtain an alternative pronunciation for a word. For example, the primary pronunciation of the word bass is b'eys, as in bass guitar. The secondary pronunciation is denoted by [:pron alt]b'aes, as in the fish, bass. The secondary pronunciation for the word wind, is w'aynd, as in 'wind up the top'. Table G -- "A" Homograph Phonetics SPELLING PRIMARY ALTERNATE abstract 'aebstraekt aebstr'aekt abuse axby'uz axby'us addict axd'ihkt 'aedihkt advocate 'aedvaxkeyt 'aedvaxkaxt affix 'aefihks axf'ihks ally 'aelay axl'ay alternate 'aoltrrnaxt 'aoltrrneyt animate 'aenihmeyt 'aenihmaxt annex 'aenehks axn'ehks appropriate axpr'owpriyaxt axpr'owpriyeyt arithmetic axr'ihthmaxtixk aerixthm'ehtixk articulate aart'ihkyeleyt aart'ihkyelaxt associate axs'owshiyeyt axs'owshiyaxt attribute axtr'ihbyuwt 'aetrixbyuwt august 'aogaxst aog'ahst Table H -- "B" and "C" Homograph Phonetics Use a [:pron alt] command before the alternate pronunciation of the word to obtain an alternative pronunciation for a word. SPELLING PRIMARY ALTERNATE bass b'eys b'aes baton baxt'aon b'aetaxn close kl'owz kl'ows combat kaxmb'aet k'aambaet combine kaxmb'ayn k'aambayn compact kaxmp'aekt k'aampaekt complex k'aamplehks kaxmpl'ehks compound k'aampawnd kaxmp'awnd compress kaxmpr'ehs k'aamprehs concert k'aansrrt kaxns'rrt conduct kaxnd'ahkt k'aandahkt confederate kaxnf'ehdrrixtrreyt kaxnf'ehd confine kaxnf'ayn k'aanfayn conflict k'aanflihkt kaxnfl'ihkt conglomerate kaxnxgl'aamrixt kaxnxgl'aamrrey t console k'aansowl kaxns'owl construct kaxnstr'ahkt k'aanstraxkt content k'aantehnt kaxnt'ehnt contest k'aantehst kaxnt'ehst contract k'aantraekt kaxntr'aekt contrast k'aantraest kaxntr'aest converse k'aanvrrs kaxnv'rrs convert kaxnv'rrt k'aanvrrt convict kaxnv'ihkt k'aanvihkt coordinate kow'aordeneyt kow'aordixnaxt Table I --"D" - "E" -" F" -" G" Homograph Phonetics Use a [:pron alt] command before the alternate pronunciation of the word to obtain an alternative pronunciation for a word. SPELLING PRIMARY ALTERNATE decrease diykr'iys d'iykriys defect daxf'ehkt d'iyfehkt delegate d'ehlixgaxt d'ehlixg`eyt deliberate daxl'ihbrraxt daxl'ihbrreyt desert d'ehzrrt dixz'rrt desolate d'ehselixt d'ehseleyt diffuse dixf'yuws dixf'yuwz digest d'ayjhehst dayjh'ehst discharge dixsch'arjh d'ihscharjh discount d'ihskawnt dihsk'awnt dove d'owv d'ahv duplicate d'uwplixkeyt d'uwplixkaxt elaborate axl'aebrraxt axl'aebrreyt estimate 'ehstixmeyt 'ehstixmaxt excerpt 'ehksrrpt ehks'rrpt excuse ixksky'uz ehksky'us expatriate ehksp'eytriyaxt ehksp'eytriieyt exploit ixkspl'oyt 'ehksployt export ehksp'ort 'ehksport extract ehkstr'aekt 'ehkstraekt ferment frrm'ehnt f'rrmehnt frequent fr'iykwixnt friykw'eynt geminate jh'ehmixnaxt jh'ehmixneyt graduate gr'aejhuweyt gr'aejhuwaxt Table J --"i" - "J" - "K" -" L" Homograph Phonetics Use a [:pron alt] command before a word to obtain an alternative pronunciation for the word. SPELLING PRIMARY ALTERNATE impact 'ihmpaekt ixmp'aekt implant ihmpl'aent 'ihmplaent import 'ihmport ihmp'ort imprint 'ihmprihnt ihmpr'ihnt incense ixns'ehns 'ihnsehns incline ixnkl'ayn 'ihnklayn increase ihnkr'iys 'ihnkriys insert ihns'rrt 'ihnsrrt insult ihns'ahlt 'ihnsaxlt interchange 'ihntrrcheynjh ihntrrch'eynjh intimate 'ihntaxmaxt 'ihntaxmeyt invalid ixnv'aelixd 'ihnvaxlixd just jhixst jh'ahst lead l'iyd l'ehd live l'ihv l'ayv Table K -- - N - O - P Homograph Phonetics Use a [:pron alt] command before a word to obtain an alternative pronunciation for a word. SPELLING PRIMARY ALTERNATE minute m'ihnixt mayn'uwt miscount m'ihskawnt mihsk'awnt misprint m'isprInt mispr'int misuse mixs'yuz mixs'yus moderate m'aadrraxt m'aadrreyt object 'aabjheht axbjh'ehkt overrun 'owvrrrahn owvrrr'ahn perfect p'rrfixkt prrf'ehkt permit prrm'iht p'rrmiht pervert prrv'rrt p'rrvrrt polish p'aalihsh p'owlixsh postulate p'aascheleyt p'aaschelaxt predicate pr'ehdixkeyt pr'ehdixkaxt predominate prixd'aamixneyt prixd'aamixnaxt present priyz'ehnt pr'ehzaxnt proceed praxs'iyd pr'owsiyd produce praxd'uws pr'aaduws progress pr'aagrehs praxgr'ehs project pr'aajhehkt praxjh'ehkt protest pr'owtehst prowt'ehst Table L -- - S - T- U - V - W Homograph Phonetics Use a [:pron alt] command before a word to obtain an alternative pronunciation for a word. SPELLING PRIMARY ALTERNATE read r'iyd r'ehd reading r'iydixnx r'ehdixnx rebel r'ehbel rixb'ehl recall rixk'aol r'iykaol recap riyk'aep r'iykaep recess r'iysehs riys'ehs record r'ehkrrd rixk'ord recount riyk'awnt r'iykawnt refill r'iyfihl riyf'ihl refresh riyfr'ehsh r'iyfrehsh refund riyf'ahnd r'iyfahnd refuse rixf'yuz r'ehfyus reject rixjh'ehkt r'iyjhehkt relapse r'iylaeps rixl'aeps relay r'iyley rixl'ey remake r'iymeyk riym'eyk rerun r'iy*rahn riy*r'ahn research r'iysrrch riys'rrch resume riy|z'uwm r'ehzaxmey retake riyt'eyk r'iyteyk rewrite riyr'ayt r'iy*rayt segment s'ehgmixnt sehgm'ehnt separate s'ehpaxreyt s'ehpaxraxt sow s'ow s'aw subject s'ahbjhehkt saxbjh'ehkt sublet saxbl'eht saxbl'eht subordinate saxb'ordenaxt saxb'ordeneyt survey s'rrvey srrv'ey suspect s'ahspehkt saxsp'ehkt syndicate s'ihndixkixt s'ihndixkeyt tear t'er t'ir torment torm'ehnt t'ormehnt transform traensf'orm tr'aensform transplant traenspl'aent tr'aensplaent transport traensp'ort tr'aensport upset axps'eht 'ahpseht use y'uwz y'uws wind w'ihnd w'aynd wound w'awnd w'uwnd --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] American English Phoneme Codes The American English Phoneme Codes are the phoneme values returned when DECtalk performs speech-to-memory operations using the TextToSpeechOpenInMemory() function. These symbols are referred to as phonemes although many are actually allophones. Table A -- American English Phoneme Codes Phoneme Valu Phoneme Value Phoneme Val Phoneme Valu e ue e SIL 0 AR 21 S 41 Explicit 61 hat fall IH 2 OR 22 Z 42 Explicit 62 hat rise-fall EY 3 UR 23 SH 43 Syllable 63 boundary EH 4 W 24 ZH 44 Morpheme 64 boundary AE 5 Y 25 P 45 For noun 65 compounds AA 6 R 26 B 46 Word 66 boundary AY 7 LL 27 T 47 Prep 67 phrase start Phoneme Valu Phoneme Value Phoneme Value Phoneme Value e AW 8 HX 28 D 48 Verb 68 phrase start AH 9 RX 29 K 49 Intro. to 69 sentence or clause AO 10 LX 30 G 50 End of 70 clause OW 11 M 31 DX 51 End of 71 sentence OY 12 N 32 TX 52 End of 72 question UH 13 NX 33 Q 53 End of 73 (glottalstop) exclamatory sentence UW 14 EL 34 CH 54 Explicit 74 new paragraph RR 15 D_Dentalized 35 JH 55 YU 16 EN 36 Block 56 Allophone Substitutions AX 17 F 37 Secondary 57 Stress IX 18 V 38 Primary Stress 58 IR 19 TH 39 Emphatic 59 Stress ER 20 DH 40 Explicit hat 60 rise Glossary allophone A positional or free variant of a phoneme. applet A small application that normally performs a very specific function and can be used with other larger applications. arpabet A special phonetic alphabet used to write phonemes and syllables. clause boundary The natural boundary between two or more clauses in a sentence that helps the listener easily separate the sentence into its component parts. Commas, periods, exclamation points, and question marks are symbols used to indicate clause boundaries. clause mode The normal mode in which DECtalk Software speaks text a phrase, clause, or sentence at a time. In clause mode, speaking starts when DECtalk Software is sent a clause terminator (period, comma, exclamation point, or question mark) followed by a space. clause terminator A symbol used to begin and terminate a clause boundary. Symbols can be periods, commas, exclamation points, or question marks. comma pause The pause DECtalk Software takes in speaking that is equivalent to inserting a comma in a sentence. Comma pause can be increased and decreased with the Comma Pause command. .DIC file The loadable dictionary file created by the User Dictionary Build Tool from a .tab source file. emphatic stress The emphasis placed on a syllable of a word to give it more meaning. falling intonation A decrease in voice pitch. flush Process by which the Text-To-Speech system discards data in the system. heuristic A method or rule used to decide among several courses of action. Often called a "rule of thumb." In the case of DECtalk Software, pronunciation heuristics govern the manner in which DECtalk Software pronounces words. homograph Pairs of words that have the same spelling but which are pronounced differently. For example, the pronunciation of permit as a noun and the pronunciation of permit as a verb. index marker (flag) A marker placed in the text stream to synchronize an external event. An index marker is inserted with the Index Mark command. intonation The manner in which a voice imparts extra meaning to speech by adjusting sounds' durations and voice pitch. For example, the emphasis and meaning of the sentence, Bill, put in the edits. can be changed by putting stronger emphasis on the name, Bill. Bill! Put in the edits! letter mode The state in which DECtalk Software speaks each letter as it is queued. In word and letter mode, DECtalk Software does not need to wait for a clause terminator to begin speaking. This command interacts with the rate selection command so that you can set both rate selection and letter mode for optimal output. log file A file that can contain text, phonemes, or syllables. The phonemes and syllables are written using the arpabet phoneme alphabet. morpheme The minimum syntactic unit of a language that has an important role in determining pronunciations. For example, "spell" has only one morpheme, while "misspelling" is made up of three: "mis," "spell," and "ing." period pause The pause DECtalk Software inserts when it finds a period that marks the end of the sentence. This pause imitates humans taking a breath. This pause is approximately half a second. phoneme Smallest unit of speech that distinguishes one word from another. Phonemes are divided into vowel and consonant phonemes. DECtalk Software Software interprets text brackets as phonemes only after the phoneme arpabet command is used. phoneme arpabet command A command that causes all text within brackets to be treate0d as phonemic text. phoneme string Two or more phonemes together used to pronounce a special word or group of words. phonemicize To encode words as strings of phonemes. phonemic mode A mode DECtalk Software software uses for speaking phoneme strings. phonemic transcription A word written the way it is pronounced is said to be in phonemic transcription or simply in phonemics. When DECtalk Software says a word or phrase not as you intended, you might need to use phonemic transcription to get the desired pronunciation. For example, [r'ehd] is the phonemic transcription of the word read. phrase boundary A clause boundary formed by terminating punctuation -- comma, period, exclamation point, question mark -- followed by a space. pitch control symbols Symbols used to override built-in DECtalk Software pitch control. Symbols include pitch rise [/], pitch fall [\], and pitch rise and fall [/ \]. primary stress Most content words of English (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) contain one primary stressed syllable. The primary stress symbol in DECtalk Software is the apostrophe [ ' ]. proper name First names, last names, street names, company names, and place names are all examples of proper names. secondary stress A symbol used to indicate a degree of stress that is between primary and unstressed (no stress). The secondary stress symbol is the grave accent [`]. silence phonemes Silences of specified durations inserted into text files in the same manner as you would insert a phoneme. syntactic function words A set of words that are either unstressed or have secondary stress. They include prepositions, conjunctions, determiners, auxiliary verbs, pronouns, question mark, and clause introducers. DECtalk Software uses stress and syntactic symbols to control aspects of rhythm, stress, and intonation patterns. These symbols include punctuation marks such as commas, periods, question marks, and exclamation points. .TAB file The source file used to build a user dictionary. user dictionary The dictionary that you define so DECtalk Software can load and use with an application to control the pronunciation of specific words processed by the application. user dictionary builder A program applet included with DECtalk Software to build and compile user dictionaries. voice-control command A DECtalk Software command inserted into text strings and used to control basic and special Text-To-Speech functions, such as speaking voice and speaking rate. WAVE file A Microsoft standard file format for storing wave form audio data. WAVE files have a .WAV file extension. wave form output The digitized reproduction of a sound wave form. DECtalk Software produces wave form output from the Speak program applet and the API, both of which allow you to save an ASCII text file to .WAV file format. word boundary A white space character (space, tab, or carriage return) in the text that indicates a boundary between words. DECtalk Software uses word boundary symbols to select the word-beginning or word-ending allophone of a phoneme. word mode A text-processing mode where DECtalk speaks one word at a time. A blank space or equivalent after a character or string of characters causes that string to be spoken in word mode.