Text-Tuning Example

Although 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 strategic placement of commas and periods, which tell the application to pause. The spoken language and written text are different since 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.

Click here for a list of stress symbols.

Click here for a list of syntactic symbols.

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.

Revised Version

In this section, text from the original example has been enhanced with DECtalk Software embedded commands. Phoneme interpretations is turned on to allow the stress and syntactic symbols to be translated.

Turn on phoneme interpretation

[:phoneme arpabet speak on]

Add periods to add brief pauses after the title and author.

[: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.

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.