Pause Length

Pause Tag

You can use the pause tag to:

	modify the pause length created by punctuation symbols
	insert pauses between words where there is no punctuation

Tag	Annotation	Effect
\Pau=N\	`pN	Creates a pause N milliseconds long.  The maximum length for a single pause tag or annotation is about 330 seconds.
Punctuation Pauses

You can add to the length of a pause associated with a punctuation symbol, or you can replace that pause with a pause of a different length.

	To add to the pause, insert a pause tag after the punctuation.

(a)	Avoid the following routes:  Thirteen north, Ninety-six west, and Thirty-two south.  
(b)	Avoid the following routes:  Thirteen north, \Pau=400\ Ninety-six west, \Pau=400\ and Thirty-two south.  

	To replace the pause, place a pause tag immediately before the punctuation.  There should be no white space between the tag and the punctuation.

(c)	I thought I saw Kris.  But I'm not sure about it. 
(d)	I thought I saw Kris \Pau=250\.  But I'm not sure about it. 



Inserting Pauses

Inserting pauses can be useful for synthesizing the hesitations that occur in natural speech:

(a)	Amy saw him \Pau=450\ well \Pau=450\ \xWac=3\ us \Pau=150\ last night. 
(b)	Take the square root of \Pau=450\ no \Pau=450\ forget that.  Multiply the total by .05.  



