Data processing: speech signal processing – linguistics – language – Speech signal processing – Recognition
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-22
2001-01-23
Hudspeth, David R. (Department: 2641)
Data processing: speech signal processing, linguistics, language
Speech signal processing
Recognition
C704S224000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06178400
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a technique for processing the speech of one or more parties to a telephone call carried by a telecommunications network to enhance the intelligibility of each party's speech.
BACKGROUND ART
Present day providers of voice telephony service, such as AT&T, handle both domestic, as well as international calls. In most, but not all instances, a party to a telephone call uses the language of the country of origin of the call when speaking with another party, especially when both parties reside in the same country. Thus, for example, the parties to a call within the United States generally speak in English. In some instances, the national language of the country of origin of the call may not necessarily be the native language of one or more parties to that call. Immigrants to the United States from non-English speaking countries, even when they become proficient in English, often speak with an accent. While this is neither bad nor uncommon, a party to a call may encounter difficulties in attempting to understand a non-native language speaker, especially if that party speaks with a heavy accent.
A non-native language party to a call could avoid the difficulty of comprehension by choosing to speak his or her native language and employ a translation service, such as AT&T Language Line, to translate the speech into a language comprehensible by the other party or parties to the call. Such language translation services, which effective, are nonetheless costly to use on a regular basis. Moreover, for most non-native language speakers, communicating with others in the national language of the country of origin of the call becomes a matter of pride and perception by others on the call.
Thus, there is a need for a technique for normalizing the speech of one or more parties to a telephone call to improve intelligibility.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, the present invention provides a method for normalizing the speech of at least one of the parties to a telephone call carried by a telecommunications network to enhance the intelligibility of that party's speech. The method of the invention commences upon at least one party to the call invoking a speech normalization service offered by the network for that party. The requesting party may invoke the speech normalization service by manually signaling the network, such as by entering a prescribed sequence of Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signals. Alternatively, the network itself could invoke the service in response to receipt of a call originating from, or a call dialed to, a subscriber pre-subscribed to the speech normalization service.
Once a party has invoked the speech normalization service, the network then determines the manner in which the speech of the party invoking the service should be normalized. Upon initially subscribing to the speech normalization service, a subscriber “trains” the network by providing a specimen of the subscriber's speech. The network samples the subscriber's speech specimen to establish various parameters of the subscriber's speech, such as pitch, tone, cadence, frequency and amplitude, to name a few. From such parameters, the network selects the appropriate speech normalization program that instructs the network how to normalize the subscriber's speech to maximize intelligibility. For example, based on a subscriber's particular speech parameters, the normalization program may instruct the network to alter the one or more aspects of the subscriber's speech, such as the tone and/or pitch. Once trained, the network can then automatically invoke the program corresponding to a particular subscriber for a call originated by, or dialed to that subscriber and normalize the subscriber's speech.
A Caller and/or called party not pre-subscribed to the speech normalization service, but who invokes the service on a per-call basis, also trains the network by providing a speech specimen. From that specimen, the network ascertains the party's speech parameters in order to determine the appropriate program by which the network will alter one or more aspects of the party's speech to enhance intelligibility. A party who manually invokes the speech normalization program on a call-by-call basis must train the network each time. Alternatively, the network could store the speech parameters for a Non-service subscriber for a short period of time. Thus, should a non-subscriber seek to invoke the speech normalization service again within that time, the non-subscriber would not need to re-train the network.
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patent: 5828746 (1998-10-01), Ardon
patent: 5839103 (1998-11-01), Mammone et al.
AT&T Corp.
Hudspeth David R.
Wieland Susan
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