Integration and evaluation of emotion in an articulatory speech synthesis system

Abstract

We convey a tremendous amount of information vocally. In addition to the obvious exchange of semantic information, we unconsciously vary a number of acoustic properties of the speech wave to provide information about our emotions, thoughts, and intentions. [Cahn 1990] Advances in understanding of human physiology combined with increases in the computational power available in modern computers have made the simulation of the human vocal tract a realistic option for creating artificial speech. Such systems can, in principle, produce any sound that a human can make. Here we present two experiments examining the expression of emotion using prosody (i.e., speech melody) in human recordings and an articulatory speech synthesis system.