We will demonstrate the ModelTalker Voice Recorder (MT Voice Recorder) -- an interface system that lets individuals record and bank a speech database for the creation of a synthetic voice. The system guides users through an automatic calibration process that sets pitch, amplitude, and silence. The system then prompts users with both visual (text-based) and auditory prompts. Each recording is screened for pitch, amplitude and pronunciation and users are given immediate feedback on the acceptability of each recording. Users can then rerecord an unacceptable utterance. Recordings are automatically labeled and saved and a speech database is created from these recordings. The system's intention is to make the process of recording a corpus of utterances relatively easy for those inexperienced in linguistic analysis. Ultimately, the recorded corpus and the resulting speech database is used for concatenative synthetic speech, thus allowing individuals at home or in clinics to create a synthetic voice in their own voice. The interface may prove useful for other purposes as well. The system facilitates the recording and labeling of large corpora of speech, making it useful for speech and linguistic research, and it provides immediate feedback on pronunciation, thus making it useful as a clinical learning tool.
['Debra Yarrington', 'John Gray', 'Christopher A. Pennington', 'H. Timothy Bunnell', 'Allegra Cornaglia', 'Jason Lilley', 'Kyoko Nagao', 'James B. Polikoff']
ModelTalker Voice Recorder---An Interface System for Recording a Corpus of Speech for Synthesis