Nick Campbell
Multi-level timing in speech
Abstract:This report describes a model of timing control in English speech, whereby higher-level linguistic
information determines the timing framework of an utterance, and lower-level phonetic factors
determine how each segment is accommodated into that framework to produce a timing pattern
that satisfies the requirements of both the higher and lower levels of control. The results
are based on findings from two different databases of British English speech, and compare
differences between talkers and styles. Details are given of an implementation showing how the
model is used to predict durations in a speech synthesis system.