Computer-Implemented Systems and Methods for Evaluating Prosodic Features of Speech
- Author(s):
- Zechner, Klaus; Xi, Xiaoming
- Patent Issued:
- Jul 21, 2015
- Patent Number:
- 9,087,519
- Source:
- ETS Patent
- Document Type:
- Patent
- Family ID:
- 46878085
- Subject/Key Words:
- Patent, Active Patent, Prosodic Annotation, Automatic Speech Recognition, Automated Scoring and Natural Language Processing, Automated Scoring of Speech, Spoken Language Assessment, Non-Native Spontaneous Speech, Non-Native Speakers, Computer-Implemented
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for scoring speech. A speech sample is received, where the speech sample is associated with a script. The speech sample is aligned with the script. An event recognition metric of the speech sample is extracted, and locations of prosodic events are detected in the speech sample based on the event recognition metric. The locations of the detected prosodic events are compared with locations of model prosodic events, where the locations of model prosodic events identify expected locations of prosodic events of a fluent, native speaker speaking the script. A prosodic event metric is calculated based on the comparison, and the speech sample is scored using a scoring model based upon the prosodic event metric.