Systems and Methods for Assessments of Non-Native Speech Using Vowel Space Characteristics
- Author(s):
- Chen, Lei; Evanini, Keelan; Sun, Xie
- Patent Issued:
- Feb 16, 2016
- Patent Number:
- 9,262,941
- Source:
- ETS Patent
- Document Type:
- Patent
- Family ID:
- 45467637
- Subject/Key Words:
- Patent, Active Patent, Pronunciation, Non-Native Speakers, Automated Scoring of Speech, Automatic Speech Recognition, Automated Scoring and Natural Language Processing, Spoken Language Assessment, Vowel Quality
Abstract
Computer-implemented systems and methods are provided for assessing non-native speech proficiency. A non-native speech sample is processed to identify a plurality of vowel sound boundaries in the non-native speech sample. Portions of the non-native speech sample are analyzed within the vowel sound boundaries to extract vowel characteristics. The vowel characteristics are used to identify a plurality of vowel space metrics for the non-native speech sample, and the vowel space metrics are used to determine a non-native speech proficiency score for the non-native speech sample.