A method and apparatus for modifying the level of a speech signal is provided in which the gain parameter in the encoded speech signal is changed in a variable and cyclical manner over time. More specifically, a speech signal is encoded as a bit stream and the speech signal is transported in frames with each frame potentially being further sub-divided into sub-frames. The gain parameter, e.g., fixed codebook gain, is modified in the speech signal in a variable and cyclical manner over a pluralit...

The present invention intends to render quantization noise virtually imperceptible for a user and to prevent reduction in frequency resolution and reduction in encoding efficiency.A signal encoding apparatus includes: a quantization unit for quantizing an input signal based on a plurality of quantization methods; a dequantization unit for obtaining decoded signals by performing the dequantizing process; an error signal calculation unit for calculating a plurality of error signals between the dec...

Methods and arrangements for enhancing speech recognition in noisy environments, via providing at least one initial Compound Gaussian Mixture model, applying an adaptation algorithm to at least one item associated with speech enrollment data and to the at least one initial Compound Gaussian Mixture model to yield an intermediate output, and mathematically combining the at least one initial Compound Gaussian Mixture model with the intermediate output to yield an adapted Compound Gaussian Mixture ...

A method of synthesizing a speech signal by providing a first speech unit signal having an end interval and a second speech unit signal having a front interval, wherein at least some of the periods of the end interval are appended in inverted order at the end of the first speech unit signal in order to provide a fade-out interval, and at least some of the periods of the front interval are appended in inverted order at the beginning of the second speech unit signal to provide a fade-in interval. ...

A speech recognition system is provided that, in one embodiment, includes an input 104 operable to receive voice utterances from a user, a speaker monitoring agent 132 operable to determine a pulmonary state of the user as a function of time, and a frame analyzer 120 operable to (i) determine a respective pulmonary state of the user at an approximate time when each of the voice utterances was made and (ii) process each of the voice utterance in a manner dependent upon the respective pulmonary st...

Multiword expressions are mapped to identifiers using finite-state networks. Each of a plurality of multiword expressions is encoded into a regular expression. Each regular expression encodes a base form common to a plurality of derivative forms defined by ones of the multiword expressions. Each of the plurality of regular expressions is compiled with factorization into a set of finite-state networks. A union of the finite-state networks in the set of finite-state networks is performed to define...

A sentence generating method and apparatus for generating a joke sentence set having a dual meaning. A predetermined word in a selected first idiom is stored in a W list. A word of analogous sound having the pronunciation same as or analogous with the word in the W list and also being of the same word class as the word in the W list is stored in a RW list. It is then checked whether or not the subject word stored in the P list has a semantic relationship with the word of the analogous sound in t...

A method for specifying equivalence of language grammars and automatically translating sentences in one language to sentences in another language in a computer environment. The method uses a unified grammar specification of grammars of different languages in a single unified representation of all the individual grammars where equivalent production rules of each of the grammars are merged into a single unified production rule. This method can be used to represent the equivalence of computer langu...

A system and method within a hard disk drive for transferring track sector information of a storage disk to a memory device. The system of the present invention includes a disk having multiple tracks, wherein each of the tracks includes at least one sector. The system further includes a memory device for storing sector identification data and user data. A drive data bus is utilized for transferring data between the storage disk and the memory. A controller is utilized to manages read and write o...

A signal processing method and apparatus is disclosed, which is capable of reproducing a coded audio signal by decoding it while shifting its pitch, and reproducing, from an original sound, a sound having a sufficiently higher pitch than the original sound with few operations and less cost for the decoder used in the signal processing apparatus, and an information serving medium for serving a program which implements the signal decoding and pitch shifting. In one embodiment, the method of provid...