Essential Speech and Language Technology for Dutch: Results by the STEVIN-programme

Computational Linguistics; Germanic Languages; Artificial Intelligence (incl. Robotics); Computing Methodologie

CHORUS Deliverable 2.1: State of the Art on Multimedia Search Engines

Based on the information provided by European projects and national initiatives related to multimedia search as well as domains experts that participated in the CHORUS Think-thanks and workshops, this document reports on the state of the art related to multimedia content search from, a technical, and socio-economic perspective. The technical perspective includes an up to date view on content based indexing and retrieval technologies, multimedia search in the context of mobile devices and peer-to-peer networks, and an overview of current evaluation and benchmark inititiatives to measure the performance of multimedia search engines. From a socio-economic perspective we inventorize the impact and legal consequences of these technical advances and point out future directions of research

Automatic processing of computer-transcribed spoken documents from multimedia archives

Tato práce se zaměřuje na řešení komplexního problému jak strukturalizovat (vhodně rozčlenit, textově i foneticky analyzovat a následně upravit) výstup systému pro automatické rozpoznávání řeči tak, aby byl co nejčitelnější pro člověka a zároveň připravený pro efektivní strojové zpracování a vyhledávání. Motivací pro řešení tohoto problému byl výzkumný projekt podporovaný Ministerstvem kultury ČR, jehož cílem bylo přepsat mluvené dokumenty z archivu Českého a Československého rozhlasu a zpřístupnit je pro vyhledávání. Vzhledem k rozsahu archivu (213.000 dokumentů z období 1923 až 2014) bylo nutné navrhnout a zrealizovat takový postup a technologie, které by byly schopny zvládnout nejen obrovské množství dat, ale také specifické problémy související s různou kvalitou záznamů, s přítomností českého i slovenského jazyka v dokumentech, se střídajícími se mluvčími, s prokládáním řeči znělkami, hudebními předěly a písničkami či s hluky na pozadí řeči.This thesis focuses on solving a complex task how to structure (i.e. appropriately divide, textually and phonetically analyze and subsequently modify) the output of the speech recognition system so it is most readable for human and also prepared for effective machine processing and search. Motivation to solve this task was the research project supported by the Czech Ministry of culture, aimed at transcription of spoken documents contained in the Czech and Czechoslovak radio and to make them available for search. Taking into account the archive size (213,000 documents form the years 1923-2014) it was essential to propose and implement such technologies, that were able to handle not only the waste amount of the data but also some specific issues associated with different acoustic quality of the documents, speaker changes, presence of jingles, music divides and song between the speech segments or with background noise

Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications

The MAVEBA Workshop proceedings, held on a biannual basis, collect the scientific papers presented both as oral and poster contributions, during the conference. The main subjects are: development of theoretical and mechanical models as an aid to the study of main phonatory dysfunctions, as well as the biomedical engineering methods for the analysis of voice signals and images, as a support to clinical diagnosis and classification of vocal pathologies

Design and evaluation of mobile computer-assisted pronunciation training tools for second language learning

The quality of speech technology (automatic speech recognition, ASR, and textto- speech, TTS) has considerably improved and, consequently, an increasing number of computer-assisted pronunciation (CAPT) tools has included it. However, pronunciation is one area of teaching that has not been developed enough since there is scarce empirical evidence assessing the effectiveness of tools and games that include speech technology in the field of pronunciation training and teaching. This PhD thesis addresses the design and validation of an innovative CAPT system for smart devices for training second language (L2) pronunciation. Particularly, it aims to improve learner’s L2 pronunciation at the segmental level with a specific set of methodological choices, such as learner’s first and second language connection (L1– L2), minimal pairs, a training cycle of exposure–perception–production, individualistic and social approaches, and the inclusion of ASR and TTS technology. The experimental research conducted applying these methodological choices with real users validates the efficiency of the CAPT prototypes developed for the four main experiments of this dissertation. Data is automatically gathered by the CAPT systems to give an immediate specific feedback to users and to analyze all results. The protocols, metrics, algorithms, and methods necessary to statistically analyze and discuss the results are also detailed. The two main L2 tested during the experimental procedure are American English and Spanish. The different CAPT prototypes designed and validated in this thesis, and the methodological choices that they implement, allow to accurately measuring the relative pronunciation improvement of the individuals who trained with them. Both rater’s subjective scores and CAPT’s objective scores show a strong correlation, being useful in the future to be able to assess a large amount of data and reducing human costs. Results also show an intensive practice supported by a significant number of activities carried out. In the case of the controlled experiments, students who worked with the CAPT tool achieved better pronunciation improvement values than their peers in the traditional in-classroom instruction group. In the case of the challenge-based CAPT learning game proposed, the most active players in the competition kept on playing until the end and achieved significant pronunciation improvement results.Departamento de Informática (Arquitectura y Tecnología de Computadores, Ciencias de la Computación e Inteligencia Artificial, Lenguajes y Sistemas Informáticos)Doctorado en Informátic

Methods in Contemporary Linguistics

The present volume is a broad overview of methods and methodologies in linguistics, illustrated with examples from concrete research. It collects insights gained from a broad range of linguistic sub-disciplines, ranging from core disciplines to topics in cross-linguistic and language-internal diversity or to contributions towards language, space and society. Given its critical and innovative nature, the volume is a valuable source for students and researchers of a broad range of linguistic interests