Method for editing non-verbal information by adding mental state information to a speech message

A method for editing non-verbal information by adding information of mental states to a speech message synthesized by rules in correspondence to a text, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) extracting from said text a prosodic parameter string of speech synthesized by rules;
• (b) correcting that one of prosodic parameters of said prosodic parameter string corresponding to the character or character string to be added with said non-verbal information, through the use of at least one of basic prosody control rules defined by modification of at least one of pitch patterns, power patterns and durations characteristic of a plurality of predetermined pieces of non-verbal information, respectively, said basic prosody control rules including a plurality of modifications of the plural-sectioned pitched contour of an utterance and being in a memory in correspondence to predetermined mental states, respectively, said modifications of said pitch contour including monotonously rising and monotonously declining modifications of its shape from a final vowel to the terminating end of said pitch contour;
• and
• (c) synthesizing speech from said prosodic parameter string containing said corrected prosodic parameter and outputting a synthetic speech message.