Apparatus and method for distinguishing similar-sounding utterances speech recognition
AssigneeScanSoft, Inc.
InventorsKoen Schoofs, Guido Gallopyn
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Abstract
Speaker-specified hints are used to establish conditions for a speech recognition system to select a recognition result for a previously provided utterance from among various possible homophones. The hints may characterize the utterance by a linguistic property, such as an orthographic, morphological, or semantic property.
Claims25
A method of utilizing a speech recognizer to distinguish a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a speaker-specified hint as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the method comprising:
- (a) identifying the hint and associating with it the provided utterance;
- (b) using the hint to establish a condition for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar sounding utterances;
- and
- (c) selecting a recognition result, derived in conjunction with operation of the speech recognizer, that satisfies the condition.
A method of utilizing a speech recognizer to distinguish a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a plurality of speaker-specified hints as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the method comprising:
- (a) identifying the hints and associating with them the provided utterance;
- (b) using the hints to establish conditions for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar-sounding utterances;
- and
- (c) selecting a recognition result, derived in conjunction with the operation of the speech recognizer, that satisfies the conditions.
A speech recognition system for distinguishing a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a speaker-identified hint as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the system comprising:
- (a) a hint recognizer which identifies the hint and associates with it the provided utterance;
- (b) a condition specifier, coupled to the hint recognizer, which uses the hint to establish a condition for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar-sounding utterances;
- and
- (c) a result selector, coupled to the condition specifier, which selects a recognition result that satisfies the condition.
A speech recognition system for distinguishing a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a plurality of speaker-specified hints as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the system comprising:
- (a) a hint recognizer for identifying the hints and associating with them the provided utterance;
- (b) a condition specifier, coupled to the hint recognizer, for using the hints to establish a condition for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar-sounding utterances;
- and
- (c) a result selector, coupled to the condition specifier, for selecting a recognition result that satisfies the conditions.
A speech recognition system that is capable of distinguishing a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a speaker-specified hint as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the system comprising:
- (a) means for identifying the hint and associating with it the provided utterance;
- (b) means for using the hint to establish a condition for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar-sounding utterances;
- and
- (c) means for selecting a recognition result, derived in conjunction with operation of the speech recognizer, that satisfies the condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.