Synthetic speech prosody of digital assistents and their functions in the modern world

  • Natalia ZADORIZHNA PhD in Philology, Assistant Professor, Department of English Philology and Intercultural Communication, The Institute of Philology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
Keywords: voice assistant, functions of assistants, synthetic speech prosody, speech differentiation, variability of prosodic parameters

Abstract

The article is devoted to the speech prosody analysis of digital assistants and their functions in the modern world. Peculiarities of their functioning in different spheres, in particular in educational, are considered and as well as tasks which they perform. Synthetic speech prosody is investigated on the example of voice assistants which speak in a female, male and genderless voice. Characteristics of melody (melodic scales and terminal tones), FF and intensity range, tempo and pause features, voice quality were taken into account. In the course of comparative study some identical and distinctive features of assistants’ speech were singled out. The results of the experiment demonstrate variability of prosodic parameters, used by digital assistants. Voice differentiation and different degrees of expressiveness depend on the sphere of application, users’ preferences and communication context.

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Published
2020-09-30
How to Cite
ZADORIZHNA, N. (2020). Synthetic speech prosody of digital assistents and their functions in the modern world. EUROPEAN HUMANITIES STUDIES: State and Society, 23(3(II), 109-119. https://doi.org/10.38014/ehs-ss.2020.3-2.08