Abstract

The present invention provides a conversion between a speech mode in which each word is clearly enunciated as if spoken in isolation and in which a phrase is spoken as a whole taking into account the influence of adjacent words. In the phrase mode, word ending final phonological linguistic units are replaced with their corresponding internal versions, and short strong vowels are substituted for the corresponding long strong vowels except at the word ends. In the word mode, a word final pronunciation is given when a corresponding internal phonological linguistic unit occurs at a word end, and short strong vowels are replaced by the corresponding long strong vowel when the short strong vowel occurs at the end of a word or prior to a set of voiced consonants. In either mode, a substitution may be made for the pronunciation of frequently used words. This invention is most useful in speaking electronic learning aids which permit word or phrase speech synthesis from the same data.