!!!Saami Speech Synthesis (Text-to-speech)

!!Status quo

We are working on a text-to-speech project together with Acapela in Stockholm.

!Darlier work

Together with Helsinki University, Department of General Linguistics,
we have made a beta version of a North Saami tts program.

The following files give an impression of the system:

* Our synthetic voice here reads the opening paragraphs of Johan Turi ''Muitalus sámiid birra''): 
** [Mon lean okta sápmelaš, guhte lean bargan visot sámi bargguid ja mon dovddan visot sámi dili.|../background/BAB_0000.wav]
** [Ja mon lean ipmirdan, ahte Ruoŧa hállehus háliida min veahkehit nu olu go sáhttá.|../background/BAB_0001.wav]
** [Muhto sii eai oaččo riekta čielgasa, jur got dat lea min eallin ja dilli, deinnago sápmelaš ii sáhte jur juste čilget nu got lea.|../background/BAB_0002.wav]
** [Ja dasa lea dát sivva: go sápmelaš boahtá moskkus gámmirii, de son ii ipmir ii báljo maidege, go ii biegga beasa bossut njuni vuostá.|../background/BAB_0003.wav] 
** [Su jurdagat eai golgga, go leat seainnit ja moskkus oaivvi nalde.|../background/BAB_0004.wav]
** [Ja ii leatge buorre sutnje orrut suhkkes vuvddiid siste, gos lea liegga ilbmi.|../background/BAB_0005.wav]
* [As comparision: The recording of the same sentences, for the training set, by Biret-Ánne Bals Baal|../background/muitI.wav]  (thus, this is __not__ a synthetic voice!)

The system is still far from ready, though. Here are some generated sentences without a prior recording (hence of a poorer quality):

* [Vihtta bivdovuogi mun gal dušše namahin, muhto leamaš gal ovdal okta bivdovuohki vel, namalassii duhasteapmi.|../background/BAB_0191.wav]
* [Guhtemuš dainna bivdovugiin guhkimus leaš geavahuvvon ii leat buorre diehtit, muhto buođđobivdu lea dat mii dál min áiggi eanemus ávkin lea álbmogii.|../background/BAB_0192.wav]

More work is needed in order to create a robust system.


!!References

* A further development of the Helsinki system was presented at NODALIDA in 2007
([abstract|http://phon.joensuu.fi/nodalida/abstracts/19.shtml]).
* [The homepage of our Helsinki cooperation partners|http://www.ling.helsinki.fi/cts/]