ToBI Or Not ToBI?

In the decade that has passed since the introduction of the ToBI system for the transcription of prosody, speech technology has moved out of the laboratory and into commercial applications on several fronts. However, virtually none of the commercial products have made large-scale use of prosody. Nevertheless, researchers in both recognition and synthesis continue to agree that better utilization of prosody is essential to improving the performance and acceptability of commercial systems. In this paper, we review the current state of prosody in commercial systems, and examine how the ongoing discussions related to what and how to transcribe with respect to prosody have simultaneously advanced and inhibited the field. In particular, we argue that, in hindsight, the ToBI system contains several flaws that have limited its acceptance and application.