This paper presents a novel prosody model in the context of computer text-to-speech synthesis applications for tone languages. We have demonstrated its applicability using the Standard Yorùbá (SY) language. Our approach is motivated by the theory that abstract and realised forms of various prosody dimensions should be modelled within a modular and unified framework (Coleman 1994). We have imple...

BACKGROUND Evidence suggests a reversal of the normal left-lateralised response to speech in schizophrenia. AIMS To test the brain's response to emotional prosody in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. METHOD BOLD contrast functional magnetic resonance imaging of subjects while they passively listened or attended to sentences that differed in emotional prosody. RESULTS Patients with schiz...

How we perceive emotional signals from our environment depends on our personality. Alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by difficulties in emotion regulation has been linked to aberrant brain activity for visual emotional processing. Whether alexithymia also affects the brain's perception of emotional speech prosody is currently unknown. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging t...

Depending on the prosodic choices of the reader, using various acoustic parameters to apply emphasis, the meaning of the text may change. In songs, where the text and music work together, the prosody ensures coherence between the intentions of both languages, reducing possible ambiguities. This paper presents a generative system for automatic composition of melodies from lyrics using the prosod...

This paper addresses higher level organization in discourse prosody. Fluent speech prosody of text reading illustrated higher level speech planning above phrases and prosody segments above intonation units. Adopting a top-down perspective allowed clearer reflection of scope and unit involved. We examined large amount of speech data via a corpus approach, studied read discourse through perceived...