On a Way to the Computer Aided Speech Intonation Training

Presented in the paper is a software system designed to train learners in producing a variety of recurring intonation patterns of speech. The system is based on comparing the melodic (tonal) portraits of a reference phrase and a phrase spoken by the learner and involves active learner-system interaction. Since parametric representation of intonation features of the speech signal faces fundamental difficulties, the paper intends to show how these difficulties can be overcome. The main algorithms used in the training system proposed for analyzing and comparing intonation features are considered. A set of reference sentences is given which represents the basic intonation patterns of English speech and their main varieties. The system’s interface is presented and the results of the system operation are illustrated.