Processors

Processors modify or extract features from utterances (speect.SUtterance) or items (speect.SItem). See Processors Python API for a detailed description of the API.

Utterance Processor

An utterance processor (speect.SUttProcessor) receives an utterance as input and transforms the utterance in some or other way based on knowledge of the:

• input type: an email message requires some extra processing when compare to a single line of text,
• language: phonetization will for example be different for English, when compared to isiZulu,
• and the voice: different voices will have different speaking rates, pitch contours and so on.

During the synthesis process each utterance processor defined for the utterance type requested in synthesis (see speect.SVoice.synth()) is called with the speect.SUttProcessor.run() function. Python implemented utterance processors can replace an existing utterance processors of an utterance type, or implement a new utterance processor that can be used in some or other utterance type. Utterance processors in Python are implemented as callback functions with the speect.uttproc_cb plug-in and set with speect.SVoice.uttProcessor_set() in the voice.

As an example we will implement an utterance processor that adds pauses to the beginning and end of the Segment relation of an utterance. First we implement the function:

def add_segment_pauses(utt):

    # get the Segment relation
    segment_rel = utt.relation_get("Segment")

    # prepend an item onto the segment relation, no shared content
    segment_item = segment_rel.prepend()

    # set it's name to "pau"
    segment_item["name"] = "pau"

    # append an item onto the segment relation, no shared content
    segment_item = segment_rel.append()

    # set it's name to "pau"
    segment_item["name"] = "pau"

Now an utterance processor based on the above function can be created with the speect.uttproc_cb plug-in and set in the voice:

import speect
import speect.uttproc_cb


# load voice ...
# ...

# create utterance processor
utt_processor = speect.SUttProcessor.callback(add_segment_pauses)

# add utterance processor to voice
voice.uttProcessor_set("SegmentPauser", utt_processor)

Our utterance processor is called “SegmentPauser” in the voice. During the synthesis process when the Speect Engine executes the C run function of the processor (see SUttProcessorClass structure run), the add_segment_pauses Python function will be called when the “SegmentPauser” utterance processor is executed.

Feature Processors

Utterance processors also make use of feature processors. A feature processor extracts features from individual units (items, speect.SItem) in an utterance, these features can then be used by the utterance processor. Feature processors are defined in a key-value (name - processor implementation) mapping in a voice, and are called by their names. Feature processors in Python are implemented as callback functions with the speect.featproc_cb plug-in and set with speect.SVoice.featProcessor_set() in the voice.

As an example we will implement an feature processor that extracts the end time values of segments. First we implement the function:

def get_segment_end_time(item):

    # get the segment item's end time feature
    if "end" in item:
        end_time = item["end"]
    else:
        end_time = 0.0

    return end_time

Now a feature processor based on the above function can be created with the speect.featproc_cb plug-in and set in the voice:

import speect
import speect.featproc_cb


# load voice ...
# ...

# create feature processor
feat_processor = speect.SFeatProcessor.callback(get_segment_end_time)

# add feature processor to voice
voice.featProcessor_set("seg_end", feat_processor)

Our feature processor is called “seg_end” in the voice, and for example can now be used in item paths or in utterance processors or any place where necessary as it is defined in the voice.