Language generation and speech synthesis in dialogues for language learning

Abstract

Since 1989, the Spoken Language Systems group has developed an array of applications that allow users to interact with computers using natural spoken language. A recent project of interest is to develop an interactive conversational system to assist students in mastering a foreign language. The Spoken Language Learning System (SLLS), the first such system developed in SLS, has many impressive capabilities and shows great potential to be used as a model for language learning. This thesis further develops and expands on SLLS towards the goal of a more sophisticated conversational system. We make extensive use of Genesis, a language generation tool, to complete a variety of natural language generation and translation tasks. We aim to generate natural, well-formed, grammatically correct sentences and produce high quality synthesized waveforms for language students to emulate. We hope to develop a system that will engage the user in a natural and realistic way, and our goal is to mimic human-to-human conversant interactions as closely as possible.