Comparison of Formant Features of Male and Female Emotional Speech in Czech and Slovak

Abstract

The paper describes analysis and comparison of formant features comprising the first three formant positions together with their 3 -dB bandwidths and the formant tilts. These features were determined from the smoothed spectral envelopes or directly calculated from the complex roots of the LPC polynomial. Subsequently, statistical analysis and comparison of the formant features from emotional speech representing joy, sadness, anger, and a neutral state was performed. In this experiment we use the speech material in the form of sentences uttered by male and female professional speakers in Czech and Slovak languages. For detailed analysis, the derived speech database consisting of manually selected sounds corresponding to the stationary parts of five vowels and two nasals was created. The determined formant positions and their value ranges are in correspondence with the general knowledge for male and female voices. Obtained statistical results and values of parameter ratios will be used for emotional speech conversion or they can also be applied for extension of the text-to-speech system enabling expressive speech production.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eee.19.8.1739