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Structural Features of Chinese Language

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Structural Features of Chinese Language Structural Features of Chinese Language ─Why Chinese Spoken Language Processing is Special and Where We Are Lin-shan Lee Taiwan University and Academia Sinica, Taipei E-Mail : [email protected] ABSTRACT languages in various structural features. It is not Chinese language is quite different from many western alphabetic. Large number of Chinese characters are languages in various structural features. It is not ideographic symbols. The monosyllabic structure with alphabetic. Large number of Chinese characters are tones, the open vocabulary nature, the flexible wording ideographic symbols. The monosyllabic structure, the structure, and the flexibilities in word ordering are good open vocabulary nature, the flexible wording structure examples of the structural features of Chinese language. with tones, and the flexibilities in word ordering are It is believed that better results and performance will be good examples of the structural features of Chinese obtainable in developing spoken Chinese language language. It is believed that better results and processing technology, if such structural features of the performance will be obtainable in developing Chinese language can be well considered. This paper reviews spoken language processing technology, if such such structural features of Chinese language, presents structural features of the language can be well an integrated framework for Chinese spoken language considered. This paper reviews such structural features processing technology developments based on such of Chinese language, presents an integrated framework structural features, considers the general trend toward a for Chinese spoken language processing technology future network era, and summarizes the current status on developments based on such structural features, various spoken language processing tasks including considers the general trend toward a future network era, dictation. But the focus of discussions is primarily based and summarizes the current status on various spoken on the work done at Taiwan University and Academia language processing tasks including dictation systems, Sinica at Taipei, simply because this is the part of the information retrieval, dialogue systems, and work the author is most familiar with. text-to-speech synthesis. In the following, Sections 2 and 3 will present a vision for future Chinese spoken language processing 1.INTRODUCTION technology in a network era and a proposed framework for integrated Chinese language and speech processing It is generally realized today that speech recognition technology development based on such a vision. Section technology has matured to a point where the achievable 4 will summarize the structural features of Chinese scope of tasks, accuracy, speed, and the cost of such language having to do with spoken language processing. systems are almost simultaneously crossing the threshold Sections 5-9 will then present examples for the basic for practically usable systems. Many applications have technology necessary for the proposed framework, already been developed and used, and many others are indicating that all of them have to do with the structural being contemplated currently [1,2]. On the other hand, features of the Chinese language. Section 10 will give an the improved computer technology and new technical example architecture for these basic technologies to be environment such as the Internet today has very naturally integrated into attractive applications. Sections 11-15 extended the speech recognition technology to a much will then summarize the current development status for wider scope, i.e., the spoken language processing several Chinese spoken language processing application including such areas as linguistic knowledge processing tasks. Some future perspectives will be discussed in and integration, spontaneous speech processing, section 16, and the concluding remark will finally be telephony applications, speech understanding, dialogues, made in section 17. and information retrieval. For the Mandarin Chinese, however, the input of Chinese 2. THE VISION OF CHINESE SPOKEN characters into computers is still a very difficult and LANGUAGE PROCESSING TOWARD A unsolved problem. Speech recognition or spoken NETWORK ERA language processing is believed to be the perfect solution As the network technology will be connecting to this problem, but with many very challenging everywhere globally in the future network era, in which technical issues yet to be solved. The 1.2 billion Chinese huge volume of information can be disseminated across people would spend a vast amount of money purchasing the globe in microseconds. Almost all computers, peripherals, networks, software packages, information-related activities and services will be and other relevant products to computerize their performed on the network. Digital libraries, information communities - if their language could be conveniently retrieval, electronic commerce and distant learning are entered into computers just as western alphabetic good examples of them. Such a network environment languages are. The demand is there, the market will actually creates a completely new space with many someday be huge, and the potential impact on related difficult new challenges for spoken language processing areas is almost unlimited. technology developments. In many cases speech Chinese language is quite different from many western interfaces for users to access the network services will be highly attractive, Application Tasks Terminal Future for Chinese Spoken Equipments: Integrated Users Language Personal Computers Networks - Processing : - Network Computers - Voice Command and - TV Sets - Telephone Sets Control - Handsets - Dictation systems Information-relat - Voice Conversational Interfaces Integrated Language ed Activities and - Voice Retrieval of and Speech processing Services : Network Resources - Digital Libraries -Voice-directed Technology : Knowledgebase Systems - Distant Learning - Speech Recognition - Voice-directed Network - Electronic Home /Understanding Information Processing - Intelligent‧‧ Offices - Speech Synthesis - Linguistic Processing ‧ - Network Information Processing - Integrated Technology Fig 2. The Vision of Chinese Spoken Language Processing in the Future Network Era and speech recognition may play very special roles. On the services provided by all information systems and the other hand, the unlimited volume of linguistic Voice Databases resources available via the network, in both text and Response Speech Synthesis Text Generation audio form, also provide a variety of new opportunities for spoken language processing technology developments. Information The multi-lingual and multi-media nature of the network User Systems and Networks information actually requires much more active Network Applications Applications interaction between the speech recognition processes and many other information processing technologies such as information retrieval, natural language processing, Speech Recognition Language Understanding databases, multi-media, and networking technologies. The Voice dynamic and ever-changing nature of the networked Input information also requires the speech recognition approaches to be intelligent and adaptive, so as to be able to handle the “live” information over the network. For Fig 1. Chinese Spoken Language Processing Technology example, the Internet-based resources are not only huge, under Future Network Environment unlimited, produced globally and disseminated world-wide, on almost all possible subject domains, but applications can be upgraded by speech interfaces. The are dynamic, up-dating, ever-growing, exploding, and user terminal equipments will be pluralized, and in some ever-changing. Such network environment actually makes cases conversational dialogues with voice responses will spoken language processing a completely new research be very helpful but this will not be true always. area significantly different from how it has been before. The vision of future Chinese spoken language processing Furthermore, as the integrated networks will become the technology under such a network era is shown in Fig.2, central platform for all information-related activities as with a goal of developing an intelligent information well as software developments in the future, more environment handling spoken Chinese language, so as to different types of user terminal equipments will be establish a convenient gateway for the Chinese available, including telephone sets, interactive TV, community to enter the network information world. The personal digital assistants, wireless handset, etc., while future integrated networks with all information-related personal computers with ever-advancing computational activities and services available via the networks such as capabilities will be only a part of them. The client-server the digital libraries and intelligent offices are shown on network architecture will remove the requirements that all the left part of the figure, while the users shown on the necessary processing should be performed on the user right of the figure try to use a variety of terminal terminal equipments, and the speech recognition equipments such as personal computers, TV sets, functions can be more distributed and no longer focused telephone sets and handsets to access the network on personal computers. The block diagram of such services, through all possible Chinese spoken language Chinese spoken language processing technology under processing application tasks as shown
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