Manipulating synthetic intonation for speaker characterisation

The authors present a model of fundamental frequency contour generation, originally developed for speech synthesis applications, by which speakers´ intonational behavior can be reduced to a small set of manipulable phonetic parameters. They illustrate the range of interspeaker and intraspeaker variation which this model can produce. Problems with the interpretation of these parameters are also discussed. Emphasis is placed on the use of pitch range to convey speaker characteristics, both relatively short-term emotional states and longer-term personality traits of the speaker