Re: [Espeak-general] eSpeak problem with English @U phoneme combination

[Jonathan D. <jo...@js...>]

On 11 Aug, Reece Dunn <ms...@go...> wrote:

> My OALD 7th ed. does not have immunoglobulin, but does have immuno-*
> words that it transcribes with /@U/ as you have listed.

> IIUC, the /@U/ is supposed to transcribe an 'oh' sound (but not quite,
> as /@/ is shorter). Looking at the transcription for abalone, the OALD
> references /@U/ for RP and /oU/ for GA english.

Yes.  The eSpeak phoneme name for the vowel in "goat" is [oU].  This is
because I try to use the same spelling-to-phoneme translation for
British and American English (with a few exceptions such as "tomato"
and "missile").  But the sound eSpeak's [oU] phoneme in its default
British English is an [@U] sound (or monothong [o:] in the Northern
variant).

So use [oU] for "immuno".

eSpeak doesn't recognise the code [@U] as a diphthong in the English
voices, so it will consider it vowel [@] plus vowel [U].

The "r" sound which eSpeak inserts between phoneme [@] and a following
vowel is called "intrusive R".  It also inserts an "R" after phonemes
[A:] "start" [O@] "force"  [3:] "nurse" if they are followed by a vowel.

Compare British English "star" = [stA:] with no "r" sound, with
"starring" = [stA:rIN], which has an "r" sound.

Also between words such as in "far away".

This is specified in the phoneme file phsource/ph_english.



> Indeed,
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English does not list
> /@U/ (/##/), but does list /oU/ (/o#/), as one of the possible
> diphones supported in English.

> /,Imju:noUgl'0bjUlIn/ (/oU/) gives you what you are after, kind of.

> Not sure why eSpeak does not support /@U/ though, nor why it appears
> to be rhoticising non-rhotic accents.

> HTH,
> - Reece