A Frisian adaptation of a Dutch TTS system based on Festival, NeXTeNS, is presented as a case study in prototyping TTS for resource-poor minority languages. For these languages, demonstrator systems are essential to seed projects in speech and language technology. The conversion of a Dutch TTS system to a new language with minimal speech and language resources, Frisian, demonstrates that a TTS prototype can be built rapidly using existing modules and voices. An informal evaluation with native speakers of Frisian shows that such a hybrid prototype can already produce intelligible speech for demonstration purposes.
Cite as: Dijkstra, J., Pols, L.C.W., Son, R.J.J.H.v. (2004) Frisian TTS, an example of bootstrapping TTS for minority languages. Proc. 5th ISCA Workshop on Speech Synthesis (SSW 5), 97-102
@inproceedings{dijkstra04_ssw,
author={Jelske Dijkstra and Louis C. W. Pols and Rob J. J. H. van Son},
title={{Frisian TTS, an example of bootstrapping TTS for minority languages}},
year=2004,
booktitle={Proc. 5th ISCA Workshop on Speech Synthesis (SSW 5)},
pages={97--102}
}