The W3C Voice Browser Working Group seeks to develop standards to enable access to the Web using spoken interaction. The Speech Synthesis Markup Language Specification Version 1.0 (SSML) is designed to provide a rich, XML-based markup language for assisting the generation of synthetic speech in Web and other applications. The essential role of the markup language is to provide authors of synthesizable content a standard way to control aspects of speech such as pronunciation, volume, pitch, rate, etc. across different synthesis-capable platforms. SSML is widely used to specify the rendering of text as human-like speech using speech synthesis technology.
In 2004 the W3C Voice Browser Working Group published a note describing SSML 1.0 say-as attribute values, which clarifies the use of the <say-as> element for interpreting text that should be rendered as speech that can not easily be inferred by the speech synthesis engine. Now, in order to make SSML more useful in current and emerging markets, the Voice Browser Working Group is considering more enhancements for handling non-English languages. The first W3C Workshop on Internationalizing W3C's Speech Synthesis Markup Language was held in Beijing in November, 2005. The second W3C Workshop on Internationalizing W3C's Speech Synthesis Markup Language was held in Heraklion, Crete. As the result of the Workshops, various requirements on SSML extensions for Asian, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern speech synthesis were identified and prioritized. The Working Group is now organizing a third workshop in India, in order to solicit additional suggestions to increase the use of SSML for other non-English languages. The group is especially interested in suggestions on how to improve the rendering of multiple, non-English languages including (but not limited to) Arabic, Hebrew, and the Indian languages Telugu, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarthi, Urdu.
Identify and prioritize requirements for extensions and additions to SSML that will improve the use of SSML for rendering non-English languages.
The workshop will produce a document identifying and prioritizing requirements for extensions and additions to SSML that will improve the use of SSML for rendering non-English languages. The W3C Voice Browser Working Group will use this document as a guideline for future enhancements to SSML.
The scope of this workshop is restricted in order to make the best use of participants' time. In general, discussion at the workshop and in the position papers should stay focused on the workshop goal: identify and prioritize requirements for extensions and additions to SSML that will improve the use of SSML for rendering non-English languages including (but not limited to) Arabic, Hebrew, and the Indian languages Telugu, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarthi, Urdu. Descriptions of new requirements with usage scenarios and clear explanations of the problems to be solved is of top priority for the workshop, while examples of SSML syntax extensions is secondary priority.
We expect several communities to contribute to the workshop:
Position papers are required to participate in this workshop. Each organization or individual wishing to participate must submit a position paper by the date shown below. Participation is pending acceptance of the position paper by the program committee.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to the following:
Position papers will be the basis for the discussion at the workshop. Papers should explain the participant's interest in the workshop, explain their position and include concrete examples of their suggestions. Position papers must be written in English. Examples in non-English languages with an English explanation are strongly encouraged.
All papers should be 1 to 5 pages, although they may link to longer versions or appendixes. Allowed formats are (valid) HTML/XHTML, PDF, or plain text. Papers in any other formats (including invalid HTML/XHTML) will be returned with a request for correct formatting.
Papers must be submitted by email to team-ssmlws-submit@w3.org before 15 December2006.
Accepted position papers will be published on the public Web page of the workshop. Submitting a position paper comprises a default recognition of these terms for publication.
The Program Committee may ask the authors of particularly salient position papers to explicitly present their position at the workshop to foster discussion. Presenters will be asked to make the slides of the presentation available on the workshop home page in HTML, PDF, or plain text
See the schedule below for submission and registration deadlines.
Dr. Daniel C. Burnett, (Editor, SSML 1.1), Nuance,
Daniel.Burnett@nuance.com
Kazuyuki Ashimura, (W3C Contact for the Voice Browser Working
Group) W3C, ashimura@w3.org
At this time, the program committee is still being assembled. The list so far:
To ensure maximum interaction among participants, the number of participants will be limited. To ensure maximum diversity, the number of participants per organization will be limited in the event the overall participation limit is reached.
W3C membership is not required to participate in this workshop.
Workshop sessions and documents will be in English.
The workshop program will run from 8:30 am to 6 pm on both days.
The workshop will be held at International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Hyderabad, India. Information about hotels will be distributed with acceptance letters.
Information on registration will be send with the notification of acceptance.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| December 15, 2006 | Deadline for position papers. Submit position papers to team-ssmlws-submit@w3.org. |
| December 19, 2006 | Acceptance notification and registration instructions sent. Program and accepted position papers posted on the workshop website. |
| December 26, 2006 | Deadline for registration. |
| January 13, 2007 | Workshop Begins (8:30 AM) |
| January 14, 2007 | Workshop Ends (6:00 PM) |
| February 3, 2007 | Conference minutes and conference deliverables posted on the workshop website. |
Daniel C. Burnett and
Kazuyuki Ashimura,
Workshop Co-chairs
Max Froumentin, Voice Activity
Lead
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