How to make a new voice for Ekho

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(updated on Oct 12, 2008)

1. Get the syllable list. Jyutping for Cantonese, Pinyin for Mandarin. Hangul for Korean
2. Record all syllable in the list in 16bit format. Audacity is a recommended tool. Two methods could be used to record:
   a) Keep about 1/3 second silence between every two syllables as tag to the following cutting script.
   b) Read some word following each syllable. This can improve the effect of being in context. But it needs a lot of manually cutting.
3. Cut each syllable's wave and save as WAV format.
   If you record with method a） above, you can use split_wav.pl to cut it.
   If you record with method b） above, you need to cut it manually. Audacity can export selected frame to WAV. Shortcut keys is useful to accelerate this process.
4. Rename the file according to the phonetic symbol of the syllable.
   If it is cut by split_wav.pl, you can use gen_record_list_sound_db.pl to rename it.
   If it is recorded with method b) and it's Mandarin, you can use Silas' Python script cutter-helper.pl.
5. Add the new voice data directory under Ekho. Cantonese voice data directory name should begin with "jyutping-" while "pinyin-" is for Mandarin and "hangul-" is for Korean.

You can also record the voice with method a) and send the files to me (Cameron) to finish the rest work as long as you are going to release it under GPL license ;-)

Good luck!