PLS Lexicon Editing

A PLS lexicon is a collection of word pronunciations that conform to the W3C PLS specification. The steps to create a PLS lexicon with Chant LexiconKit are as follows:

1. Select the Start Page tab and click on the PLS Lexicon image or select the File - New menu item or click the Standard toolbar button, select Lexicon from the category list, and select W3C PLS to create one in a document window.
2. Save your new lexicon to a file by selecting the File - Save menu item or click the Standard toolbar button.

A lexicon consists of one or more pronunciation elements. You must add at least one valid pronunciation element to a lexicon. The Chant Developer Workbench lexicon editor provides Intelliprompt suggestions as you type your pronunciation definition:

  <lexeme>
    <grapheme>tomato</grapheme>
    <phoneme>t ax m ey t ow</phoneme>
  </lexeme>

Use the Speech - Generate Phonemes menu item or click the Speech toolbar button to display the Generate Phonemes window. Enter the word from which to generate phonemes, select the appropriate speech engine, select the appropriate phoneme alphabet, and press the Generate Phonemes button. The default pronunciation is generated and added to the clipboard. Insert your cursor into the document and perform an Edit - Paste to copy the phonemes into the document. To hear the pronunciation, select the entire phoneme element and use the Speech - Speak Phonemes menu item or click the Speech toolbar button.

Use the Speech - Edit Phonemes menu item or click the Speech toolbar button to display the Edit Phonemes window. Select the appropriate speech engine and select the appropriate replacement phoneme. The phoneme is added to the clipboard. Insert your cursor into the document and perform an Edit - Paste to copy the phoneme into the document.