The term ‘sample’ in synthesis

[Ross C]

I expected the term ‘sampling’ only to be relevant when describing recognition/analysis of an acoustic signal. But it seems that we also use this word when describing the process of speech synthesis. To me, ‘sampling’ means collecting data rather than generating it. Have I understood it too narrowly?

[Simon]

‘Sampling’ is indeed used to mean several things.

When talking about digital signals, sampling means the process of converting an analogue signal (in continuous-time) to a digital one (in discrete time): we take samples at regular intervals. A ‘sample’ here is a single number, stored in binary form (e.g., using 16 bits).

But we could also use the term ‘sample’ to describe a speech waveform taken from a larger one, perhaps for the purposes of speech synthesis. This use of ‘sampling’ is like in music production when someone ‘borrows’ a sample (e.g., a few notes, or a drum beat) from an existing track, and makes new music with it.

[Author]

Posts