[css3-speech] Phonemes: request for feedback

Hello !

The "phonemes" property [1] described in the current Working Draft of  
the CSS3 Speech Module covers functionality that is arguably not  
related to styling. The concept of "phonemes" is inherited from SSML  
[2], and indeed represents an important aspect of speech synthesis.  
However, the relevance of phonetic instructions in the presentation  
layer needs to be discussed.

To bring concrete arguments into this discussion, I would like to cite  
the ongoing revision of the DAISY open-standard (format for Digital  
Talking Books and synchronized text/audio publications). ANSI/NISO  
Z39.86-AI defines a markup grammar [3] that 'adopts' SSML "phonemes"  
to enable the provision of pronunciation instructions on XML elements  
that are not within the SSML namespace. In other words, this  
specification considers that phonetic instructions are part of the  
data layer, not part of styling/presentation. In this case,  
pronunciation information is inlined within the content itself, but it  
could alternatively be provided via some non-CSS out-of-band mechanism.

Additionally, the working group responsible for the ongoing revision  
of the EPUB open-standard (the IDPF industry format for electronic  
publications) is also in the process of drafting the adoption of SSML  
elements for inline use within XHTML markup [4].

Due to the contentious nature of the "phonemes" property in the  
current CSS3-Speech Working Draft, and because of the planned release  
schedule of both aforementioned specification works, I would like to  
strongly urge interested parties to provide feedback as soon as  
possible.

Many thanks !
Regards, Daniel


[1]
http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-speech/#phonemes

[2]
http://www.w3.org/TR/speech-synthesis/#S3.1.9

[3]
http://www.daisy.org/z3986/2011/schema/mod/ssml-phoneme-attrib.rng

[4]
http://epub-revision.googlecode.com/svn-history/r1932/trunk/build/EPUB_ContentDocs30.html#sec-css-phonemes

Received on Saturday, 11 December 2010 04:22:48 UTC