Glossary » spoken language interface

spoken language interface

a user interface where the user can, at a minimum, issue spoken commands, and optimally, conduct all interaction with the computer via speech. Speech systems are differentiated by:

• • how restrictive they are in what style of speech they can recognize, e.g. do they handle dialects or non-native speakers well?
  • whether they recognize only the speech of an individual (who must train the system) or are general-purpose in understanding a wide class of people
  • whether they can recognize continuous speech or require that each word be carefully and distinctly spoken
  • the range of their vocabulary, i.e. speech recognition is much more reliable when only 10 words must be differentiated

Spoken language interfaces are very appropriate for many phone interfaces, but they don’t work well in noisy environments (e.g. with the television on) or in environments that must remain quiet (e.g. libraries and many work settings).