Speech file system

All speech to be played as part of an application resides in a mounted file system. By default, speech file systems reside in /voice1, which is linked to /home2. These two file systems can be used interchangeably. With the Avaya IR system, you can define where in /voice1 or /home2 speech files are stored.

Speech encoding and storage

Each speech phrase requires a minimum of 8 KB of space.

Default speech directory

The default speech directory is designated as /voice1/vfs/talkfiles. It is organized into 8-KB blocks, which allows for quick and efficient retrieval of speech files.

Specifying a speech directory

Use the following procedure to change the directory in which speech files are stored from the default (/voice1/vfs/talkfiles):

1. Stop the voice system.
2. Access the /vs/data/irAPI.rc file.
3. Add the following entry, where directory is the full path of the new directory where you want to store speech files:

   SPEECHDIR= directory

   The SPEECHDIR variable specifies the new directory.

4. Restart the voice system.

   The speech administration tools (for example, add, copy, and erase) are available for use only with speech files stored in the speech directory defined by the SPEECHDIR variable in the irAPI.rc file.

Saving and restoring speech files

Speech files are backed up when a system backup is performed.

Adding a second speech disk

If you require speech-intensive applications, or if your system has 72 or more channels (telephone network connections), it is recommended that you add a second disk specifically for storing speech.

Defining phrases

A phrase is a unit of speech, such as a letter, number, word, sentence, or paragraph, that a speech application script speaks to a caller. Examples of phrases include a welcome message, a bank balance, or the name of a month. Every phrase in a speech application script is identified by a phrase tag or phrase number. The application speaks a phrase to callers by referencing either the phrase tag or the phrase number in the application. See "Defining phrase tags" and "Defining phrase numbers" for more information.

Defining phrase tags

A phrase tag is a string of up to 50 characters that identifies the contents of a phrase used by an application script. In other words, a phrase tag identifies a specific phrase. When you define a message to be played during a transaction, you specify a given phrase by its phrase tag (as opposed to its content).

The two types of phrase tags are as follows:

• Enhanced Basic Speech (EBS):
  • Currency (such as dollars and cents)
  • Time – hours, minutes, and seconds on the 12-hour (a.m./p.m.) or 24-hour clock
  • Days of the week
  • Months
  • Numbers
  • Characters

    The EBS package includes prerecorded speech formats corresponding to the above types of phrases for all supported languages. For a list of these formats, see EBS format tables.

    IVR Designer uses predefined EBS phrase tags for spoken output, such as digits and letters in various inflections. For more information about IVR Designer, see the EBS-related topics in the Avaya IVR Designer Help.

    Note:
    Predefined EBS phrase tags begin with a colon (:). Therefore, do not use a colon as the first character in any custom phrase tag.

• Custom speech

  Custom phrase tags are designed specifically for the application you are developing and are usually more than one word in length. Examples:

  • "Your account balance is"
  • "Please enter your account number"
  • "The current interest rate is"

Defining phrase numbers

A phrase number is a number that identifies the contents of a phrase used by an application script. A script speaks a phrase to callers by referencing either the phrase tag or the phrase number. A phrase number is assigned to a phrase when you add the phrase to an application (for example, when you add a phrase through a Prompt and Collect node in a IVR Designer application).

Defining talkfiles

A talkfile is a list of phrases usually associated with an application script. Talkfiles are stored under the directory /speech/talk. All of these files have a .pl extension. The first line in the file shows the talkfile number. The rest of the file displays the phrases (as they were entered in the application) preceded by their phrase numbers. The actual phrases are located in the speech file system.

Each talkfile can contain as many as 65,535 phrases. The talkfile number and phrase tag or phrase number together uniquely identify a phrase.

Defining speech files

A speech file is a file containing an encoded speech phrase. Speech files can be stored anywhere, although the default speech file system is located in the /voice1/vfs/talkfiles directory.

Defining the speech file system

A speech file system is a file system where speech resides and is defined in the irAPI.rc file. Only one speech file system can be active at a given time.

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