Speech recognition system and method with automatic syntax generation

Abstract

A syntax rule authoring system automatically generates syntax rules for an application program's predefined inputs, thereby enabling the application program to be used with a syntax based speech recognition system. The syntax rule authoring system includes memory for storing an application program having an associated set of user selectable predefined inputs. The syntax rule authoring system stores in a first data structure for each predefined input an associated longest word sequence for uniquely identifying that predefined input. A word sequence generation procedure automatically generates, for each predefined input, a set of potential identifying word sequences. Each generated potential identifying word sequence includes a subset of the words in the associated longest word sequence. The potential identifying word sequences for all the predefined inputs are stored a second data structure. A redundant word sequence elimination procedure identifies redundant sets of matching word sequences in the second data structure, where each redundant set of matching word sequences includes potential identifying word sequences for at least two distinct predefined inputs whose word sequences satisfy predefined match criteria. A syntax generation procedure then generates syntax rules, each generated syntax rule corresponding to those of the potential identifying word sequences for a distinct predefined input that are not included in any of the identified redundant sets. The generated syntax rules are suitable for use in a syntax based speech recognition system.