Prosody Element

A prosody element is a feature of VoiceXML that allows developers to control the pitch, contour, range, speaking rate, duration, and volume of an IVR application’s speech output. The inclusion of each attribute is optional, but at least one element must be selected when a prosody element is used for the VXML program to function properly and without error. The pitch function acts as a determinate of the baseline pitch, whereas contour determines the actual pitch contour for all included texts. Range relates to the variability of the pitch for the text contained in any given application. Rate relates to the speaking rate of the VXML application, and sets the speed at which ASR and TTS text engines will generate speech. Duration pertains to the time (in seconds or milliseconds) that the application will take to read the specified text. The volume dictates the sound pressure level and duration at which an application will be recited.

Related links

• VoiceXML - Plum IVR Glossary
• ASR - Plum IVR Glossary
• IVR - Plum IVR Glossary
• Application - Plum IVR Glossary