Quantifying Accent Strength with AI: BoldVoice's Latent Space Approach

BoldVoice, an AI-powered accent coaching app, uses 'accent fingerprints'—embeddings generated from a large-scale accented speech model—to quantify accent strength in non-native English speakers. By visualizing 1000 recordings in a latent space using PLS regression and UMAP, BoldVoice creates a model that visually represents accent strength. This model objectively measures accent strength, independent of native language, and tracks learning progress. A case study shows how this helps learners improve, with potential applications in ASR and TTS systems.