Abstract: An affinity knowledge library generates a library of word pairs having both independent and dependent affinities with one another, and uses that affinity knowledge library to create customized curriculums based upon affinities of students and teachers.

Abstract: Systems and methods for scoring spoken Chinese are provided. In an exemplary method, a user reads a written transcript and the user's voice is recorded. Characters of the transcript are then represented as pinyins with tone markings. The voice recording is sectioned into individual phonemes that are aligned with the phonemes of the pinyins. For each character of the transcript, a tone is determined for the phonemes in the voice recording corresponding to that character. That tone is scored as correct or incorrect by comparison to the tone marking associated with the pinyins for that character. The pronunciation of each phoneme of the voice recording is also scored relative to the corresponding phonemes of the pinyins of the characters of the transcript. Further scores for words and sentences can be developed from the tone and pronunciation scores and provided to the user with feedback.

Abstract: Systems and methods for scoring spoken Chinese are provided. In an exemplary method, a user reads a written transcript and the user's voice is recorded. Characters of the transcript are then represented as pinyins with tone markings. The voice recording is sectioned into individual phonemes that are aligned with the phonemes of the pinyins. For each character of the transcript, a tone is determined for the phonemes in the voice recording corresponding to that character. That tone is scored as correct or incorrect by comparison to the tone marking associated with the pinyins for that character. The pronunciation of each phoneme of the voice recording is also scored relative to the corresponding phonemes of the pinyins of the characters of the transcript. Further scores for words and sentences can be developed from the tone and pronunciation scores and provided to the user with feedback.

Abstract: An affinity knowledge library generates a library of word pairs having both independent and dependent affinities with one another, and uses that affinity knowledge library to create customized curriculums based upon affinities of students and teachers.

Abstract: A Viterbi decoder circuit for decoding an encoded data signal containing Viterbi branch metric information includes a configurable memory which is alternately configured to have four stages of memory in which the incoming data signal is stored and selectively read out based upon Viterbi trellis address information contained therein. While the present data of the incoming data signal is being stored in one memory stage, individual bits from selected bytes of previously stored incoming data are read out from a second memory stage and used to form the next address for the second memory stage and an address for a third memory stage from which further previously stored incoming data are read out and decoded to form the final Viterbi-decoded data.