SPEECH SEGMENT CLUSTERING AND RANKING

A system, method, and apparatus for identifying problematic speech segments is provided. The system includes a clustering module for generating a first cluster of one or more consecutive speech segments if the consecutive speech segments satisfy a predetermined filtering test, and for generating a second cluster comprising at least one different consecutive speech segment selected from the ordered sequence if the at least one different consecutive speech segment satisfies the predetermined filtering test. The system also includes a combining module for combining the first and second clusters as well as the at least one intervening consecutive speech segment to form an aggregated cluster if the aggregated cluster satisfies a predetermined combining criterion. The system can further include a ranking module for ranking aggregated clusters, the ranking reflecting a relative severity of misalignments among problematic speech segments. Once identified, more severely misaligned speech segments can be analyzed more effectively and efficiently.