No, it’s not time to start reading Keats to your MacBook. Poetry is, however, making an impact on the world of computers.

Although computer voices are currently able to pronounce words, the voices of computers often come across as stilted and unnatural. As such, researchers are now using poetry to investigate how and where people place emphasis in words; using poetry, researchers aim to aid computer programmers in developing more realistic speech programs.

According to work published by McGill University linguist Dr. Michael Wagner, by studying how both English and French speakers read poetry — in terms of rhythm, stress and intonation — researchers can gain a better understanding of where speakers place emphasis in everyday speech. In this way, Wagner’s research could help programmers create computer speech programs with natural-sounding voices.

What is we used poetry to teach computers to speak better? [McGill . . . → Read More: Power Poetics: Using Poetry to Improve the Speaking Skills of Computers