The intonation of speech is modified by an appropriate combination of
resampling and time-domain harmonic scaling. Resampling increases
(upsampling) or decreases (downsampling) the number of data points in a
signal. Harmonic scaling adds or removes pitch cycles to or from a
signal. The pitch of a speech signal can be increased by combining
downsampling with harmonic scaling that adds an appropriate number of
pitch cycles. Alternatively, pitch can be decreased by combining
upsampling with harmonic scaling that removes an appropriate number of
pitch cycles. The present invention can be implemented in an automated
speech-therapy tool that is able to modify the intonation of prerecorded
reference speech signals for playback to a user to emphasize the correct
pronunciation by increasing the pitch of selected portions of words or
phrases that the user had previously mispronounced.