A segmented and labelled speech database may be used for training the HMM models used in many recognisers , as well as for testing them. In addition, such a database provides the raw data needed for deriving rules for text-to-speech synthesis (rules of duration , intonation , formant frequencies, diphones, etc.).
A segmented and labelled speech database is also a primary resource in basic linguistic research, particularly in the case of little-researched languages. Such a database can yield fundamental information on the acoustic parameters of speech sounds of the language, as well as more detailed information on such things as patterns of duration variation according to linguistic context.