Effects of speech‐rate and pause duration on sentence intelligibility in younger and older normal‐hearing listeners

2005 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 2604-2604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akihiro Tanaka ◽  
Shuichi Sakamoto ◽  
Yô‐iti Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Speech Rate ◽  
Pause Duration ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Sentence Intelligibility

Interaction of Speech Coders and Atypical Speech II

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald G. Jamieson ◽  
Vijay Parsa ◽  
Moneca C. Price ◽  
James Till
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Voice Disorders ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Speech Quality ◽  
Degraded Speech ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Subband Processing

We investigated how standard speech coders, currently used in modern communication systems, affect the quality of the speech of persons who have common speech and voice disorders. Three standardized speech coders (GSM 6.10 RPELTP, FS1016 CELP, and FS1015 LPC) and two speech coders based on subband processing were evaluated for their performance. Coder effects were assessed by measuring the quality of speech samples both before and after processing by the speech coders. Speech quality was rated by 10 listeners with normal hearing on 28 different scales representing pitch and loudness changes, speech rate, laryngeal and resonatory dysfunction, and coder-induced distortions. Results showed that (a) nine scale items were consistently and reliably rated by the listeners; (b) all coders degraded speech quality on these nine scales, with the GSM and CELP coders providing the better quality speech; and (c) interactions between coders and individual voices did occur on several voice quality scales.

Selected Cognitive Factors and Speech Recognition Performance Among Young and Elderly Listeners

1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Gordon-Salant ◽  
Peter J. Fitzgibbons
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Recall Task ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Sentence Recall

The influence of selected cognitive factors on age-related changes in speech recognition was examined by measuring the effects of recall task, speech rate, and availability of contextual cues on recognition performance by young and elderly listeners. Stimuli were low and high context sentences from the R-SPIN test presented at normal and slowed speech rates in noise. Response modes were final word recall and sentence recall. The effects of hearing loss and age were examined by comparing performances of young and elderly listeners with normal hearing and young and elderly listeners with hearing loss. Listeners with hearing loss performed more poorly than listeners with normal hearing in nearly every condition. In addition, elderly listeners exhibited poorer performance than younger listeners on the sentence recall task, but not on the word recall task, indicating that added memory demands have a detrimental effect on elderly listeners' performance. Slowing of speech rate did not have a differential effect on performance of young and elderly listeners. All listeners performed well when stimulus contextual cues were available. Taken together, these results support the notion that the performance of elderly listeners with hearing loss is influenced by a combination of auditory processing factors, memory demands, and speech contextual information.

Effects of Speech Rate, Background Noise, and Simulated Hearing Loss on Speech Rate Judgment and Speech Intelligibility in Young Listeners

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. 028-039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Adams ◽  
Robert E. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Moderate Correlation ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Noise Ratio

Purpose: To study the effect of noise on speech rate judgment and signal-to-noise ratio threshold (SNR50) at different speech rates (slow, preferred, and fast). Research Design: Speech rate judgment and SNR50 tasks were completed in a normal-hearing condition and a simulated hearing-loss condition. Study Sample: Twenty-four female and six male young, normal-hearing participants. Results: Speech rate judgment was not affected by background noise regardless of hearing condition. Results of the SNR50 task indicated that, as speech rate increased, performance decreased for both hearing conditions. There was a moderate correlation between speech rate judgment and SNR50 with the various speech rates, such that as judgment of speech rate increased from too slow to too fast, performance deteriorated. Conclusions: These findings can be used to support the need for counseling patients and their families about the potential advantages to using average speech rates or rates that are slightly slowed while conversing in the presence of background noise.

scholarly journals The Effect of Clear Speech on Cantonese Alaryngeal Speakers’ Intelligibility

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Tak Fai Hui ◽  
Steven Randall Cox ◽  
Ting Huang ◽  
Wei-Rong Chen ◽  
Manwa Lawrence Ng
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Data ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Heterogeneous Groups ◽  
Intelligibility Test ◽  
Sentence Intelligibility ◽  
Communication Methods ◽  
Training Protocols

<b><i>Background/Aim:</i></b> The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary data concerning the effect of clear speech (CS) on Cantonese alaryngeal speakers’ intelligibility. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Voice recordings of 11 sentences randomly selected from the Cantonese Sentence Intelligibility Test (CSIT) were obtained from 31 alaryngeal speakers (9 electrolarynx [EL] users, 10 esophageal speakers and 12 tracheoesophageal [TE] speakers) in habitual speech (HS) and CS. Two naïve listeners orthographically transcribed a total of 1,364 sentences. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Significant effects of speaking condition on speaking rate and CSIT scores were observed, but no significant effect of alaryngeal communication methods was noted. CS was significantly slower than HS by 0.78 syllables/s. Esophageal speakers demonstrated the slowest speech rate when using CS, while EL users demonstrated the largest decrease in speaking rate when using CS compared to HS. TE speakers had the highest CSIT scores in HS (listener 1 = 81.4%; listener 2 = 81.3%), and esophageal speakers had the highest CSIT scores in CS (listener 1 = 87.5%; listener 2 = 89.7%). EL users experienced the largest increase in intelligibility while using CS compared to HS (9.1%) followed by esophageal speakers (8.9%) and TE speakers (1.4%). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Preliminary data indicate that CS may significantly affect Cantonese alaryngeal speakers’ speaking rate and intelligibility. However, intelligibility appeared to vary considerably across speakers. Further research involving larger, heterogeneous groups of speakers and listeners alongside longer and more refined CS training protocols should be conducted to confirm that CS can improve Cantonese alaryngeal speakers’ intelligibility.

Impact of Cognitive Impairment and Dysarthria on Spoken Language in Multiple Sclerosis

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Lynda Feenaughty ◽  
Ling-Yu Guo ◽  
Bianca Weinstock-Guttman ◽  
Meredith Ray ◽  
Ralph H.B. Benedict ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Pause Duration ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Perceptual Judgments ◽  
Speech Timing ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objective: To investigate the impact of cognitive impairment on spoken language produced by speakers with multiple sclerosis (MS) with and without dysarthria. Method: Sixty speakers comprised operationally defined groups. Speakers produced a spontaneous speech sample to obtain speech timing measures of speech rate, articulation rate, and silent pause frequency and duration. Twenty listeners judged the overall perceptual severity of the samples using a visual analog scale that ranged from no impairment to severe impairment (speech severity). A 2 × 2 factorial design examined main and interaction effects of dysarthria and cognitive impairment on speech timing measures and speech severity in individuals with MS. Each speaker group with MS was further compared to a healthy control group. Exploratory regression analyses examined relationships between cognitive and biopsychosocial variables and speech timing measures and perceptual judgments of speech severity, for speakers with MS. Results: Speech timing was significantly slower for speakers with dysarthria compared to speakers with MS without dysarthria. Silent pause durations also significantly differed for speakers with both dysarthria and cognitive impairment compared to MS speakers without either impairment. Significant interactions between dysarthria and cognitive factors revealed comorbid dysarthria and cognitive impairment contributed to slowed speech rates in MS, whereas dysarthria alone impacted perceptual judgments of speech severity. Speech severity was strongly related to pause duration. Conclusions: The findings suggest the nature in which dysarthria and cognitive symptoms manifest in objective, acoustic measures of speech timing and perceptual judgments of severity is complex.

scholarly journals Rhythmic Training Improves Temporal Anticipation and Adaptation Abilities in Children With Hearing Loss During Verbal Interaction

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (9) ◽  
pp. 3234-3247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Hidalgo ◽  
Jacques Pesnot-Lerousseau ◽  
Patrick Marquis ◽  
Stéphane Roman ◽  
Daniele Schön
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Auditory Training ◽  
Temporal Adaptation ◽  
Accurate Performance ◽  
Speech Interaction ◽  
Children With Hearing Loss

Purpose In this study, we investigate temporal adaptation capacities of children with normal hearing and children with cochlear implants and/or hearing aids during verbal exchange. We also address the question of the efficiency of a rhythmic training on temporal adaptation during speech interaction in children with hearing loss. Method We recorded electroencephalogram data in children while they named pictures delivered on a screen, in alternation with a virtual partner. We manipulated the virtual partner's speech rate (fast vs. slow) and the regularity of alternation (regular vs. irregular). The group of children with normal hearing was tested once, and the group of children with hearing loss was tested twice: once after 30 min of auditory training and once after 30 min of rhythmic training. Results Both groups of children adjusted their speech rate to that of the virtual partner and were sensitive to the regularity of alternation with a less accurate performance following irregular turns. Moreover, irregular turns elicited a negative event-related potential in both groups, showing a detection of temporal deviancy. Notably, the amplitude of this negative component positively correlated with accuracy in the alternation task. In children with hearing loss, the effect was more pronounced and long-lasting following rhythmic training compared with auditory training. Conclusion These results are discussed in terms of temporal adaptation abilities in speech interaction and suggest the use of rhythmic training to improve these skills of children with hearing loss.

Control of Prosodic Features for Keyword Emphasis in a Text-to-Speech Synthesizer

1992 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-236
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Hamada ◽  
Jin'ichi Chiba
Keyword(s):  
User Interface ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Graphical User Interface ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Pause Duration ◽  
The Other ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Text To Speech ◽  
Speech Synthesizer ◽  
Prosodic Feature

For the purpose of designing a method to control the main speech parameters for keyword emphasis in a text-to-speech synthesizer, the relation between speech parameters and emphasis level is determined from experiments. Twelve subjects are instructed to modify keyword emphasis to achieve natural sounding speech from three sentences. An interactive speech editor with a graphical user interface is developed for the experiments. The editor allows the subjects to control speech intensity, speech rate and average fundamental frequency of the keyword, and of the other sentence components. Furthermore, subjects can also control pause (silence) duration preceding and following the keyword. Extracted relations between prosodic feature parameters and emphasis level shows that speech intensity and speech rate are independent of sentence content. Speech intensity increases linearly and speech rate decreases linearly with emphasis level. On the other hand, average fundamental frequency and pause duration depend on sentence content, and relatively large changes are required to strongly emphasize keywords using pause insertion and increased fundamental frequency.

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