Perceptual aspects of cluttered speech

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Psychoacoustics
• Linguistic Perception

Background:

• Cluttering is a speech disorder characterized by rapid and irregular speech patterns.
• Perceptual judgments are crucial for understanding the impact of cluttering on communication.
• Previous research has explored various aspects of cluttering, but the multidimensionality of naturalness judgments requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate perceptual judgments of speech naturalness in individuals with varying degrees of cluttering severity.
• To compare judgments of naturalness with those of articulation, language, disfluency, and speaking rate.
• To explore the multidimensional nature of naturalness in the context of cluttered speech.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study involving two individuals with cluttering (one severe, one mild-moderate).
• 93 speech samples were evaluated by 96 listeners from two different geographical locations (New York and West Virginia).
• Listeners used 9-point scales to rate speech samples on naturalness, articulation, language, disfluency, and speaking rate.

Main Results:

• Speaking rate and naturalness were perceived as the least acceptable attributes for both cluttering speakers.
• Articulation was also rated as less acceptable compared to disfluency and language.
• While disfluency and language were generally most acceptable, specific results varied between the two cluttering subjects, indicating individual differences.

Conclusions:

• Speech rate and naturalness are key perceptual challenges in cluttering.
• Judgments of speech in individuals with cluttering are multidimensional, encompassing various linguistic and acoustic features.
• Listener perception of cluttered speech can be influenced by the severity of the disorder and individual speaker characteristics.