Talker differences in clear and conversational speech: vowel intelligibility for normal-hearing listeners

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech Science
• Linguistics

Background:

• Clear speech, produced when talkers adapt their speech for hearing-impaired listeners, is more intelligible than conversational speech.
• Previous research indicates variability among talkers in producing clear speech, but limited studies have explored this phenomenon extensively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the variability among talkers in producing clear speech and its impact on intelligibility.
• To examine the influence of talker characteristics (age, gender, experience) on the clear speech benefit.

Main Methods:

• Recorded clear and conversational speech from 41 male and female talkers (aged 18-45).
• Conducted a listening experiment with normal-hearing listeners in noise to assess vowel intelligibility.
• Analyzed intelligibility scores and the magnitude of the speaking style effect across talkers.

Main Results:

• Significant variability was observed in vowel intelligibility among talkers for both clear and conversational speech.
• The magnitude of the clear speech benefit varied widely across individual talkers.
• Female talkers demonstrated a greater clear speech intelligibility benefit compared to male talkers.

Conclusions:

• Talker variability is a significant factor in the effectiveness of clear speech for enhancing intelligibility.
• While gender influences the clear speech benefit, talker age and prior experience with hearing-impaired individuals do not significantly impact this effect.
• Findings highlight the need to consider individual talker differences in speech clarity interventions.