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On cross-language consonant identification in second language noise.
Letizia Marchegiani1, Xenofon Fafoutis2
1Language and Speech Laboratory, Faculty of Art, University of the Basque Country, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
This study investigated how non-native English speakers identify consonants in noisy environments with multiple speakers. Familiar consonants were used to understand speech perception in challenging, multilingual auditory conditions.
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Area of Science:
- Auditory perception
- Psychoacoustics
- Second language acquisition
Background:
- Everyday speech perception is significantly impacted by background noise, particularly from competing talkers.
- Overlapping speech creates both energetic and informational masking, complicating auditory processing.
- Language familiarity with target and masker speech influences the degree of masking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze consonant identification by non-native English speakers under varying levels of multi-talker babble noise.
- To investigate the impact of babble-modulated noise on speech perception for non-native listeners.
- To assess perception using consonants common to both English and the listeners' native languages.
Main Methods:
- Consonant identification tasks were performed by non-native English speakers.
- Stimuli included N-talker natural babble noise and babble-modulated noise.
- The number of talkers in the babble noise was systematically varied.
Main Results:
- Consonant identification performance was measured in different babble noise conditions.
- The study evaluated the effects of increasing the number of talkers on masking efficacy.
- Babble-modulated noise effects on perception were compared to natural babble.
Conclusions:
- Findings contribute to understanding speech perception challenges for non-native speakers in complex auditory scenes.
- Using familiar consonants isolates the effects of linguistic masking from phonetic unfamiliarity.
- This research provides a foundation for studying first language speech perception amidst second language maskers.

