Krause Jean C, Braida Louis D
Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.
J Acoust Soc Am. 2002 Nov;112(5 Pt 1):2165-72. doi: 10.1121/1.1509432.
Sentences spoken "clearly" (and slowly) are significantly more intelligible than those spoken "conversationally" for hearing-impaired listeners in a variety of backgrounds [Picheny, Durlach, and Braida, J. Speech Hear. Res. 28, 96-103 (1985); Uchanski et al., J. Speech Hear. Res. 39, 494-509 (1996); Payton, Uchanski, and Braida, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 95, 1581-1592 (1994)]. However, it is unknown whether slower speaking rates are necessary for highly intelligible speech or whether an alternative form of clear speech exists at faster (i.e., normal) rates. To investigate this question, talkers with significant public speaking experience were asked to produce clear and conversational speech at slow, normal, and quick rates. A method for eliciting clear speech was introduced that ensured the clearest possible speech was obtained at each of these speaking rates. To probe for other highly intelligible speaking modes, talkers also recorded sentences in two other speaking modes: soft and loud. Intelligibility tests indicated that clear speech was the only speaking mode that provided a consistent intelligibility advantage over conversational speech. Moreover, the advantage of clear speech was extended to faster speaking rates than previously reported. These results suggest that clear speech has some inherent acoustic properties that contribute to its high intelligibility without altering rate. Identifying these acoustic properties could lead to improved signal-processing schemes for hearing aids.
对于各种背景下的听力受损听众而言，以“清晰”（且缓慢）方式说出的句子，其可懂度显著高于以“对话式”方式说出的句子[皮切尼、德拉奇和布雷伊达，《言语听觉研究杂志》28卷，96 - 103页（1985年）；乌钱斯基等人，《言语听觉研究杂志》39卷，494 - 509页（1996年）；佩顿、乌钱斯基和布雷伊达，《美国声学学会杂志》95卷，1581 - 1592页（1994年）]。然而，尚不清楚对于高可懂度的言语来说，较慢的语速是否必要，或者是否存在一种在较快（即正常）语速下的清晰言语替代形式。为了探究这个问题，我们要求有丰富公众演讲经验的讲话者以慢、正常和快三种语速分别说出清晰言语和对话式言语。我们引入了一种引出清晰言语的方法，以确保在每种语速下都能获得尽可能清晰的言语。为了探寻其他高可懂度的说话模式，讲话者还以另外两种说话模式录制了句子：轻柔的和响亮的。可懂度测试表明，清晰言语是唯一一种相对于对话式言语始终具有可懂度优势的说话模式。此外，清晰言语的优势扩展到了比先前报道更快的语速。这些结果表明，清晰言语具有一些内在的声学特性，这些特性有助于其在不改变语速的情况下保持高可懂度。识别这些声学特性可能会带来助听器信号处理方案的改进。
