A METHOD FOR ANALYZING PHONEMIC ERRORS IN UNDERWATER SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY TESTING.
Abstract
A method for analyzing listeners' phonemic confusions of monosyllabic words was developed in order to determine the type as well as the number of consonant errors made in divers speech. This method, which deals exclusively with consonants, allows for the listeners' responses to be written in phonetics or traditional orthography. Therefore, it can be used with experienced or naive listeners which, in large scale intelligibility testing, is desired or necessary. From the listeners' responses, the errors are grouped into simple consonant-for-consonant substitutions, substitutions involving consonant clusters, and omissions, and additions. The results of the analyses are presented in terms of the percent correct for each phoneme relative to the total possible number of correct phonemes at a certain condition. In this way, the relative intelligibility of each phoneme may be obtained and compared with other phonemes in the same test or with the same phoneme in various testing situations. Preliminary data indicate that the reliability of transforming the orthographic responses to phonemes ranges from 86.7 to 93 percent. Some results of the initial application of this procedure to the phonemic confusions of divers' speech in Helium-oxygen environments indicate that majority of confusion occurs among sounds produced with the same voicing component within the same manner and place of articulation categories. With regard to the errors of place of articulation, the confusions were approximately random. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0696123
Entities
People
- Harry Hollien
- John F. Brandt
- Thomas Murry
Organizations
- University of Florida