Threshold of Intelligibility/Comprehensibility of Rapid Connected Speech: Method and Instrumentation
Abstract
The technology of speech compression demands new methods for measuring the intelligibility and comprehensibility of compressed speech. The present report describes a method in which repeated judgments of the comprehensibility of speech are obtained as the rate of speech is made to vary. The method is similar to the Bekesy method for the determination of pure-tone thresholds but differs from it in that rate of speech is varied rather than the intensity of an auditory signal. The result is a threshold value representing the maximum rate of speech judged comprehensible by an individual listener. Instrumentation that varies speech rate, accelerating or decelerating the rate either with or without pitch changes, was developed for this determination and is described in some detail. Both the method and associated instrumentation have potential for a variety of applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA060556
Entities
People
- Henry J. Dehaan
- John R. Schjelderup
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences