Synthesized speech intelligibility and preschool age children: comparing accuracy for single word repetition with repeated exposure.

Abstract

Purpose: This investigation examined the effect of repeated exposure to novel and repeated single spoken words in typical listening environments on the intelligibility of two synthesized speech voices and human recorded speech in preschool age children. Methods: Eighteen preschool aged participants listened to and repeated single words presented in human recorded speech, DECtalk™ Paul and AT & T Voice ™ Michael during five experimental sessions. Stimuli consisted of repeated and novel vocabulary items presented in each speech output condition for each session. Experimental sessions took place in the presence of background noise in participants’ classroom or home settings. Results: There was a significant main effect for voice as participants accurately identified significantly more words in the human recorded speech and AT & T Voice ™ ii Abstract Purpose: This investigation examined the effect of repeated exposure to novel and repeated single spoken words in typical listening environments on the intelligibility of two synthesized speech voices and human recorded speech in preschool age children. Methods: Eighteen preschool aged participants listened to and repeated single words presented in human recorded speech, DECtalk™ Paul and AT & T Voice ™ Michael during five experimental sessions. Stimuli consisted of repeated and novel vocabulary items presented in each speech output condition for each session. Experimental sessions took place in the presence of background noise in participants’ classroom or home settings. Results: There was a significant main effect for voice as participants accurately identified significantly more words in the human recorded speech and AT & T Voice ™ than in the DECtalk™ speech output conditions. When averaged across speech output conditions, children increased their accuracy as they participated in additional sessions. There was a statistically significant effect for the interaction between session and voice. DECtalk ™ had a slightly larger effect of session than AT&T Voice ™ and human recorded speech. There was a non-significant interaction between session and vocabulary type (repeated/ novel). When averaged across each voice type, repeated vocabulary words resulted in more accurate responses in later sessions than novel vocabulary words.