Correlation of subjective and objective measures of speech intelligibility

Abstract

Currently there are a number of objective evaluation methods used to quantify the speech intelligibility in a built environment, including the Speech Transmission Index (STI), Rapid Speech Transmission Index (RASTI), Articulation Index (AI), and the Percentage Articulation Loss of Consonants (%ALcons). Many of these have been used for years; however, questions remain about their accuracy in predicting the acoustics of a space. Current widely used software programs can quickly evaluate STI, RASTI, and %ALcons from a measured impulse response. This project compares subjective human performance on modified rhyme and phonetically balanced word tests with objective results calculated from impulse response measurements in four different spaces. The results of these tests aid in understanding performance of various methods of speech intelligibility evaluation. [Work supported by the Univ. of Nebraska Center for Building Integration.] For Speech Communication Best Student Paper Award.