Abstract
This study examines listening effort, as indexed by pupil dilation, needed for processing foreign-accented speech that varies in intelligibility. Previous research has shown that the magnitude of pupil dilation is influenced by various factors, crucially the amount of noise added to speech. However, the method has not yet been used to examine foreign-accented speech. Here, we determine if the full range of foreign accent intelligibility induces a similar increase in cognitive processing effort as that seen for speech in noise. Further, we examine whether listener experience with the accent mitigates this increase in cognitive effort. The results indicate that as speech becomes less intelligible due to accent, pupil dilation increases. Additionally, experience not only reduces the overall magnitude of pupil dilation, it shifts the threshold at which decreased intelligibility begins to incur additional processing effort. We discuss the present results in terms of listening effort when processing spoken variability. The present study establishes pupillometry as an informative method for investigating the processing demands associated with foreign-accented speech.
Highlights
With recent increases in global travel and immigration, interactions with foreign-accented speakers has become a part of the everyday experience of many language users
In order to best characterize the central aspects of this interaction for the purposes of the present study, it is presented as a multi-panel plot showing the contour surfaces of predicted pupil dilation across time and intelligibility at four values of experience, namely the minimum, first tercile, second tercile, and maximum
The present study examined the pupillary response elicited during the comprehension of spoken words that varied in intelligibility due to foreign accentedness
Summary
With recent increases in global travel and immigration, interactions with foreign-accented speakers has become a part of the everyday experience of many language users. Foreign-accented speech is highly variable and can lead to differences in the intelligibility of the message intended by non-native speakers (see Bradlow and Bent, 2008). Despite the challenges, native listeners can accommodate this variability, generally understanding what their conversation partner is attempting to communicate. While this may initially require additional effort and concentration, comprehension can improve over time (see Bradlow and Bent, 2008). Because effective communication relies on successful comprehension, it is important to understand how accented speech is processed and understood by listeners. We further examine how the amount of experience listeners have interacting with non-native speakers influences processing
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