Rapid adaptation to non-native speech: Effects of aging, hearing loss, and stimulus variability

Abstract

When communicating in challenging situations, most younger listeners with normal hearing are able to quickly adapt to the speech signal, improving their recognition with exposure. One potentially challenging situation is communication with non-native speakers whose second-language production (i.e., accented speech) is altered by the spectral and temporal characteristics of the L1. Older listeners, particularly those with age-related hearing loss, report considerable difficulty in recognition of non-native speech. A growing body of literature suggests that older adults can also perform rapid adaptation to non-native speech, but the conditions that might hinder or facilitate adaptation for these listeners remain unclear. In the present study, rapid adaptation was evaluated for three groups of listeners (younger with normal hearing, older with normal hearing, and older with hearing impairment) in conditions with increasing levels of stimulus variability. Generalization to unfamiliar talkers with familiar and unfamiliar accents was also assessed. Preliminary results indicate differing patterns of adaptation and magnitude of adaptation across conditions and listener groups. Generalization to an unfamiliar talker with a familiar accent appears greater following exposure to multiple talkers than following exposure to a single talker. Generalization to an unfamiliar talker with an unfamiliar accent appears limited.