Speaker identification using noncontemporary speech samples

Abstract

There are two noncontemporary elements important to speaker identification. In one, listeners are asked to make identifications at various latencies after hearing the speaker (time of identification is noncontemporary) or, in the second, samples of the speaker’s voice are obtained at markedly different times (noncontemporary samples). It has been found that memory for voice decays over time in the first case; hence it has been assumed that the noncontemporary samples pose just as difficult a challenge. AN aural–perceptual speaker identification project was carried out to test this second relationship. Noncontemporary samples, with latencies of 4, 8, and 32 weeks, and then 6 and 20 years, were studied. It was found that mean correct identification was initially reduced by 15% and this level was sustained for up to 6 years. It was only after 20 years that levels dropped significantly (to 33%). It is concluded that listener’s efficiency in identifying noncontemporary speech will show only modest decay over time and, hence, its use ordinarily should have only a minimal effect on the speaker identification process.