Timecourse of word recognition for listener-oriented speaking style adaptations

Abstract

Previous research has found that listener-oriented speaking style adaptations, such as Infant Directed Speech (IDS) and Clear Speech (CS), aid perception and development and improve intelligibility for children and adults, respectively. However, less is known about whether these different speaking styles enhance intelligibility in general, or if young children benefit most from IDS features aimed at capturing and maintaining attention. Additionally, information about time course differences in word recognition for these speech modifications has not been investigated. This study investigates both questions by presenting young adult listeners with semantically anomalous and meaningful sentences produced in IDS, CS, and Conversational (CO) Speech. Listeners participated in (1) a word-recognition-in-noise test and (2) a visual word recognition paradigm tracking eye movements. Results showed facilitated word recognition in noise for both IDS and CS compared to CO. Both speaking style adjustments also resulted in increased speed of word recognition in the visual paradigm. Semantic context provided additional facilitation only when more exaggerated acoustic cues were present (in IDS and CS). Preliminary analyses show that even for adult listeners IDS provided the greatest perceptual benefits, indicating that established advantages of IDS for young listeners cannot be mainly attributed to affect in addition to enhanced acoustic cues.