Abstract

ABSTRACTSpectral degradation reduces access to the acoustics of spoken language and compromises how learners break into its structure. We hypothesised that spectral degradation disrupts word segmentation, but that listeners can exploit other cues to restore detection of words. Normal-hearing adults were familiarised to artificial speech that was unprocessed or spectrally degraded by noise-band vocoding into 16 or 8 spectral channels. The monotonic speech stream was pause-free (Experiment 1), interspersed with isolated words (Experiment 2), or slowed by 33% (Experiment 3). Participants were tested on segmentation of familiar vs. novel syllable sequences and on recognition of individual syllables. As expected, vocoding hindered both word segmentation and syllable recognition. The addition of isolated words, but not slowed speech, improved segmentation. We conclude that syllable recognition is necessary but not sufficient for successful word segmentation, and that isolated words can facilitate listeners’ access to the structure of acoustically degraded speech.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.