Age-Related Changes to Spectral Voice Characteristics Affect Judgments of Prosodic, Segmental, and Talker Attributes for Child and Adult Speech

Autor/inn/en	Dilley, Laura C.; Wieland, Elizabeth A.; Gamache, Jessica L.; McAuley, J. Devin; Redford, Melissa A.
Titel	Age-Related Changes to Spectral Voice Characteristics Affect Judgments of Prosodic, Segmental, and Talker Attributes for Child and Adult Speech
Quelle	In: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56 (2013) 1, S.159-177 (19 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1092-4388
DOI	10.1044/1092-4388(2012/11-0199)
Schlagwörter	Speech; Age Differences; Suprasegmentals; Children; Adults; Acoustics + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Speaking; Sprechen; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Child; Kind; Kinder; Akustik
Abstract	Purpose: As children mature, changes in voice spectral characteristics co-vary with changes in speech, language, and behavior. In this study, spectral characteristics were manipulated to alter the perceived ages of talkers' voices while leaving critical acoustic-prosodic correlates intact, to determine whether perceived age differences were associated with differences in judgments of prosodic, segmental, and talker attributes. Method: Speech was modified by lowering formants and fundamental frequency, for 5-year-old children's utterances, or raising them, for adult caregivers' utterances. Next, participants differing in awareness of the manipulation (Experiment 1A) or amount of speech-language training (Experiment 1B) made judgments of prosodic, segmental, and talker attributes. Experiment 2 investigated the effects of spectral modification on intelligibility. Finally, in Experiment 3, trained analysts used formal prosody coding to assess prosodic characteristics of spectrally modified and unmodified speech. Results: Differences in perceived age were associated with differences in ratings of speech rate, fluency, intelligibility, likeability, anxiety, cognitive impairment, and speech-language disorder/delay; effects of training and awareness of the manipulation on ratings were limited. There were no significant effects of the manipulation on intelligibility or formally coded prosody judgments. Conclusion: Age-related voice characteristics can greatly affect judgments of speech and talker characteristics, raising cautionary notes for developmental research and clinical work. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10