The effect of cognitive load on temporal and disfluency patterns of speech

Target ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 482-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judit Bóna ◽  
Mária Bakti
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Rate Ratio ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Articulation Rate ◽  
Temporal Characteristics ◽  
Filled Pauses ◽  
Whole Word ◽  
Consecutive Interpreting ◽  
The Continuum

Abstract This paper investigates how variation in the complexity of speech tasks is reflected in the temporal characteristics and disfluency patterns of speech. We examined temporal characteristics (speech rate, global articulation rate, ratio of pauses, frequency of pauses, and mean duration of pauses) and disfluency markers (overall frequency of disfluencies; frequency of filled pauses, filler words, whole-word repetitions, part-word repetitions, broken words, prolonged sounds, and revisions; frequency of disfluency clusters) in four speech production tasks (consecutive interpreting, sight translation, spontaneous speech and extemporaneous speech) with twelve speakers. Our hypothesis, according to which the examined parameters will differ across the four tasks, was partly confirmed by the data; even though not all speech tasks differed significantly in all the examined parameters, our investigation revealed that there were significant differences between some tasks in four parameters, and between others in nine out of the fourteen parameters examined. Our data also suggest that in terms of the temporal characteristics and disfluency markers examined, the four tasks can be represented on a continuum based on the cognitive load associated with each task. At one end of the continuum and generating the least cognitive load is spontaneous speech, and at the other, generating the most cognitive load, is sight translation.

ARTICULATION AND SPEAKING RATES IN BILINGUALS WITH REGARD TO TIME OF EXPOSURE TO ONE LANGUAGE

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-220
Author(s):  
Mirosław Michalik ◽  
Ewa Czaplewska ◽  
Anna Solak ◽  
Anna Szkotak
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Average Duration ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Numerical Data ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Articulation Rate ◽  
Sample Number ◽  
Filled Pauses ◽  
At Home

The basic aim of the research presented in this paper was to check whether the language proficiency level of bilingual children with Polish as one of their languages is also related to the pace of speech, which is the result of two specific parameters i.e. articulation rate and speaking rate. It was assumed that children who use Polish more rarely and mostly at home will display slower speaking and articulation rates when contrasted with children who use Polish both at home and at school on an everyday basis. Participants were thirty-two children who speak Polish as one of two languages, the first research group consisting of sixteen Polish-French students at the age of 8.11 living in Wal-lonia. The second group consisted of sixteen Flemish-Polish students living in Flanders. Here the average age was 9.3 and subjects used Polish much less than their first group coun-terparts. The comparative analysis included the following parameters essential for the de-scription of the rate of speech: 1. basic: average speaking rate (phones/sec., syllables/sec, duration of pauses), average articulation rate (phones/sec., syllables/sec.), average ratio of pauses in speech sample (number and percentage), 2. accessory: average duration of all pauses (sec.), average duration of proper pauses (sec.), average duration of filled pauses (sec.), average duration of semi-filled pauses (sec.). The numerical data from the research was obtained with the use of free Audacity software. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the two research groups in either the basic or the accessory speech rate parameters. In the Polish-French group the results were comparatively better but still statistically insignificant. It seems that the data obtained will confirm the need for considerable caution in the evalua-tion of the competence of bilingual children with high language skills. Similar to children with imbalanced bilingualism, these children may also, perhaps, require some extra time to deal with certain language tasks.

Predicting judged fluency of consecutive interpreting from acoustic measures

Interpreting ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenting Yu ◽  
Vincent J. van Heuven
Keyword(s):  
Speech Rate ◽  
Total Duration ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Strong Correlations ◽  
Articulation Rate ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Advanced Students ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Consecutive Interpreting

This experimental study of consecutive interpreting investigates whether: (1) there is any correlation between assessments of its fluency and accuracy; (2) judged fluency can be predicted from computer-based measurements like articulation rate. Ten raters judged six criteria of accuracy and fluency in two consecutive interpretations of the same recorded source speech, from Chinese A into English B, by 12 trainee interpreters (seven undergraduates, five MA students). The recorded interpretations were examined with the speech analysis tool PRAAT. From a computerized count of the pauses thus detected, together with disfluencies identified by raters, 12 acoustic measures of fluency were calculated. The advanced students were more fluent than the beginners; both groups were less fluent in the initial interpretation. Statistical analysis shows: (1) a strong positive correlation between judged accuracy and judged fluency; (2) strong correlations between judged fluency and objective fluency variables; (3) the usefulness of effective speech rate (number of syllables, excluding disfluencies, divided by total duration of speech production and pauses) as a predictor of judged fluency. Other important determinants of judged fluency were the number of filled pauses, articulation rate, and mean length of pause. Potential for developing automatic fluency assessment in consecutive interpreting is discussed, as are possible training implications.

Preliminary Speech Rate Normative Data in Adult Jordanian Speakers

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 204
Author(s):  
Mohammad A. Damhoureyeh ◽  
Wesam B. Darawsheh ◽  
Wa’el N. Qa’dan ◽  
Yaser S. Natour
Keyword(s):  
Normative Data ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Speech Disorders ◽  
Articulation Rate ◽  
Motor Speech ◽  
Jordanian Arabic ◽  
Motor Speech Disorders ◽  
Arabic Speakers ◽  
Positive Correlations

Studies conducted to establish normative data on speech rate; including speaking and articulation rate, for the Jordanian Arabic dialect are scarce. Aim: to establish preliminary normative data on speaking and articulation rate for the adult male and female Jordanian Arabic speakers. Methodology: The sample of the study comprised 51 participants (23 males and 28 females), age (18-25 yrs, mean 20.82 yrs ±1.52).  Spontaneous speech and reading samples were collected from participants. Results: Means of articulation rates during the tasks of spontaneous speech and reading passage were (140.07 w/m, 161.83 w/m, respectively), while the means of speaking rates during the tasks of spontaneous speech and reading passage were (124.51w/m, 141.36w/m, respectively). The ANOVA showed no significant differences (p=0.237) attributed to the effect gender on the articulation or the speaking rates in both tasks of spontaneous speech and reading passage. Pearson-r test showed moderate-strong positive correlations between articulation and speaking rates during both the reading passage and the spontaneous speech tasks (p<0.01, r = 0.416; p <0.001, r = 0.962, respectively). Conclusion: this study can be of a clinical significance in the evaluation and treatment of fluency, articulation and motor speech disorders.

Speech Rate Is No Simple matter

1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey M. Derwing
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Pause Time ◽  
Short Film ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Articulation Rate ◽  
Simple Matter ◽  
Communicative Success

Speech rate (articulation rate and pauses) was examined for its relation to communicative success. Native English speakers (NSs) were paired with other NSs and with non-native speakers (NNSs). The subjects viewed a short film, the content of which they were to relay to their two partners independently. Communicative success was measured through comprehension questions addressed to the listeners at the completion of the task. Analyses indicated that although a slight majority of NSs slowed their speech rate for NNSs, they did not adjust articulation rate, but did significantly increase pause time. Neither speech rate nor articulation rate varied over the course of the narrations. Contrary to intuition, the subjects who successfully communicated the story to NNSs did not adjust their speech rate, while those who had difficulty communicating with NNSs increased pause time significantly. The implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions for further research are made.

Adaptation of Stuttering Frequency During Repeated Readings

1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1265-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludo Max ◽  
Anthony J. Caruso
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Transition Rate ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
The Other ◽  
Repeated Readings ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Articulation Rate ◽  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Learning Hypothesis ◽  
Word Duration

This study is part of a series investigating the hypothesis that stuttering adaptation is a result of motor learning. Previous investigations indicate that nonspeech motor learning typically is associated with an increase in speed of performance. Previous investigations of stuttering, on the other hand, indicate that improvements in fluency during most fluency-enhancing conditions or after stuttering treatment tend to be associated with decreased speech rate, increased duration of specific acoustic segments, and decreased vowel duration variability. The present acoustic findings, obtained from 8 individuals who stutter, reveal that speech adjustments occurring during adaptation differ from those reported for other fluency-enhancing conditions or stuttering treatment. Instead, the observed changes are consistent with those occurring during skill improvements for nonspeech motor tasks and, thus, with a motor learning hypothesis of stuttering adaptation. During the last of 6 repeated readings, a statistically significant increase in articulation rate was observed, together with a decrease in word duration, vowel duration, and consonant-vowel (CV) transition extent. Other adjustments showing relatively consistent trends across individual subjects included decreased CV transition rate and duration, and increased variability of both CV transition extent and vowel duration.

scholarly journals Speech fluency: a result of oral language proficiency?

Linguistica ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna Požgaj Hadži ◽  
Damir Horga ◽  
Tatjana Balazic Bulc
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Articulation Rate ◽  
Speech Fluency ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Oral Language Proficiency

The aim of this paper is to answer the question of the influence of language proficiency on speech fluency in relation to speakers’ other cognitive abilities by comparing the speech of research participants who speak Slovenian as L1 and Croatian as LF. By using the method of acoustic and corpus analysis, the values of speech rate, articulation rate, mean length of runs and the length and frequency of certain pauses are presented.

scholarly journals UNPREPARED READING AS A TYPE OF SPONTANEOUS SPEECH (on Signs of Spontaneity in Reading in a Non-Native Language)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Сhunxia Kong ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Native Language ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Speech Corpus ◽  
Integral Characteristics ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Whole Word

The article discusses unprepared reading in a non-native language and shows it to have all the signs of spontaneity that are traditionally considered integral characteristics of any spontaneous speech: hesitation pauses, both physical (ɭ) and filled with non-speech sounds (uh, m-m), word breaks, reading the whole word or part of it by syllables, vocalization of a consonant, and so forth. The material for the analysis included 40 monologues of reading the story by M. Zoshchenko Fantasy Shirt and a non-plot excerpt from V. Korolenko’s story The Blind Musician recorded from 20 Chinese informants. All the monologues are included in the block of Russian interfering speech of the Chinese as part of the monologic speech corpus Ba­lanced Annotated Text Library. As the analysis showed, it is more often that there is not one sign of spontaneity but a whole complex of such signs, and together they fill hesitation pauses, help the speaker to control the quality of speech or correct what was said, etc. In addition, the occurrence of various signs of spontaneity in the course of unprepared reading is closely related to the individual characteristics of the speaker/reader. In general, we have found that there are more signs of spontaneity in the speech of men (3,244 cases; 40.7 %) than in the speech of women (2,049; 27.7 %), in the speech of informants with a lower level of proficiency in Russian B2 (2,993; 37.9 %) than in the speech of informants with a higher level C1 (2,300; 30.8 %), in the speech of extroverts (1,521; 38 %) than in the speech of ambiverts (1,694; 35,2 %) and introverts (2,078; 31,7 %). As to the type of the source text, there turned out to be more signs of spontaneity in monologues of reading a plot text than in monologues of reading a non-plot text (3,031; 40.3 vs 2,283; 31 %). The paper concludes that reading should be recognized as a spontaneous type of speech activity.

scholarly journals Taxa de elocução e taxa de articulação em corpus utilizado na perícia de Comparação de Locutores

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Cintia Schivinscki Gonçalves
Keyword(s):  
Formal Education ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Semistructured Interview ◽  
Articulation Rate ◽  
Discriminating Power ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Temporal Measures ◽  
Forensic Phonetics ◽  
Global And Local

Neste estudo verificou-se a taxa de elocução (TE) e de articulação (TA), bem como a adequação do uso dessas medidas temporais na perícia de Comparação de Locutores. Calculou-se a TE/TA global e local média nas amostras de fala espontânea questionada (interceptações telefônicas judicialmente autorizadas realizadas sem a ciência dos locutores) e padrão (entrevista semidirigida gravada com o consentimento dos locutores) de sete falantes nativos do português brasileiro, de ambos os sexos, com idades entre 14 e 33 anos. Definiu-se o potencial individualizante da TE/TA e a relação entre essas e as variáveis independentes idade, sexo, escolaridade, tempo transcorrido entre as amostras (gap temporal), tipo de gravação e tamanho do intervalo de fala. Como resultado obteve-se coeficiente de correlação intraclasse satisfatório associado à TA, diferença significativa quanto à ciência da gravação na TE e correlação significativa entre gap temporal e TA e entre tamanho do intervalo de fala e TE.********************************************************************Speech rate and articulation rate in corpus used in the forensic Speaker ComparisonAbstract: This study examined the speech rate (SR) and the articulation rate (AR), as well as the appropriateness of the use of these temporal measures in the forensic Speaker Comparison. The global and local mean SR/AR in spontaneous speech samples – obtained from unaware audio recordings (legally authorized telephone interceptions) and known ones (semistructured interview) – from seven native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, of both sexes, aged between 14 and 33 years were considered. The speaker-discriminating power of SR and AR and the relationship between rates and the independent variables age, sex, formal education, temporal gap between the recordings, type of recording, length of speech stretch were defined. As a result we obtained satisfactory intraclass correlation coefficient for the AR, significant difference between the factors of the variable type of recording in SR and significant correlation between temporal gap and AR and between length of speech stretch and SR.Keywords: Speech rate; Articulation rate; Forensic phonetics; Speaker Comparison

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