Synthetic speech intelligibility: comparison of native and non-native speakers of English

Abstract

This study sought to determine the intelligibility of DECTalkTMsynthesized speech to both native and non-native speakers of English. The ability of the groups to understand DECTalk sentences delivered both in quiet and at a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of +10 dB was investigated. Results suggested that non-native speakers made significantly more errors transcribing DECTalk sentences than did native speakers. DECTalk was found to be significantly less intelligible in noise than in quiet for both groups, but non-native speakers experienced significantly more difficulty understanding DECTalk in noise than did native speakers. Implications of these findings and the need for further research are discussed.