Hazan, VL; Tuomainen, O; Pettinato, M; (2016) Suprasegmental Characteristics of Spontaneous Speech produced in Good and Challenging Communicative Conditions by Talkers aged 9 to 14 years old. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research , 59 (6) S1596-S1607. 10.1044/2016_JSLHR-S-15-0046.

Text Hazan et al authors manuscript JSHLR 2016.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff Download (459kB)

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the acoustic characteristics of spontaneous speech by 9-14 year olds, and their ability to adapt these characteristics to maintain effective communication when intelligibility was artificially degraded for their interlocutor. Methods: Recordings were made for 96 children (50 F, 46 M) engaged in a problem-solving task with a same-sex friend; recordings for 20 adults were used as reference. The task was carried out in good listening conditions (normal transmission - NORM) and in a degraded transmission condition (DEG). Articulation rate, median fundamental frequency (f0), f0 range and relative energy in 1-3 kHz range were analyzed. Results: With increasing age, children significantly reduced their median f0 and f0 range, became faster talkers and reduced their mid-frequency energy in spontaneous speech. Children produced similar clear speech adaptations (in DEG) as adults but only children aged 11-14 increased f0 range, an unhelpful strategy as not transmitted via the vocoder. Changes made by children were consistent with a general increase in vocal effort. Conclusion: Further developments in speech production take place during later childhood. Children use clear speech strategies to benefit an interlocutor facing intelligibility problems but may not be able to attune these strategies to the same degree as adults.

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