Intelligibility of Periodically Interrupted Speech in Speech Communication - Essay Example

Disorders associated with speech communication include physical disabilities, voice disorders, and brain capacity. Hence, the quality of the teachers offering speech communication lessons and the health status of a student is a point of concern. Speech features in interpersonal communication, organizational communication, group communication, and public speaking. A good speech is audible and clear. However, the human auditory system can understand speech in adverse conditions. This paper will focus on the intelligibility of periodically interrupted speech in speech communication. The paper will rely on a research study, “Effects of low-pass filtering on intelligibility of periodically interrupted speech,” by Pranesh Bhargavaa and Deniz Başkent.

The study involved the use of meaningful Dutch sentences on eight young undergraduate Dutch native students of both genders. The sentences were low-pass filtered and were left uninterrupted, or were interrupted by modulating with a periodic square wave. The listeners were then supposed to listen and repeat verbally what they have heard (Bhargava and Başkenta Web).

Audibility of any speech is very necessary for communication. One needs to hear clearly to interpret reasonably. Biologically, the ability to speak and hear seems to depreciate with age. However, other biological and general factors can affect the audibility of an individual’s speech like diseases and physical disabilities. According to the results drawn from the study, slow interruption rates reduced speech intelligibility. However, there was no effect of the fast interruption rate without interruptions.

There was no effect of low pass filtering on speech intelligibility except on the lowest cut-off frequency and the highest filter orders. It was also observed that the increase in the filter order, decreased the intelligibility of speech (Bhargava and Başkenta Web). Concerning the factors that cause the poor intelligibility of interrupted speech in the hearing impaired, no research has come up with conclusive answers. However, it is worth noting that speech interrupted with periodic silent intervals remains highly intelligible.

Slower interruption rates affect the intelligibility of interrupted speech in both normal-hearing people and the hearing impaired. However, the performance of hearing-impaired listeners is always lower at all interruption rates. This fact limits the poor intelligibility of interrupted speech in hearing impaired to other factors like cognitive factors or auditory components (Bhargava and Başkenta Web). can conclude that the effect of low-pass filtering and temporal interruption on speech was our main concern.

However, low-pass filtering alone has little effect on the intelligibility of uninterrupted speech. The effect of interruption alone was clear at the lowest LP conditions. Additionally, the understanding of linguistic context is essential in restoring words, while understanding the context of words is a role articulated by bottom-up auditory cues. Thus, the loss of intelligibility of interrupted speech relies on the audibility of high-frequencyto components. More research on speech and communication ought to take place in order to determine effectively the factors of speech in all areas. I equally recognize speech as a fundamental tool of communication.