• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• 제2권3호
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• pp.71-76
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• 2010

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to compare men with women in terms of speech intelligibility, to investigate the validity of objective acoustic parameters related with speech intelligibility, and to try to set up the standard data for the future study in various field in prosthodontics. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Twenty men and women were served as subjects in the present study. After recording of sample sounds, speech intelligibility tests by three speech pathologists and acoustic analyses were performed. Comparison of the speech intelligibility test scores and acoustic parameters such as fundamental frequency, fundamental frequency range, formant frequency, formant ranges, vowel working space area, and vowel dispersion were done between men and women. In addition, the correlations between the speech intelligibility values and acoustic variables were analyzed. RESULTS. Women showed significantly higher speech intelligibility scores than men and there were significant difference between men and women in most of acoustic parameters used in the present study. However, the correlations between the speech intelligibility scores and acoustic parameters were low. CONCLUSION. Speech intelligibility test and acoustic parameters used in the present study were effective in differentiating male voice from female voice and their values might be used in the future studies related patients involved with maxillofacial prosthodontics. However, further studies are needed on the correlation between speech intelligibility tests and objective acoustic parameters.

• 말소리와 음성과학
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.3-11
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• 2010

The present study confirmed the intelligibility improvement benefit of clear speech by investigating the intelligibility of Korean stops produced in different speaking styles: conversational, citation-form, and clear speech. This finding supports the Hypo- & Hyper-speech theory that speakers adjust vocal effort to accommodate hearers' speech perception difficulty. A progressive intelligibility improvement was found for the three speaking styles investigated: clear speech was more intelligible than citation-form speech citation-form speech was more intelligible than conversational speech and clear speech was also more intelligible than conversational speech. These findings suggest that the manipulations to elicit three distinct speaking styles in a laboratory setting were successful. Korean lenis stops showed the least intelligibility improvement among the three Korean stop types, and this result suggests that lenis stops should be more resistant to intelligibility enhancement efforts in clear speech than aspirated and fortis stops.

• 대한후두음성언어의학회지
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.92-97
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• 2004

Background and Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine objectively pre and post operative voice quality evaluation and intelligibility of alaryngeal voice using speech recognition program, HUVOIS. Materials and Methods : 2 laryngologists and 1 speech pathologist were evaluated 'G', 'R', 'B' in the GRBAS sclae and speech intelligibility using NTID rating scale from standard paragraph. And also acoustic estimates such as jitter, shimmer, HNR were obtained from Lx Speech Studio. Results : Speech recognition rate was not significantly different between pre and post operation for pathological vocie samples though voice quality(G, B) and acoustic values(Jitter, HNR) were significantly improved after post operation. In Alaryngeal voices, reed type electrolarynx 'Moksori' was the highest both speech intelligibility and speech recognition rate, whereas esophageal speech was the lowest. Coefficient correlation of speech intelligibility and speech recognition rate was found in alaryngeal voices, but not in pathological voices. Conclusion : Current study was not proved speech recognition program, HUVOIS during telephone program was not objective and efficient method for assisting subjective GRBAS scale.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• 제24권1E호
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• pp.28-33
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• 2005

This study was designed to suggest an assessment tool for analyzing the characteristics of Korean phonetic contrast intelligibility among dysarthric individuals. The intelligibility deficit factors of phonetic contrast in Korean dysarthric patients were analyzed through stepwise regression analysis. The 19 acoustic-phonetic contrasts proposed by Kent et al. (1999) have been claimed to be useful for clinical assessment and research on dysarthria. However, the test cannot be directly applied to Korean patients due to linguistic differences between English and Korean. Thus, it is necessary to devise a Korean word intelligibility test that reflects the distinct characteristics of the Korean language. To identify the speech error characteristics of a Korean dysarthric group, a Korean word list was audio-recorded by 3 spastic, 4 flaccid, and 5 mixed type of dysarthric patients. The word list consisted of monosyllabic consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) real word pairs. Stimulus words included 41 phonemic contrast pairs and six triplets. The results showed that the percentage of errors in final position contrast was higher than in any other position. Unlike the results of previous studies, the initial-position contrasts were crucial in predicting the overall intelligibility among Korean patients.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.91-98
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• 2020

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to compare functional hearing with the use of a personal sound amplification product (PSAP) or a basic hearing aid (HA) among sensorineural hearing impaired listeners. Subjects and Methods: Nineteen participants with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) (26-55 dB HL; pure-tone average, 0.5-4 kHz) were prospectively included. No participants had prior experience with HAs or PSAPs. Audiograms, speech intelligibility in both quiet and noisy environments, speech quality, and preference were assessed in three different listening conditions: unaided, with the HA, and with the PSAP. Results: The use of PSAP was associated with significant improvement in pure-tone thresholds at 1, 2, and 4 kHz compared to the unaided condition (all p<0.01). In the quiet environment, speech intelligibility was significantly improved after wearing a PSAP compared to the unaided condition (p<0.001), and this improvement was better than the result obtained with the HA. The PSAP also demonstrated similar improvement in the most comfortable levels compared to those obtained with the HA (p<0.05). However, there was no significant improvement of speech intelligibility in a noisy environment when wearing the PSAP (p=0.160). There was no significant difference in the reported speech quality produced by either device or in participant preference for the PSAP or HA. Conclusions: The current result suggests that PSAPs provide considerable benefits to speech intelligibility in a quiet environment and can be a good alternative to compensate for mild-to-moderate SNHL.

• 대한청각학회지
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.91-98
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• 2020

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to compare functional hearing with the use of a personal sound amplification product (PSAP) or a basic hearing aid (HA) among sensorineural hearing impaired listeners. Subjects and Methods: Nineteen participants with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) (26-55 dB HL; pure-tone average, 0.5-4 kHz) were prospectively included. No participants had prior experience with HAs or PSAPs. Audiograms, speech intelligibility in both quiet and noisy environments, speech quality, and preference were assessed in three different listening conditions: unaided, with the HA, and with the PSAP. Results: The use of PSAP was associated with significant improvement in pure-tone thresholds at 1, 2, and 4 kHz compared to the unaided condition (all p<0.01). In the quiet environment, speech intelligibility was significantly improved after wearing a PSAP compared to the unaided condition (p<0.001), and this improvement was better than the result obtained with the HA. The PSAP also demonstrated similar improvement in the most comfortable levels compared to those obtained with the HA (p<0.05). However, there was no significant improvement of speech intelligibility in a noisy environment when wearing the PSAP (p=0.160). There was no significant difference in the reported speech quality produced by either device or in participant preference for the PSAP or HA. Conclusions: The current result suggests that PSAPs provide considerable benefits to speech intelligibility in a quiet environment and can be a good alternative to compensate for mild-to-moderate SNHL.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.187-192
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: Clear speech is an effective communication strategy used in difficult listening situations that draws on techniques such as accurate articulation, a slow speech rate, and the inclusion of pauses. Although too slow speech and improperly amplified spectral information can deteriorate overall speech intelligibility, certain amplitude of increments of the mid-frequency bands (1 to 3 dB) and around 50% slower speech rates of clear speech, when compared to those in conversational speech, were reported as factors that can improve speech intelligibility positively. The purpose of this study was to identify whether amplitude increments of mid-frequency areas and slower speech rates were evident in Korean clear speech as they were in English clear speech. Subjects and Methods: To compare the acoustic characteristics of the two methods of speech production, the voices of 60 participants were recorded during conversational speech and then again during clear speech using a standardized sentence material. Results: The speech rate and longterm average speech spectrum (LTASS) were analyzed and compared. Speech rates for clear speech were slower than those for conversational speech. Increased amplitudes in the mid-frequency bands were evident for the LTASS of clear speech. Conclusions:The observed differences in the acoustic characteristics between the two types of speech production suggest that Korean clear speech can be an effective communication strategy to improve speech intelligibility.

• 한국통신학회논문지
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• 제41권10호
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• pp.1183-1185
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• 2016

디지털 음성통신에서의 저 비트율 음성부호화기는 음성발성모델의 파라미터를 사용하여 음성을 합성한다. 이 경우, 파라미터에 할당된 비트가 매우 한정적이기 때문에 합성된 음성의 스펙트럼이 크게 왜곡될 수 있으며, 이는 명료도 저하의 요인이 된다. 본 논문에서는 통계적 스펙트럼 이퀄라이저를 이용한 명료도 향상 기법을 제안한다. 본 기법은 각각의 음성부호화기별로 원음과 합성음의 스펙트럼 비율을 이용하여 통계적으로 가중치 벡터를 구하며, 이를 합성 음성에 적용한다. 객관적인 음성명료도 평가 실험을 통해, 제안한 기법이 기존의 방법보다 성능이 우수함을 확인하였다.

• 말소리와 음성과학
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.79-90
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• 2021

본 연구에서는 단일대상연구로서 speech cues를 이용한 반복훈련이 뇌성마비 아동의 자음정확도 및 말명료도에 미치는 영향에 대해 알아보고자 하였다. 연구에는 만 5-8세의 뇌성마비 아동 3명이 참여하였다. 중재는 한 달간 주 4회, 총 16회기 동안 진행하였으며, 한 회기는 30분으로 구성하였다. 훈련과제는 목표 음소가 포함된 1-2음절의 단어와 2어절의 문장을 speech cues의 두 가지 발화유형인 'Big mouth'와 'Strong voice'로 훈련하였다. 연구 결과, 첫째, 세 아동 모두 자음정확도와 말명료도의 평균이 중재단계에서 증가하였으나, 효과크기는 아동 간 상이하였다. 또한, 자음정확도에 비해 말명료도에서 더 높은 효과가 나타났다. 세 아동 모두 훈련 문항에서 유지 효과도 나타났다. 둘째, 세 아동 모두 비훈련 단어와 문장에서 일반화 효과가 나타났다. 따라서 speech cues를 이용한 반복훈련을 통해 뇌성마비 아동의 자음정확도와 말명료도가 증가된 것을 알 수 있었으며, 임상에서 좀 더 쉽고 간편한 중재로 그 효용성이 있다는 것을 확인하였다.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.169-178
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• 2009

In this study, we suggest Korean nonlinear fitting formula (KNFF) to maximize speech intelligibility for digital hearing aids based on NAL-NL1 (NAL-nonlinear, version 1). KNFF was derived from the same procedure which is used for deriving NAL-NL1. KNFF consider the long-term average speech spectrum of Korean instead of English because the frequency characteristic of Korean is different from that of English. New insertion gains of KNFF were derived using the SII (speech intelligibility index) program provided by ANSI. In addition, the insertion gains were modified to maximize the intelligibility of high frequency words. To verify effect of the new fitting gain, we performed speech discrimination test (SDT) and preference test using the hearing loss simulator from NOISH. In the SDT, a word set as test material consists of 50 1-syllable word generally used in hearing clinic. As a result of the test, in case of moderate hearing loss with severe loss on high frequency, the SDT scores of KNFF was more improved about 3.2% than NAL-NLl and about 6% in case of the sever hearing loss. Finally we have obtained the result that it was the effective way to increase gain of mid-high frequency bands and to decrease gain of low frequency bands in order to maximize speech intelligibility of Korean.