• Speech Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.249-262
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• 2000

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of syntactic complexity (sentence length and sentence structure) on sentence repetition performance and intelligibility between specific language impairment (SLI) and normal children. Thirteen SLI children and twenty-six normal children, matched by 3 years of language, participated in this study. The sentence repetition performance of the subjects were analyzed based on the sentence length (3-word simple sentences and 5-word simple sentences) and sentence structure (5-word simple sentences, 5-word conjoined complex sentences, and 5-word embedded complex sentences). The results of this study indicated the sentence structure influenced sentence repetition performance and intelligibility of SLI children only. The implication of these findings were discussed.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.159-175
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• 2004

This paper investigated the types of errors on English pronunciation and intelligibility of Korean EFL students, and the relationship between the pronunciation accuracy and intelligibility. Thirty one students were evaluated by six English native speakers in terms of overall intelligibility and accuracy In five areas such as nuclear stress, word stress, syllable structure, consonants and vowels. According to the findings of the study, pronunciation errors were made by the subjects more frequently In word stress than any other area of pronunciation accuracy. The Pearson correlation analysis showed that intelligibility was related with word stress, syllable structure, consonants and vowels, and the stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that, among the above five areas of pronunciation accuracy, word stress best accounted for the intelligibility of a given sentence. In the conclusion, the importance of teaching pronunciation of in those five areas with a special focus on word stress was emphasized m terms of intelligibility.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.173-179
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• 2011

The present study was performed to investigate the intelligibility of voice disorder patients by providing the various background noise levels. Four sets of 12-sentence-stimuli produced by 11 voice disorder patients were prepared, and 5 minute-news from radio broadcasting studio were used as a background noise. 30 listeners assigned intelligibility score of each sentence with visual analog scale. Each set of sentences was provided with 20dB, 10dB, 0dB noise (same intensity with stimuli), and, finally, with no noise. As results, as background noise level increased, intelligibility scores were lowered with statistical significance. Even though in the same severity, more loud background noise showed much lower scores than less loud noise. When 10dB noise was provided, intelligibility scores showed the biggest difference among the degree of severity.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.73-87
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to examine the articulation characteristics of preschool children in the bilingual or monolingual environment. Subjects included 23 children of 4 to 6 years old in the bilingual environment, and 19 children of monolingual environment. Their speech was evaluated in terms of articulation correctness and intelligibility by the author and a speech therapist. Results showed as the following: First, there were some significant differences between bilingual and monolingual children in the percentage of consonants correctly articulated. But there was no significant difference between their language environment or ages in the percentage of vowels correctly articulated. Second, there were some significant differences between the bilingual and monolingual children in the intelligibility of word articulation. Also, there were some significant differences between the two language groups in the sentence intelligibility. There was a high positive correlation between the word and sentence intelligibility.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.67-74
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• 2017

An increase in speech intelligibility has been found in Clear Speech compared to conversational speech. Clear Speech is defined by decreased articulation rates and increased frequency and length of pauses. The objective of the present study was to investigate improvement in immediate speech intelligibility in 10 patients with Parkinson's disease (age range: 46 to 75 years) using Clear Speech. This experiment has been performed using the Phonatory Aerodynamic System 6600 after the participants read the first sentence of a Sanchaek passage and the "List for Adults 1" in the Sentence Recognition Test (SRT) using casual speech and Clear Speech. Acoustic and aerodynamic parameters that affect speech intelligibility were measured, including mean F0, F0 range, intensity, speaking rate, mean airflow rate, and respiratory rate. In the Sanchaek passage, use of Clear Speech resulted in significant differences in mean F0, F0 range, speaking rate, and respiratory rate, compared with the use of casual speech. In the SRT list, significant differences were seen in mean F0, F0 range, and speaking rate. Based on these findings, it is claimed that speech intelligibility can be affected by adjusting breathing and tone in Clear Speech. Future studies should identify the benefits of Clear Speech through auditory-perceptual studies and evaluate programs that use Clear Speech to increase intelligibility.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.51-65
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• 2011

This study attempts to investigate the interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit for listeners (ISIB-L), examining Chinese talkers' production of English liquids and its perception of native listeners and non-native Chinese and Korean listeners. An Accent Judgment Task was conducted to measure non-native talkers' and listeners' phonological proficiency, and two levels of proficiency groups (high and low) participated in the experiment. The English liquids /l/ and /r/ produced by Chinese talkers were considered in terms of positions (syllable initial and final), contexts (segment, word and sentence) and lexical density (minimal vs. nonminimal pair) to see if these factors play a role in ISIIB-L. Results showed that both matched and mismatched interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit for listeners occurred except for the initial /l/. Non-native Chinese and Korean listeners, though only with high proficiency, were more accurate at identifying initial /r/, final /l/ and final /r/, but initial /l/ was significantly more intelligible to native listeners than non-native listeners. There was evidence of contextual and lexical density effects on ISIB-L. No ISIB-L was demonstrated in sentence context, but both matched and mismatched ISIB-L was observed in word context; this finding held true for only high proficiency listeners. Listeners recognized the targets better in the non-minimal pair (sparse density) environment than the minimal pair (higher density) environment. These findings suggest that ISIB-L for English liquids is influenced by talkers' and listeners' proficiency, syllable position in association with L1 and L2 phonological structure, context, and word neighborhood density.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.173-184
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• 2004

This study aims to discuss the test methodologies that evaluate the speech intelligibility of hearing-impaired adults using various contexts. Seven adults with severe hearing loss participated in the experiment. The context of the speech intelligibility consists of 77 pairs of one-syllable words with phonemic contrasts, 30 two-syllable words and the list of each 12 and 10 sentences. The speech intelligibility of various contexts had significant correlation, and both one-syllable words with phonemic contrasts and the sentence 1 had higher correlation than other tests. The one-syllable words with phonemic contrasts took longer to test than others, and it demanded more effort to select the pair of words. However, from the point of view of the identification of segmental difficulties, the one-syllable words with phonemic contrasts that reflected segmental factors contributing to the intelligibility was useful.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.694-702
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• 2003

The word intelligibility test for dysarthric speakers was designed to examine phonetic contrasts that are likely (1) to be sensitive to intelligibility impairment and (2) to contribute significantly to speech intelligibility. These phonetically contrasting word pairs were tested and proved to be reliable and to be valid, The results showed that in Korean dysarthric patients, the percentage of error 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.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.169-183
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to find an effect of Metaphon Intervention on the improvement of speech intelligibility of preschool children with articulation-phonological disorders. Subjects were 4 preschool children with articulation-phonological disorders. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to examine the effect of the program. The program consisted of 2 steps. The first step was composed of concept level, sound level, phoneme level, and word level. The second step was on sentence level. Results were as follows: First, metaphon ability of all subjects was improved after the Metaphon Intervention. Second, speech intelligibility of all subjects was improved after Metaphon Intervention. From the results above, Metaphon Intervention can be effective to improve not only phonological awareness and metaphon but also overall speech intelligibility of preschool children with articulation-phonological disorders.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.23 no.4
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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.