• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.143-149
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to investigate the speech rate of an esophageal speech group that is capable of vocalization after surgery. The subjects in this experiment were 10 male esophageal speakers and 10 male laryngeal speakers. Each group read a reading passage that was recorded by a DAT recorder (Rolando, EDIROL R-09). These records were analyzed by using CSL (Computerized Speech Lab, model 4150). The results were as follows: (1) the overall speech rate of esophageal speech was 2.50 SPS (syllable per second) while the overall speech rate of laryngeal speech was 4.23 SPS. (2) The articulatory rate of esophageal speech was 3.14 SPS (syllable per second) while the articulatory rate of laryngeal speech was 4.75 SPS. Speech rates as well as articulatory rates of esophageal speech were significantly lower than laryngeal speech. These differences between the two groups may be due to reduced efficiency of airflows across the pharyngeal-esophageal segment for esophageal speakers when compared to airflow through the glottis for laryngeal speakers. These results would provide a guideline in speech rates for esophageal speakers in clinical settings.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to compare disfluencies and speech rates (overall speech rate and articulation rate) of normal adult speakers who use the standard Korean according to dissimilar speech tasks (story-telling and text-reading). Participants were 100 Korean adult speakers. The results are summarized as follows: First, the most frequent type of disfluency in the story-telling task was 'interjection', whereas that in the text-reading task was 'revision'. Second, the overall speech rates (syllables per second and syllables per minute) showed significant differences depending on the speech tasks. Third, the articulation rates (syllables per second and syllables per minute) showed significant differences depending on the speech tasks.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2002.07a
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• pp.727-729
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• 2002

In this paper, we proposed quad variable rates ADPCM coding method and its implementation on C6000 DSP, which is modified from the standard ADPCM of ITU G.726 for speech quality improvement considering the environmental noise Four coding rates, 16Kbps, 24Kbps, 32Kbps and 40Kbps are used for speech window samples and the rate decision threshold is decided by the environmental noise level. The object of the proposed method is to reduce the coding rate while retaining the speech quality and the speech quality is considerably close to 40Kbps single rate coder with the coding rate close to 16Kbps single rate coder under the environmental noise. The environmental noise level affects the coding rate and the noise level is calculated per every speech window samples. At high noise level, more samples are coded at higher rates to enhance the quality, but at low noise level, only the big speech signals are coded at higher rates and more speech samples are coded at lower coding rates to reduce the coding rates. The influence of the noise on tile speech signal is considerably high for small signals and the small signal has the higher ZCR (zero crossing rate). The method is simulated in PC and to be implemented on C6000 floating point DSP board in real time operations.

• 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.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.193-200
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• 2004

This was a preliminary study for standardizing speech rate and fluency of normal adult Korean speakers and comparing speech rate and fluency of normal speakers with those of professional speakers. The purposes of this study were to investigate (a) the speech rates (the overall speech rate and the articulation rate) and the disfluency characteristics of normnal adult speakers and (b) the speech rates (the overall speech rate and the articulation rate) and the disfluency characteristics between normal adult speakers and professional speakers. The results were as follows: The most frequent disfluency type was 'interjection' in story-telling, 'revision' in text reading and announcing of professional speakers. The professional speakers had the fastest speech rates (overall speech rate and articulation rate) among the 3 groups.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.163-168
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• 2009

This study investigated the determination of speech rates, words per minute (WPM) and syllables per minute (SPM), of $5{\sim}7$ year-old normal children to understand if there are any differences in the rates according to the children's age and sex. All participants were required to conduct story retelling tasks (SRT) and picture description tasks (PDT). In SRT, there was a significant difference between the groups of 5 year-old and 7 year-old children on WPM. However, there was no significant difference between the groups of ages regarding SPM. In addition, there was no significant difference between the groups according to sex on WPM and SPM. In PDT, there was no significant difference between the groups according to their ages and sex on WPM and SPM. The current research found that the speech rates of the preschool children might be somewhat different in their utterance abilities according to their age, but there was no obvious difference according to their sex. The findings can advance development of a clinical tool to screen children with fluency disorders and to determine the steps in establishing speech rates of children in the language development period.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.231-237
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between the preferred sensation type and speech sounds, especially on $F_0$ and the speech rates. Data for the sensation types and speech sounds were collected from 36 undergraduate and graduate students (17 male, 19 female). Subjects were asked to read a given text (400 syllables), describe a drawing, and give answers to some questions. We measured speakers' $F_0$ and speech rates. The results show that type V (Visual) has the correlation with the speech rates when type D (Digital) was ruled out, and type A (Auditory) has the correlation with the speech rates when type D was included. Furthermore, the analysis of the mean values of V, A, K (Visual, Auditory, Kinethetic) indicates that type V is characterized with faster speech rates and higher $F_0$ in all parts except for interview and the same is true for that of V, A, K, D (Visual, Auditory, Kinethetic, Digital) in all parts. In conclusion, this study proved that the preferred sensation type has the correlation with $F_0$ and speech rates. Based on the results of this study, $F_0$ and speech rates can be used to analyze the sensation types for individualized education as well as consultation. In addition, this study has great significance in that it lays a foundation for the study on the correlation between a preferred sensation type and speech sounds.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.33-40
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• 2014

The purpose of the study was to examine alternating motion rate and its variability in children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) compared to typically developing children. Six children with CAS aged 9-12 years old and 10 children who were age-matched participated in the study. This study measured tokens per second and variabilities of the rates during the production of /$p^*$ a/, /$t^*$ a/, and /$k^*$ a/. For variability measures of the rates, each participant was asked to repeat speech tasks three times and the average value of the rates and its standard deviation were obtained. The results revealed that the CAS group showed slower rate only at /$k^*$ a/ than the control group. The CAS group exhibited greater variability of AMR at all the tasks than the control group. The results suggested that variability of AMR might be a more distinctive speech feature to children with CAS than the rate of the speech task.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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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.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.19-27
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• 2012

When two speakers read a text together, the produced speech has been shown to reduce a high degree of variability (e.g., pause duration and placement, and speech rate). This paper provides a quantitative analysis of speech rate variation exhibited in synchronous speech by examining the global and local patterns in two dialects of Mandarin Chinese (Taiwan and Shanghai). We analyzed the speech data in terms of mean speech rate and the reference of "Just Noticeable difference (JND)" within a subject and across subjects. Our findings show that speakers show lower and less variable speech rates when they read a text synchronously than when they read alone. This global pattern is observed consistently across speakers and dialects maintaining the unique local variation patterns of speech rate for each dialect. We conclude that paired speakers lower their speech rates and decrease the variability in order to ensure the synchrony of their speech.