Discourse Comprehension of Synthetic Speech Across Three Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Output Methods

• Published in: Journal of speech and hearing research 1995-08, Vol.38 (4), p.889-901
• Main Authors: Higginbotham, D. Jeffery, Scally, Christine A, Lundy, Debra C, Kowarsky, Kim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Communication Aids for Disabled; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Interpersonal communication; Language; Middle Aged; Production and perception of spoken language; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Speech; Speech Perception; Speech synthesis; Speech, Alaryngeal
• ISSN: 0022-4685; 1092-4388; 1558-9102
• DOI: 10.1044/jshr.3804.889

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relative effects of three different Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) speech output methods (word, sentence, mixed words and letters) on a listener's ability to summarize paragraph-length texts. Based on previous work on the discourse processing of synthetic speech, a monotonic trend in a listener's ability to accurately summarize texts produced by different output methods was hypothesized (word > sentence > mixed). Thirty able-bodied adults were individually tested over a 2-day period, listening to four texts produced by a DECtalk speech synthesizer at a speech presentation rate of 7.5 wpm. Using a discourse summarization taxonomy developed by Higginbotham, Lundy, and Scally (1993), the experimental hypothesis was confirmed. Word-method listeners produced significantly more accurate renditions of the original texts than sentence-method listeners, who, in turn, did better than mixed-method listeners. Statistically significant differences also were found for the topic familiarity of the texts. The role of the above variables on AAC device comprehension and technology design is discussed.