Intelligibility of face-masked speech depends on speaking style: Comparing casual, clear, and emotional speech

Cohn, Michelle; Pycha, Anne; Zellou, Georgia

doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104570

Cited by 72 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The exaggerated visual cues would also help listeners to attend to the correct speaker/auditory stream in the presence of competing speech. Recently, Cohn et al (2021) found improved word recognition in the auditory-only domain for low predictability sentences produced clearly with fabric masks and presented to listeners in four-talker babble at −6 dB SNR. Furthermore, clear speech produced with a mask was more intelligible than clear speech produced without a mask, suggesting that the acoustic-phonetic modifications differed in response to a cloth face mask compared to no mask.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One aspect in which our study is unique is in the stimuli that we used. We deliberately opted to use an essay rather than sentences or words as used in the studies discussed above (e.g., Truong et al , 2021 ; Cohn et al , 2021 ). While we gave up control of context and of word repetition and frequency, we wanted to see how talker characteristics, masks, and speaking styles affect communication in a more naturalistic listening environment, such as when students learn new concepts and unfamiliar content in the classroom setting or when patients need to understand and remember discharge instructions, situations where all of these factors interact to shape comprehension.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, Truong et al (2021) found that cued recall was negatively affected when conversational sentences were spoken with a face mask in quiet listening conditions. Cohn et al (2021) showed that word recognition in noise was improved for clear speech sentences produced with a mask in auditory-only domain. Here, we expand on these findings by testing whether native and non-native speech are affected similarly by masks and whether conversational-to-clear speaking style modifications can improve speech communication when masks are used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Face masks and speaking style affect audio-visual word recognition and memory of native and non-native speech

Smiljanić

Keerstock

Meemann

et al. 2021

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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Though necessary, protective mask wearing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic presents communication challenges. The present study examines how signal degradation and loss of visual information due to masks affects intelligibility and memory for native and non-native speech. We also test whether clear speech can alleviate perceptual difficulty for masked speech. One native and one non-native speaker of English recorded video clips in conversational speech without a mask and conversational and clear speech with a mask. Native English listeners watched video clips presented in quiet or mixed with competing speech. The results showed that word recognition and recall of speech produced with a mask can be as accurate as without a mask in optimal listening conditions. Masks affected non-native speech processing at easier noise levels than native speech. Clear speech with a mask significantly improved accuracy in all listening conditions. Speaking clearly, reducing noise, and using surgical masks as well as good signal amplification can help compensate for the loss of intelligibility due to background noise, lack of visual cues, physical distancing, or non-native speech. The findings have implications for communication in classrooms and hospitals where listeners interact with teachers and healthcare providers, oftentimes non-native speakers, through their protective barriers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Face masks and speaking style affect audio-visual word recognition and memory of native and non-native speech

Smiljanić

Keerstock

Meemann

et al. 2021

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Facial masks are indeed a barrier that impair speech production and perception, make lip reading impossible and facial expressions not visible: consequently, any additional clue to hearing perception is in the end missing. In addition, face masks make it difficult to read emotions from facial expression [3] and communication seem to be further limited in emotional conditions [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How great is the negative impact of masking and social distancing and how can we enhance communication skills in the elderly people?

et al. 2021

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During COVID-19 pandemic, protective measures such as social distancing and face masks posed a challenge in daily communication, in this context the elderly are one of the most at risk categories as widely exposed to hearing loss. This article focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected verbal communication, especially on those people that even in normal conditions present an increased difficulty in speech perception. Special attention has been paid to hearing aids and cochlear implant users, these devices indeed can be affected by a speech intelligibility reduction and could be uncomfortable if used together with face masks. Possible alternatives and solutions will be proposed to reduce the negative impacts of face coverings on communication, to enhance speech intelligibility and to manage wearability of hearing rehabilitation devices.

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“…Magee et al 19 also found no signi cant effects of masks (N95, surgical, and cloth mask) on intelligibility for both single word and sentences of the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthria Speech 20 . Cohn et al 21 found that the intelligibility of speech produced with facemasks was determined by speaking style rather than the effects of a mask. They showed that in the clear speaking style, speech in the mask condition was more intelligible than that in the non-mask condition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptual and Acoustic Characteristics of Speech Clarity with and Without a Facemask

Nguyên

Chacon

Payten

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Some studies have found that the speech of speakers wearing facemasks has reduced intelligibility. Although it has been found that facemasks attenuated high-frequency energy, no study has examined the effects of masks on spectral characteristics of vowels or voiceless fricative consonants. The present study investigated auditory perceptual rating of speech clarity and acoustic-phonetic measures of vowels and voiceless fricative consonant production in 16 health care workers who produced standardized voice tasks without and with wearing either a standard surgical mask or a KN95 mask. Voice samples were perceptually rated for speech clarity and were acoustically analysed for root-mean-square amplitude (ARMS), spectral moments of two voiceless fricatives /s/ and /ʃ/, and ARMS and amplitude of the first three formants (A1, A2, and A3). Speech produced whilst wearing either a surgical or KN95 mask was significantly less clear than without a mask, with KN95 showing greater impact than surgical masks. In both fricatives, ARMS was lower in the surgical mask and KN95 mask conditions compared to the non-mask condition. None of the amplitude measures of vowels were affected by facemasks. Linear regression models indicated that perception of speech produced by mask users was mainly affected by modification of voiceless fricative consonant characteristics.

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Intelligibility of face-masked speech depends on speaking style: Comparing casual, clear, and emotional speech

Cited by 72 publications

References 32 publications

Face masks and speaking style affect audio-visual word recognition and memory of native and non-native speech

Face masks and speaking style affect audio-visual word recognition and memory of native and non-native speech

How great is the negative impact of masking and social distancing and how can we enhance communication skills in the elderly people?

Perceptual and Acoustic Characteristics of Speech Clarity with and Without a Facemask

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