Publication
Title
Speech rate estimation in disordered speech based on spectral landmark detection
Author
Abstract
Speech rate (SR) plays an important role in the assessment of disordered speech. Clinicians rely primarily on manual or semi-automatic methods to determine SR. The reported algorithms are designed for normal speech and show many restrictions with respect to disordered speech that are predominantly characterized by slow SR. This research presents an algorithm that in addition to energy and pitch, relies on information regarding the spectral characteristics of the borders of the syllables (landmarks). Speech samples (three sentences per speaker) for 66 healthy and dysarthric speakers were analyzed with four algorithms (Mrate, robust SR estimation method, Praat's script and the proposed algorithm based on landmark detection). The landmark approach is demonstrated to be more accurate for speakers with slow SR. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the calculated SR and the reference remains over 0.84 for the 198 sentences analyzed, while the other algorithms' correlations are below the values reported in literature for fluent speech. In samples where SR is high, the algorithm shows similar limitations versus other algorithms due to the merging of syllables. The landmark-based algorithm is an adequate method for determining SR in disordered speech. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Biomedical signal processing and control. - Place of publication unknown
Publication
Place of publication unknown : 2016
ISSN
1746-8094
DOI
10.1016/J.BSPC.2016.01.005
Volume/pages
27 (2016) , p. 1-6
ISI
000374604600001
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 06.06.2016
Last edited 09.10.2023
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