Comprehension of Synthetic Speech Produced by Rule: A review and Theoretical Interpretation

Author: Susan A. Duffy and David B. Pisoni

Abstract:
In this paper, we review research that has been conducted on the perception and comprehension of synthetic speech produced by rule. We discuss the difficulties that synthetic speech causes for the phonetic processor and the evidence that the immediate result of those difficulties is a delay in the point at which words are recognized. We them argue that this delay in processing affects lexical access as well as comprehension processes. We consider the mechanisms by which the comprehension system adjusts to this delay, the resulting costs to higher level comprehension processes, and the changes that occur in the language processing system as its familiarity with synthetic speech increases. Based on the framework we have developed, we suggest several directions for future research on spoken language comprehension.