Return-Path: <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id j43KvBG01162; Tue, 3 May 2005 16:57:11 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 3 May 2005 16:57:11 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <D265FDBFBD624141ABED4A775225102A014459A3@agency6.state.ky.us> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Noble, Steve (OFB-LV)" <Steve.Noble@ky.gov> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-LD:4764] RE: Intonation and Interpretation of Computer read X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2657.72) Status: O Content-Length: 4383 Lines: 95 As assistive technology products continue to develop, the intonation of synthetic speech will continue to improve. The most advanced synthetic speech engines are getting so good now that it may be difficult--at first--to distinguish between computer generated speech and a live human. This push is being driven by the mainstream telephony industry, and is slowly "trickling down" to the special education and accommodation field. However, at this time there is no question that recorded human speech is superior (at least when it is done well) for general intelligibility. There has been some hard research done in the past that has suggested better results for many students when real human voice recordings are used verses synthetic speech, and other studies which suggest that for most (but not all) students these problems level out over time as the student gets used to listening to synthetic speech. There are many factors, however, which include things such as the subject matter, complexity of the material, cognitive processing level of the student, and so forth. One factor that makes this research difficult is that technology is advancing rapidly and synthetic speech is getting better all the time. Therefore an extensive scientific study may be out of date the day it is published. I conducted some research studies with the Gallup Organization back around 2000 when I was at RFB&D, and some of the questions dealt with the utility of synthetic speech verses human speech from the user perspective. If I remember correctly, the user perspective indicated a very high affinity for real human speech. One of the great advances in real human recording is the obsolesce of those "books on tape" and the development of Digital Talking Books (DTBs) such as those being created by RFB&D using real human speech. The studies that I have done with students using DTBs showed a significant positive increase in student attitudes about reading using this technology over any other type of reading accommodation they had used in the past. Some readers may find the following article useful: TEACHING Exceptional Children, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 50- 55. Copyright 2002 CEC. "Reading's SLiCK With New Audio Texts and Strategies" http://journals.sped.org/EC/Archive_Articles/VOL.35NO.2NOVDEC2002_TEC_Articl e%207.pdf [if the link above breaks up, cut and paste it into your web browser window to make it functional] Best regards, Steve Noble Policy Analyst Kentucky Assistive Technology Service Network 8412 Westport Road Louisville, KY 40242 Voice: (502) 429-4484 x268 Toll-Free: (800) 327-5287 Fax: (502) 429-7114 Steve.Noble@ky.gov Board of Directors, Learning Disabilities Association of America (National Board) Board of Directors, Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (KY Unit) Vice-President, Learning Disabilities Association of Kentucky Editor-in-Chief, Information Technology and Disabilities -----Original Message----- From: Michele Anne Craig [mailto:shellcraig@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Monday, May 02, 2005 9:15 PM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-LD:4756] Intonation and Interpretation of Computer read text. Susan, I was so glad to see your post about the drawbacks of the technology for people if they don't have the infrastructure to support the technology. Also the thing you said about students having to reinterpret the text into more tonal reading really struck home with me. It is the difference between the books on tape that you get from the library and the books on tape that you get from the Library of Congress. My son is dyslexic, and he recently qualified to receive talking books, but he hates them for a few reasons -- the main one being that because the tapes are made so that you can speed them up to listen to the book faster, the readers are instructed not to put lots of expression into the reading since this would mess up the words when you speed up the tape. They also do things like read all the beginning of the book -- title pages, table of contents, the whole works! Listening to one of these almost atonal books is not at all the experience of having someone read to you or hearing a professional actor read. I think that it would take a lot of training to learn to use these books in how you listen. Just as you read for different purposes -- I guess you listen for different purposes too. Michele >
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