Word perception in natural- time-compressed

Word and sentence level timing in natural fast speech differs from that at a normal speech rate. However, previous research has shown that making the temporal pattern of artificially time-compressed speech more similar to that of natural fast speech did not improve intelligibility over linear time compression. Furthermore, pilot studies suggested that naturally produced fast speech is more difficult to perceive than artificially time-compressed speech because of its somewhat slurred articulation. In the present study, word processing speed and listeners’ subjective preference were compared for three equally fast conditions: (1) naturally produced fast speech, which is perfectly intelligible; (2) artificially time-compressed speech, which has the temporal pattern of naturally produced fast speech; and (3) artificially linearly time-compressed speech (having the temporal pattern of normal-rate speech). The results suggest that linearly time-compressed speech has a temporal and a segmental processing advantage over naturally produced fast speech.