Listener Confusions in Response to Dysarthric Speech

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Abstract
An analysis of the type and frequency of consonantal confusions made by listeners to a list of 50 CNC words recorded by dysarthric and normal speakers was carried out. There is essentially no difference in the proportion of confusions for initial and final consonants. The least intelligible consonants for dysarthrics were those involving rapid shifts of articulatory position such as [d3]. The consonant least confused by listeners was [s] in the initial position and [r]; [1] and [m] in the final position. No clearly distinctive patterns of consonantal confusions appeared which could be said to characterize the population of dysarthrics as a whole. Rank order of difficulty for each consonant based on proportion of listener confusions varied greatly from dysarthric to dysarthric. Significantly fewer confusions are made for normal speakers than for dysarthrics. Results of this study provide a basis for research to further examine the relation of the acoustic characteristics of dysarthric speech with its intelligibility. Such research might be expected to yield new approaches to the development of improved instruments for the assessment and treatment of dysarthria.

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