English and Cantonese speech intelligibility in noise and reverberation : are there differences between non-tonal and tonal languages?

Abstract

This study compared English and Cantonese speech intelligibility in different types of noise and reverberation. Matrix sentence recordings by four English-Cantonese bilingual talkers were used to measure the speech reception thresholds (SRTs) of 30 normal-hearing listeners (15 native English speakers and 15 native Cantonese speakers) who heard the sentences in their respective native language in four different types of noise: stationary noise, fluctuating noise, 20-people multi-talker babble, and stationary noise with reverberation. SRTs in the four noise types were significantly different in English and in Cantonese. SRTs were the best to worst in the following order for both languages: fluctuating noise, stationary noise, 20-people babble noise, and noise with reverberation. Cantonese resulted in significantly better SRTs compared to English in fluctuating noise and noise with reverberation. The benefit of listening to speech in fluctuating noise compared to stationary noise was larger for Cantonese, whereas the adverse effects of listening to speech in 20-people babble noise and in noise with reverberation, compared to stationary noise, were larger for English. Within the confines of the study’s limitations, Cantonese speech intelligibility was better than English in fluctuating noise and in noise with reverberation. When compared to stationary noise, benefits due to fluctuating noise was greater for Cantonese, while the detrimental effects of 20-people babble noise and noise with reverberation were greater for English.