Effect of Filtering on Perception of Monosyllables (CV) and Words

Abstract The present study attempted to compare the effect of filtering of words and monosyllables on perception of speech in young normal-hearing adults. Thirty normal-hearing adults participated in the study. The monosyllables developed by Mayadevi (1974) were filtered at four low-pass (800 Hz, 1200 Hz, 1500 Hz, and 1700 Hz) and four high-pass (1700 Hz, 2100 Hz, 2500 Hz, and 3000 Hz) cutoff frequencies. The speech identification scores were determined at all low-pass and high-pass cutoff frequencies. The obtained scores were compared with the speech identification scores obtained for words by Avilala et al. (2010). The results showed that the scores obtained for monosyllables were lower than words at all cutoff frequencies studied. The low-pass cutoff frequency at which 70% speech identification scores were obtained was 1500 Hz for monosyllables whereas it was 1200 Hz for words. The study showed that the spectral information between 1200 Hz and 2100 Hz are important for perception of words in Kannada. However, the spectral information between 1500 Hz and 2100 Hz is important for perception of monosyllables. It highlights the importance of studying filtered speech using different speech materials as the present study shows difference in lower cutoff frequencies between words and monosyllables.