Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2004 Dec;12(4):149-154.

Algorithmic Estimation of Pauses in Extended Speech Samples of Dysarthric and Typical Speech

Jordan R Green  1 , David R Beukelman, Laura J Ball
Affiliations

Algorithmic Estimation of Pauses in Extended Speech Samples of Dysarthric and Typical Speech

Jordan R Green et al. J Med Speech Lang Pathol. 2004 Dec.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and performance of an algorithm designed to automatically extract pauses and speech timing information from connected speech samples. Speech samples were obtained from 10 people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 10 control speakers. Pauses were identified manually and algorithmically from digitally recorded recitations of a speech passage that was developed to improve the precision of pause boundary detection.The manual and algorithmic methods did not yield significantly different results. A stepwise analysis of three different pause detection parameters revealed that estimates of percent pause time were highly dependent on the values specified for the minimum acceptable pause duration and the minimum signal amplitude. Consistent with previous reports of dysarthric speech, pauses were significantly longer and more variable in speakers with ALS than in the control speakers. These results suggest that the algorithm provided an efficient and valid method for extracting pause and speech timing information from the optimally structured speech sample.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of manual and algorithmic measurements of pause and speech events. These results are based on a speaking passage that was designed to maximize the algorithm’s performance.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The effect of incrementally increasing the values of the three threshold parameters on percent pause time estimates.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Implementation of the algorithm for comparing pause and speech event measures in a group of speakers with ALS and control speakers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ackermann H, Hertrich I. Speech rate and rhythm in cerebellar dysarthria: An acoustic analysis of syllabic timing. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopedica. 1994;46:70–78. - PubMed
    1. Campbell TF, Dollaghan CA. Speaking rate, articulatory speed, and linguistic processing in children and adolescents with severe traumatic brain injury. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research. 1995;38:864–875. - PubMed
    1. Cool Edit [Computer software] Phoenix, AZ: Syntrillium Software Corporation; 2000.
    1. Kent RD, Weismer G, Kent JF, Vorperian HK, Duffy JR. Acoustic studies of dysarthric speech: Methods, progress, and potential. Journal of Communication Disorders. 1999;32:141–180. - PubMed
    1. Goodglass H, Quadfasel FA, Timberlake WH. Phrase length and the type of severity of aphasia. Cortex. 1964;1:133–153.

LinkOut - more resources