Perceptual features of speech for males in four perceived age decades

Abstract

Spontaneous speech samples of 46 male speakers 25-70 yr old were played to 40 untrained listeners who estimated the speakers'' ages. Samples which showed agreement among untrained listeners were played to 20 trained listeners who described the perceptual features of the given perceived ages via a closed-response schema. There were characteristic perceptual features for 4 perceived age decades which could be classified according to pitch, rate of speech, quality and articulation. The features were discussed in light of earlier findings. The features and their weightings by the listeners were derived from an a posteriori schema and samples of spontaneous speech. These features apparently have perceptual importance and should be useful in establishing criteria for defining normal aging speech, planning management strategies for individuals with speech deviances and in speaker recognition research.