Speech-in-speech perception: The role of F0, rate, and rhythm

Speech perception typically takes place against a background of other speech or noise. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of segregating speech streams within a competing speech signal, examining whether cues such as pitch that typically denote a difference in talker behave in the same way as cues such as speaking rate that typically do not denote the presence of a new talker. Native English speakers listened to English target speech within English two-talker babble of a similar or different pitch and/or a similar or different speaking rate to identify whether mismatched properties between target speech and masker babble improve speech segregation. Additionally, Dutch and French masker babble was tested to identify whether an unknown language masker improves speech segregation capacity and whether the rhythm patterns of the unknown language modulate the improvement. Individual differences in selective attention were also measured to determine whether they can predict speech segregation ability. This study aims to increase the understanding of speech perception in a more ecologically valid context and to identify whether there is a link between a cue’s potential to denote a new speaker and its ability to aid in speech segregation during competing speech perception.