Impact of acoustic similarity on efficiency of verbal information transmission via subtle prosodic cues

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the effect of tiny acoustic differences on the efficiency of prosodic information transmission. Study participants listened to textually ambiguous sentences, which could be understood with prosodic cues, such as syllable length and pause length. Sentences were uttered in voices similar to the participant’s own voice and in voices dissimilar to their own voice. The participants then identified which of four pictures the speaker was referring to. Both the eye movement and response time of the participants were recorded. Eye tracking and response time results both showed that participants understood the textually ambiguous sentences faster when listening to voices similar to their own. The results also suggest that tiny acoustic features, which do not contain verbal meaning can influence the processing of verbal information.