Optimal speech speed for man-machine interface.
Tomio Watanabe · TRANSACTIONS OF THE JAPAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS Series C · 1987
In human communication, an optimal speech speed for clear understanding has been studied, with special references made to learning a speech and to the individual dependency on the speech speed. The time duration of the speech, a typical pause and a specific phrase in the speech, and also a pitch period for the speech were automatically measured. In the situation where one speaks in the optimal speech speed supposed by himseif, there was no significant dependency between the voice speed and the pause duration, and there was a positive correlation between the voice speed and the pitch period. In the premature learning stage, the optimal speech speed depended on the individual, while after learning was completed, the individual optimal speed converged on the general human optimal speed. The results are useful in the development of a machine which responds to a human speaker with the speaker's optimal speed.