Fluency in dialogue: The effect of speech rate and turn-taking behaviour on fluency ratings

Abstract

Studies investigating fluency perception often make use of monologues, while natural conversation usually occurs in dialogues. The present study investigated the effect of speech rate and gaps and overlaps between turns in a dialogue on perceived fluency ratings. This was done by acoustically manipulating speech rate and the time between question and answer turns in short dialogues. In an experiment, listeners were then asked to rate the fluency of the speaker giving the answer on a nine-point scale. Results showed, firstly, an effect of speech rate: Fast answers were rated as more fluent than slow ones. Secondly, results showed an interaction between speech rate and delay step. In slow speech, overlapping speech was rated as slightly more fluent than larger gaps, while in fast speech larger gaps were rated as more fluent than overlap. These findings carry implications for the language testing practice.< /p>