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Learning to Understand Speech in Babble Noise: The Role of Rhythm Perception in English and Spanish.

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Title: Learning to Understand Speech in Babble Noise: The Role of Rhythm Perception in English and Spanish.
Authors: Tetzloff, Katerina A.1 Katerina.tetzloff@stonybrook.edu, Yoho, Sarah E.2,3, Borrie, Stephanie A.2
Source: Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research. Apr2026, Vol. 69 Issue 4, p1576-1583. 8p.
Subject Terms: *Learning, *Pre-tests & post-tests, *Speech perception, Pearson correlation (Statistics), Noise, Research funding, Descriptive statistics, Spanish language, English language, Data analysis software
Abstract: Purpose: Perceptual learning--the ability to improve understanding of degraded speech with exposure--has been shown to occur across languages when speech is masked by stationary noise. However, it is unknown whether this holds for more complex maskers like babble noise, which introduces both energetic and informational masking. Compared to stationary noise, babble has greater rhythmic complexity, which may interfere with listeners' ability to use rhythmic cues for perceptual learning, particularly for stress-timed languages like English. In a previous study, rhythm perception predicted perceptual learning for English-speaking but not Spanish-speaking listeners, suggesting that the role of rhythm in perceptual learning may be language specific; whether this relationship remains in the presence of rhythmically complex babble remains an open question. Method: Native English-speaking and Spanish-speaking listeners (N = 77) completed a perceptual learning paradigm (pretest, training, posttest) with lowpredictability phrases masked by four-talker babble noise, followed by a rhythm perception task. Results: Listeners in both groups showed significant perceptual learning, but Spanish-speaking listeners demonstrated greater intelligibility improvement. Rhythm perception did not predict learning in either group, suggesting that babble noise disrupts rhythm-based perceptual learning strategies. Conclusion: These findings highlight that perceptual learning in babble is influenced by language-specific rhythmic properties and that rhythm perception may play a reduced role in more complex masking conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Learning to Understand Speech in Babble Noise: The Role of Rhythm Perception in English and Spanish.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language+%26+Hearing+Research%22">Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 69 Issue 4, p1576-1583. 8p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning%22">Learning</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pre-tests+%26+post-tests%22">Pre-tests & post-tests</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech+perception%22">Speech perception</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pearson+correlation+%28Statistics%29%22">Pearson correlation (Statistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Noise%22">Noise</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spanish+language%22">Spanish language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+language%22">English language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink>
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  Data: Purpose: Perceptual learning--the ability to improve understanding of degraded speech with exposure--has been shown to occur across languages when speech is masked by stationary noise. However, it is unknown whether this holds for more complex maskers like babble noise, which introduces both energetic and informational masking. Compared to stationary noise, babble has greater rhythmic complexity, which may interfere with listeners' ability to use rhythmic cues for perceptual learning, particularly for stress-timed languages like English. In a previous study, rhythm perception predicted perceptual learning for English-speaking but not Spanish-speaking listeners, suggesting that the role of rhythm in perceptual learning may be language specific; whether this relationship remains in the presence of rhythmically complex babble remains an open question. Method: Native English-speaking and Spanish-speaking listeners (N = 77) completed a perceptual learning paradigm (pretest, training, posttest) with lowpredictability phrases masked by four-talker babble noise, followed by a rhythm perception task. Results: Listeners in both groups showed significant perceptual learning, but Spanish-speaking listeners demonstrated greater intelligibility improvement. Rhythm perception did not predict learning in either group, suggesting that babble noise disrupts rhythm-based perceptual learning strategies. Conclusion: These findings highlight that perceptual learning in babble is influenced by language-specific rhythmic properties and that rhythm perception may play a reduced role in more complex masking conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00601
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Data analysis software
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      – TitleFull: Learning to Understand Speech in Babble Noise: The Role of Rhythm Perception in English and Spanish.
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              Text: Apr2026
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