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ERIC Number: EJ1458766
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jan
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1368-2822
EISSN: EISSN-1460-6984
Available Date: N/A
Do You Like My Voice? Stakeholder Perspectives about the Acceptability of Synthetic Child Voices in Three South African Languages
Camryn Claire Terblanche; Michelle Pascoe; Michal Harty
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, v60 n1 e13152 2025
Background: There is a global need for synthetic speech development in multiple languages and dialects, as many children who cannot communicate using their natural voice struggle to find synthetic voices on high-technology devices that match their age, social and linguistic background. Aims: To document multiple stakeholders' perspectives surrounding the quality, acceptability and utility of newly created synthetic speech in three under-resourced South African languages, namely South African English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa. Methods & Procedures: A mixed methods research design was selected. After the creation of naturalistic synthetic child speech which matched the vocal identity of three children with expressive communication difficulties, those three children answered questions about the quality, acceptability and utility of the synthetic voices using a pictographic three-point scale. A total of 11 adults who are known to the children participated in subjective quality assessments in the form of mean opinion scores, intelligibility tests and focus group discussions. Outcomes & Results: Despite the synthetic adult voices appearing more natural, stakeholders were accepting of all the synthetic voices. Although personalization of the voices is important, intelligibility is prioritized and standard dialects are often preferred. When communication partners have adequate training and are willing to model and support children in all environments, children with expressive communication difficulties thrive, but when augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) use is inconsistent, there is reduced vocabulary development and poor system transitioning, and AAC abandonment is greater. Conclusions & Implications: This research suggests that stakeholders from low- and middle-income countries are interested in the development of synthetic voices in their home languages. Our research highlights that children would prefer to incorporate these voices on their high-tech devices, and adults would prefer them for their children, learners and/or clients' devices, rather than using British or US English voices.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A