Work

The relationship between intelligibility and comprehensibility in second language speech

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study examined the relationship between intelligibility and comprehensibility in second language speech. Four extended speech samples from 50 speakers spanning a wide range of proficiency were drawn from archived test data. These samples were listened to by 570 English users, who provided comprehensibility ratings and transcriptions to measure intelligibility. The relationship between intelligibility and comprehensibility was strong ( r = .81, ⍴ = .88) and nonlinear. A segmented regression model suggested a breakpoint for intelligibility scores (transcription accuracy) at 64%, below which speakers were perceived as uniformly hard to understand and above which increased intelligibility was strongly associated with higher comprehensibility.

Source: Bilingualism Language and Cognition

DOI: 10.1017/s1366728925100606

Authors: Dustin Crowther, Daniel Richard Isbell, Yoonseo Kim, Jieun Kim

Institutions: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Soongsil University

Language: English

Topic: Phonetics and Phonology Research

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,550

Funder: British Council