Conversations InterGender

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This discussion in session eight between Yuusei and Harumi shows a relatively low speaking rate, with Harumi having a speaking rate (A) of 59.5 as well as having a short MLR of 5.1. Her responses tend to be quite passive and uninformative and again her number of words are almost half of that of Yuusei’s. Yuusei’s articulation rate is a bit faster 1.8 to 1.1 but his speaking rate is 40 points higher than Harumi’s. However, Yuusei’s amount of silence is quite high 35.1 seconds compared to Harumi’s of 2.2. Lexical dysfluency is low but in syntactic dysfluency, there is a lot of repetition from both speakers. In short, this is a situation in which both speakers can bring far more to the table and to be more confident in their production.

This discussion between Harumi and Ryutaro shows again a relatively low speaking rate for Harumi and relatively high rate for Ryutaro. Acoustic dysfluency is average, 5.8% or 37.3 seconds, and the conversation has no cross-talk pausing. It is quite animated, but there are too many minimal responses on the part of both. Harumi has 5.1 syllables syllables for her mean length runs while Ryutaro has 9.5. Again the mail dominates in the number of words produced with 371 and 205, and there is a bit too much repetition by both of the participants. This goes to show that while an interchange can be quite animated, the actual fluency can be quite low. The dysfluency is hidden by the minimal responses on the part of both participants.

Ryotaro is now talking with Toko, and in this discussion is they are discussing their favorite person. As both are in space technology, the two hit it off and the discourse is animated. Again, Toko produces far more words than her male counterpart, with 473 compared to Ryotaro’s 374, so this is rather refreshing to see. Acoustic dysfluency is low, 1.0% percent silence for overall discussion, and cross-talking pausing is non-existent. Lexical dysfluency is low, but in syntactic dysfluency, there is a high level of repetition, 42, for Ryotaro and 59 for Toko, likewise there is also a high level of meaningless syllables. MLRs are average. Minimal responses were low, and this was good to see.

Ryotaro is now meeting Kaho and while cross-talk pausing is noted (16.5 seconds) Kaho seems far more comfortable talking with Ryotaro, though the overall amount of silence for the entire interaction is still high, 57.5 second, or 7.1%.  Speaking rate is average for Ryotaro, but is quite low for Kaho, 50.4. Lexical dysfluency is low though some L1 is used. As for syntactic dysfluency, Ryotaro has high MLRs (14.9) but Kaho’s are average, 10.7. Again, we see, in regard to production, the males producing a far high number of words, Ryotaro’s 413 to Kaho’s 279. Meaningless syllables are slightly high. In short, both participants were more relaxed but had to think through their answers regarding their most important things in life.

Takumi is now talking with Toko in his second gendered discussion. This one is quite different from his interaction with Kaho. The discussion is very animated and Toko is thoroughly engaged and interested, particularly when discussing music. This also is one of the few interactions that shows the female actually having more production, with Toko having 598 words compared to Takumi’s 374. Acoustic dysfluency is minimal, very little silence noted (0.3% for overall discussion!), and with lexical dysfluency only the moderate use of L1 is noted. For syntactic dysfluency, there is a high level of repetition for both participants, 45 for Toko and 59 for Takumi, and MLRs are average 12.8 for Toko but Takumi’s is rather on the low side, 8.4.

This discussion between Natsumi and Yuusei show a relatively high speaking rate, with Natsumi having a speaking rate (A) of 92.3 while the male speaker has rate of 124.9, and the overall percentage of silence for the entire conversation was only 2.6%. Thus, acoustic, lexical, and syntactic dysfluency is relatively low though issues do remain with mean length runs (MLRs) which are relatively short, and with repetition, and meaningless syllables. However, in listening to the video, it becomes apparent that the high level of repetition and rephrasing found in Natsumi’s speech can make listening slightly irritating, but comprehension is unimpaired. Again, it is easy to see how minimal responses can impact the overall message, and again, more production and more explanation from the two speakers would make the interaction even more pleasant.