title: The Dynamic Range for Korean Standard Sentence Material: A Gender Comparison in a Male and a Female Speakers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to identify differences between the dynamic ranges (DRs) of male and female speakers using Korean standard sentence material. Consideration was especially given to effects within the predefined segmentalized frequency-bands.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used Korean standard sentence lists for adults as stimuli. Each sentence was normalized to a root-mean-square of 65 dB sound pressure level. The sentences were then modified to ensure there were no pauses, and the modified sentences were passed through a filter bank in order to perform the frequency analysis. Finally, the DR was quantified using a histogram that showed the cumulative envelope distribution levels of the speech in each frequency band.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In DRs that were averaged across all frequency bands, there were no significant differences between the male and the female speakers. However, when considering effects within the predefined frequency bands, there were significant differences in several frequency bands between the DRs of male speech and those of female speech.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that the DR of speech for the male speaker differed from the female speaker in nine frequency bands among 21 frequency bands. These observed differences suggest that a standardized DR of male speech in the band-audibility function of the speech intelligibility index may differ from that of female speech derived in the same way. Further studies are required to derive standardized DRs for Korean speakers.
authors.affiliation: Division of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Graduate School, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyeong-Yeon
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Division of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Research Institute of Audiology and Speech Pathology, College of Natural Sciences, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: In-Ki
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Jin
keywords: Dynamic range of speech; Hearing aid fitting; Speech intelligibility index