The COVID-19 pandemic raised new questions about the impact of face-masks in speech communication.
Along with my collaborators, Dr. Georgia Zellou (UC Davis) and Dr. Anne Pycha (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), we are exploring the ways people adapt their speech when they wear a fabric face-mask.
- (Cohn, Pycha & Zellou, 2021): When speakers produce ‘clear speech’ while wearing a face-mask, they are even better understood (by listeners) than when they produce ‘clear speech’ while unmasked.
- This suggests that speakers preemptively make intelligibility adjustments for face-masks.
Press coverage:
- In Focus [article]. “Speech Unmasked: UWM linguist studies how masks impact intelligibility” (3/2021)
- CBS 58Milwaukee On-Air News Segment [article/video]. “Researchers look at how masks impact communication (3/18/21)
- Equinox [article] “Unmask Masked Speech” (3/6/21)
- US News & World Report [article] “As Mask-Wearing Prevails, People Are Adapting to Understanding Speech” (2/8/21)
- Ladders [article] “This is how you can make masked conversations 100% more successful” (2/8/21)
- WFMY Greensboro On-Air News Segment [article] [video] “What did you say? How masks affect your communication & understanding” (2/4/21)
- KCBS San Francisco (106.9FM AND 740AM) Live Interview with Rebecca Corral [article] [recording] “UC Davis conducts study on how wearing a mask affects our speech patterns” (2/3/21)
- CBS-13 Sacramento On-Air News Segment [article] [video] “UC Davis Study Finds Face Masks Do Not Impact Ability To Communicate” (2/2/21)
- UC Davis Press Release [article] “Speaking and Listening Seem More Difficult in a Masked World, But People Are Adapting” (2/2/21)
Michelle Cohn 