Lombard effect
The Lombard effect , named after the French scientist Étienne Lombard (1868–1920), describes the observation that a speaker increases his volume and usually also his pitch when background noise is present.
Because of the need to communicate with the other party in the event of a high level of ambient noise, a speaker not only increases his volume, but also involuntarily increases the pitch of his voice. One explanation for this is that high frequencies prevail better against background noise than low frequencies. However, it is not only with a restricted social feedback loop that the speaker becomes louder and higher, but also when his own feedback is hindered, for example by wearing an ear muff. At the same time, word duration and pronunciation frequencies increase significantly.
Lombard effect to help people with Parkinson's disease
One of the effects of Parkinson's disease is a tendency for patients to speak softly. Under certain circumstances, it can be helpful here to generate background noise that has to be drowned out when speaking. After switching off the noises, the patient often maintains the higher speech volume for some time, so that a conversation with him becomes much easier.
Lombard effect in audiometry
The Lombard effect is also used in the Lombard experiment , an audiometric method of ear, nose and throat medicine , with which the simulation of bilateral deafness or hearing loss can be revealed.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Étienne Lombard: Le signe de l'élévation de la voix . In: Annales des maladies de l'oreille, du larynx, du nez et du pharynx . tape 37 , 1911, ISSN 0150-9721 , p. 101-119 .
- ^ Daniel Doron Silverman: A Critical Introduction to Phonology: Of Sound, Mind and Body . Continuum, 2006, ISBN 0-8264-8661-4 ( full text in Google book search).
- ↑ Use the "Lobard Effect". Retrieved October 9, 2013 .