The Rating of Understanding in Secure Voice Communications Systems

Abstract

• 1) the quality of any voice message communication depends on various electroacoustic and electronic parameters of the communication equipment (frequency response, bandwidth limitation, differential delays, rythmic or arythmic distortions or interruptions, signal/ noise ratio with white or frequency selective noise...) as well as the human parameters of articulation of the speaker and the recognition and comprehension of the received message by the hearer.

• 2) Although the electroacoustic and electronic qualities of a voice communication system can properly be measured and evaluated, there is no easy way of determeining the ‘rate of understanding’ that actually leads to the comprehension of the message content, which is the reason for communication. This requires first of all its ‘understanding’ in the means of physically noting the sounds, secondly the ability to understand the words and to make sense of the message and to consume it intellectually.

• 3) In linguistic research it is well known, that a message is understood even when partly distorted or missing, because of the redundancy of speech.