Collab topic : What is speech banana and it's importance. Prepared by : *MALLESH , speech language pathologist*
The Speech Banana is a term used to describe the area where the phonemes, or sounds of human speech, appear on an audiogram. When the phonemes are plotted out on the audiogram they take the shape of a banana, therefore audiologists and other speech professionals refer to that area as the speech banana.
*Definition*
The speech banana is a region in which all the phonemes of the world's languages fall on an audiogram. An audiogram is a graphical representation of a person's hearing acuity at a range of frequencies and loudness levels, and it is generally charted with frequency level (in Hertz on the x-axis and decibel level (dB) on the y-axis. When the sounds of speech or phonemes of all known human languages are plotted on an audiogram, they cluster in a banana-shaped region known as the speech banana.
*Importance of speech banana*
The speech banana is important because it encompasses nearly all of the sounds of human language which is essential for our communications with each other. Individuals with normal hearing, can also hear lots of sounds outside of the speech banana such as high frequency leaves rustling or low frequency thunder.
1. People with normal hearing acuity can also hear sounds outside of the speech banana.
2. These sounds include ambient natural sounds such as a rustling of leaves in the wind or birds chirping.
3. Artificial sounds outside of the speech banana can include music and mechanical noises (e.g., automobiles, lawn mowers).
4. Audiologists are primarily concerned with hearing loss that occurs within the speech banana because it can slow the development of a childs language and speech abilities.
5. Hearing loss within the speech banana can also hinder communication capabilities in adults, as in elderly people with age-related hearing loss (presbycusis).