Speaking Without a Voice: A Glance at the SpeechJammer

What should be a quiet, relaxed environment to read a book or enjoy the scenery is interrupted by the loud voice booming into your eardrums, albeit a loud friendly voice. This social fellow is just trying to make conversation but talks way more than to your liking. It’s times like this that you want to silence them in the most unobtrusive way possible… and it’s times like this that maybe a SpeechJammer would come in handy, otherwise known as the ‘Silencing Gun’.

Imagine pointing a device at someone from far away to stop them from talking. Sounds like something from the Twilight Zone, but two Japanese researchers have made such a seemingly sci-fi type device a reality. No need to worry about giving off dangerous gamma rays or hurting the unsuspecting victim in any way. The device is said to literally “jam” someone’s voice, caused by jumbled thoughts in the brain.

There are some interesting language aspects to this device. First is the notion of proper turn-taking rules in the communication process, often studied in the field of sociolinguistics. In many cultures around the world, it is perceived to be rude when someone talks too much or interrupts another person’s turn to speak. We’ve all been there and admittedly probably done it, since we do not focus very much on our own voice as with what others are saying. One sided conversations almost never lead to meaningful dialogue, and worst of all, they will get irritating quick!

With a more neurological perspective, the researchers based the SpeechJammer concept on medical devices that have been used in the field of speech therapy to help people with speech problems, especially stuttering. The Silencing Gun uses a device/technique called Delayed Auditory Feedback (DAF), which helps stutterers to reduce their stuttering after hearing their own voice at a slight delay. How is this possible? The DAF device can be used in two different ways. The speech delay can be set at around 50-70 milliseconds to help reduce stuttering at a normal speaking rate. The DAF device can also play speech back to the speaker with a delay of about 200 milliseconds, which increases spoken fluency through slow speech with stretched vowels. On the flip side, non-stutterers who use the DAF device will either start stuttering or not be able to speak completely. The echo effect causes the brain to become disoriented and shuts down the region that is responsible for speech.

As much as you may want to test out the SpeechJammer for yourself, this device is still a prototype. For now, you can just go the old-fashioned route and do whatever it takes to escape unwanted chatter, whether it be politely excusing yourself from the room or putting on your headphones while turning the volume knob to maximum.