The categorical perception of Mandarin tones by children with speech development disorders
10.3760/cma.j.issn.0254-1424.2017.01.013
- VernacularTitle:发育性语音障碍儿童汉语普通话声调范畴性知觉研究
- Author:
Aiwen YI
;
Yanqun CHANG
;
Zhuoming CHEN
;
Xianying LI
;
Shuangmiao HUANG
;
Ning XU
- Keywords:
Tones;
Speech development;
Categorical perception;
Mandarin
- From:
Chinese Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
2017;39(1):52-55
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To investigate the perception of Mandarin's tones by children with speech development disorders so as to provide a theoretical basis for clinical rehabilitation.Methods Thirty children with speech development disorders (DPDs) aged 4 to 6 were matched with 30 healthy counterparts as a control group.Both groups underwent the tone perception experiment,which included tone identification and discrimination tasks.The speech stimuli were 11 computer-simulated voices expressing a continuum of sounds from Mandarin speech ranging from /bá/ to /bà/.The two groups were compared in their ability to identify and differentiate the tones.Results Both groups showed typicalS-shaped identification curves in a category pattern.The category boundaries of the control group were between stimulus steps 6 and 7,significantly different from those of the experimental group where the boundary fell between stimulus steps 5 and 6.On the distinguishing curve,both groups presented obvious peak values.The stimulus steps of the peaks and the crossing points of the identification curves were consistent.In addition,the average ahsolnte value (b1) of the identification curve and the peaks' degree of steepness (DP) of the DPD group's distinguishing curve were significantly lower than those of the control group.At the same time,the average boundary width (Wcb) was significantly higher than that of the control group.Conclusion Children with speech development disorders perceive Mandarin tones with categories different from those of normal children.They may have difficulty in perceiving tones,which might be an important factor leading to pronunciation errors.
