The Effect of Non-native Dialect on Speech Recognition Threshold for Native Mandarin Speakers

• Main Author: Richardson, Nathan Edward
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2008
• Subjects: dialects; speech recognition threshold; Mandarin; speech audiometry; Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/1333; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2332&context=etd

Speech recognition thresholds are used for several clinical purposes, so it is important that they be accurate reflections of hearing ability. Variations in the acoustic signal may artificially decrease threshold scores, and such variations can result from being tested in a second dialect. Thirty-two native Mandarin-speaking subjects (sixteen from mainland China and sixteen from Taiwan) participated in speech recognition threshold testing in both dialects to see whether using non-native dialect test materials resulted in a significantly lower score. In addition, tests were scored by two interpreters, one from each dialect, to see whether the scorer's dialect resulted in a significantly different score. Talker dialect was found to be statistically significant, while scorer dialect was not. Factors explaining these findings, as well as clinical implications, are discussed.