Identification and discrimination of speech sounds in monosyllabic meaningful words and nonsense words by children.

ABSTRACT

297 children aged 9-14 with normal hearing and intelligence level were examined by speech audiometry. Ten lists with monosyllabic meaningful and nonsense words were used. All the lists were phonemically and structurally balanced in the same way and were applied with an intensity level varying between 26 dB and 61 dB. The identification and discrimination scores for Polish speech sounds were calculated from written-response sheets. The identification scores were generally significantly lower for nonsense words, and up to a certain extent, increased with age. An examination of the discrimination scores showed that confusions were related to the distinctive features of the phonemes. The results represent the first stage of a project on speech sound identification in children and may have practical implications for the rehabilitation of children with hearing loss.