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Psychometrically Equivalent Trisyllabic Words for Speech Reception Threshold Testing in Cantonese

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Psychometrically Equivalent Trisyllabic Words for Speech Reception Threshold Testing in Cantonese Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2007-04-23 Psychometrically Equivalent Trisyllabic Words for Speech Reception Threshold Testing in Cantonese Misty Noelani Kim Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Kim, Misty Noelani, "Psychometrically Equivalent Trisyllabic Words for Speech Reception Threshold Testing in Cantonese" (2007). Theses and Dissertations. 873. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/873 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. PSYCHOMETRICALLY EQUIVALENT TRISYLLABIC WORDS FOR SPEECH RECEPTION THRESHOLD TESTING IN CANTONESE by Misty N. Kim A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Communication Disorders Brigham Young University August 2007 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Misty N. Kim This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. Date Richard W. Harris, Chair Date Shawn L. Nissen Date David L. McPherson BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY As chair of the candidate’s graduate committee, I have read the thesis of Misty Noelani Kim in its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographical style are consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and department style requirements; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for submission to the university library. Date Richard W. Harris Chair, Graduate Committee Accepted for the Department Date Ron W. Channell Graduate Coordinator Accepted for the College Date K. Richard Young Dean, David O. McKay School of Education ABSTRACT PSYCHOMETRICALLY EQUIVALENT TRISYLLABIC WORDS FOR SPEECH RECEPTION THRESHOLD TESTING IN CANTONESE Misty Noelani Kim Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Master of Science The purpose of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and equate Cantonese trisyllabic words which could then be used in the measurement of the speech reception threshold. A selection of 90 frequently utilized trisyllabic words were selected and then digitally recorded by male and female talkers of Standard Cantonese and presented to 20 subjects with normal hearing beginning at 6 dB below their pure-tone average (PTA) and ascending in 2 dB increments until one of the following criteria had been met: (a) the participant responded correctly to 100% of the test items, or (b) the presentation level reached 16 dB HL. Using logistic regression, psychometric functions were calculated for each word. Twenty-eight trisyllabic words with the steepest psychometric function slopes were selected. The psychometric function slopes for the 28 selected words, at 50% threshold, ranged from 10.3 %/dB to 19.6 %/dB (M = 14.5 %/dB) for the male talker and from 10.3 %/dB to 22.7 %/dB (M = 14.9 %/dB) for the female talker. To decrease the variability among the words the intensities were digitally adjusted to match the mean subject PTA (4.5 dB HL). The resulting lists included mean slopes from 20 to 80% with of a range of 8.9 %/dB to 16.9 %/dB (M = 12.6 %/dB) for the male talker and a range of 8.9 %/dB to 19.7 %/dB (M = 12.9 %/dB) for the female talker. Digital recordings of the psychometrically equivalent trisyllabic words are available on compact disc. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A project of this magnitude at the culmination of schooling takes a considerable amount of time and effort. I could not have completed this alone and would, therefore, like to recognize all the instrumental people that have helped me complete this project and my other educational endeavors throughout the years. First, I would like to thank my parents, Ken, Pat, and the late Judy Dodge, for instilling a desire to pursue an education and teaching me how to accomplish the goals that I set. Second, I would like to thank the faculty members who, without which, this project would not have been possible. Dr. Richard Harris and Dr. Shawn Nissen spent countless hours in the support and creation of this project and also showed kindness and patience as I learned the process by which we were to complete the project. I would also like to thank Brooke Conklin, Ching Yin Ma (Xaviera), and Wallace Chan for their time spent on this project and for the good times we had while working together. I am also grateful for the time put in by our subjects and other participants who were willing to take time out of their day to come and participate in testing, word selection, and data collection. Thank you to all the other graduate students who have helped encourage and calm me throughout the process of graduate school. Last, but not least, a special thanks to my husband Phillip Kim. Without his encouraging words, patience, and unwavering support of my schooling, I would not have been able to complete this project or my degree. Thank you! vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix List of Appendixes ...............................................................................................................x Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Review of Literature ............................................................................................................3 Speech Audiometry ....................................................................................................... 3 Speech Reception Threshold......................................................................................... 4 Factors Influencing the Quality of Speech Audiometry Materials ............................... 5 Native Language Testing .............................................................................................. 8 Speech Audiometry in Cantonese ................................................................................. 9 Method ...............................................................................................................................12 Participants .................................................................................................................. 12 Materials ..................................................................................................................... 12 Procedures ................................................................................................................... 16 Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................17 Results ................................................................................................................................18 Discussion ..........................................................................................................................31 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................35 References ..........................................................................................................................37 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Age (years) and Pure Tone Threshold (dB HL) Descriptive Statistics for 20 Normally Hearing Cantonese Subjects ........................................................................13 2. Mean Performance for 90 Cantonese Male Trisyllabic SRT words ............................20 3. Mean Performance for 90 Cantonese Female Trisyllabic SRT words ........................23 4. Mean Performance for 28 Selected Cantonese Male Trisyllabic SRT words .............26 5. Mean Performance for 28 Selected Cantonese Female Trisyllabic SRT words ..........27 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Psychometric functions for Cantonese trisyllabic words for male talker (left panels) and female talker (right panels) recordings.. ...................................................28 2. Psychometric functions for the 28 selected unadjusted Cantonese trisyllabic words spoken by a male talker.. ...................................................................................29 3. Psychometric functions for the 28 selected unadjusted Cantonese trisyllabic words spoken by a female talker.. ................................................................................30 4. Mean psychometric functions for 28 selected Cantonese male and female talker trisyllabic words after intensity adjustment to equate 50% threshold performance to the mean PTA (4.5 dB HL) for the 20 normally hearing subjects. ..........................32 x LIST OF APPENDIXES Appendix Page A. Informed Consent.........................................................................................................44 B. BYU Cantonese CD Contents ......................................................................................45
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