| Dissertation |
Thesis (Ph.D.) --NUI, 2016 at Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, UCC. |
| Summary |
Background: Individuals now experience a range of different spoken accents as cultures merge and diversify. Previous research has suggested that the presentation of spoken material in an accent that is unfamiliar to the listener can have an adverse effect on comprehension. However, the majority of this research refers to the adult population and typically developing children. There is limited literature available on the effect of speaker accent on comprehension in individuals with Down syndrome. Aim: To investigate the effect of speaker accent on the sentence comprehension of children with Down syndrome. Procedure: The effect of three different accents (local, native, non-native) on accuracy of comprehension was measured. 20 children with Down syndrome aged from 6;0-11;11 years (all from Cork, Southern Ireland) participated. 20 younger typically developing children, matched for receptive language were included as a control group. Each child completed a comprehension task adapted from the Derbyshire Rapid Screening Test with task instructions being presented in the three accents. Children’s responses were scored on a binary basis and analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Both groups of participants achieved significantly greater scores in comprehension for sentences spoken in the local accent than the native and non-native accents. Conclusions: Both the group with Down syndrome and control group scored lower when instructions were presented in the native and non-native accents. Hence, comprehension was adversely affected by the presence of accent. |
| Subject |
Down syndrome -- Patients -- Language.
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Language disorders.
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Speech disorders in children.
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| Collection |
Theses Masters (Research)
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Theses Speech and Hearing Sciences Department
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| Description |
191 pages ; 30 cm. |
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