Effects of sentence context on recognition of words through lipreading by deaf children

Twenty monosyllabic nouns (10 animate, 10 inanimate) were presented in isolation and in three different positions in sentences to 15 profoundly deaf children to determine the effect of context on word intelligibility through lipreading. Isolated words were more intelligible (80%) than were words in sentences (46%). Animate nouns were more intelligible (70%) than inanimate nouns (33%) when used in initial position (as subjects) in sentences. Teacher ratings of children's "general lipreading ability" were correlated more highly with their recognition of words in the test sentences (r = 0.93) than with their recognition of words presented in isolation (r = 0.53). The results indicate that teachers of deaf children could enhance the intelligibility of important words by isolating them from sentences. The results also suggest that some speech-perception difficulties of deaf children could be diagnosed through lipreading tests which are scored on the basis of correctness of "key words" in sentences.