Mandarin melody recognition by pediatric cochlear implant recipients

This study investigated the ability of children with implants who speak Mandarin Chinese, a tonal language, to recognize familiar melodies. It further examined the relative contributions of pitch, rhythm, and lyrics to melody recognition. Two groups of participants (ages 7-15; n = 20 for each group), those with cochlear implants and those with typical hearing, listened to 2 sets (traditional Mandarin children's songs and children's songs from Western cultures translated into Mandarin) of three melodies. These melodies were presented in 3 conditions: (a) melodic contour only (pitches in equal durations); (b) melodic contour with rhythmic patterns; and (c) melodic contour with rhythmic patterns and lyrics. The results indicated that pediatric cochlear implant recipients performed with greater accuracy in melody recognition when lyrics were available. Their scores were significantly lower when melodies containing only pitch features. Providing the rhythmic patterns aided participants' identification of the target melodies, but less so than the lyrics. Applications of findings to aural rehabilitation are discussed.