Development of the Mandarin Nonsense Word Identification Test

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Speech perception tests are crucial for diagnosing hearing and language disorders.
• Developing culturally and linguistically appropriate tools is essential in multilingual settings like Malaysia.
• Existing Mandarin speech perception tests may not be suitable for the Malaysian context.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a digitised Mandarin Nonsense Word Speech Perception Test for use in Malaysia.
• To establish preliminary normative data for the test.
• To assess the test's reliability and validity in a Malaysian Mandarin-speaking population.

Main Methods:

• Phase I involved recording 400 vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV) nonsense words from two speakers, followed by acoustic analysis and item validation to create gender-specific lists.
• Phase II established performance-intensity functions and test-retest reliability using native Mandarin-speaking adults with normal hearing.
• Statistical analyses, including ANOVA and intraclass correlation, were used to evaluate the test's performance.

Main Results:

• Eighty-four VCV words were selected for two gender-specific test lists.
• A significant interaction between speaker gender and presentation level was found (p < 0.001).
• High intraclass correlation scores (0.75 for female, 0.87 for male) indicated good test-retest reliability.

Conclusions:

• Preliminary normative data for the Mandarin nonsense word test have been established.
• Separate gender-specific norms are recommended for accurate test administration.
• The developed test demonstrates good validity and reliability for assessing Mandarin-speaking adults in Malaysia.