Coady Jeffry A, Evans Julia L
Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Sargent College, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2008 Jan-Feb;43(1):1-40. doi: 10.1080/13682820601116485.
The non-word repetition task (NRT) has gained wide acceptance in describing language acquisition in both children with normal language development (NL) and children with specific language impairments (SLI). This task has gained wide acceptance because it so closely matches the phonological component of word learning, and correlates with measures of phonological working memory, a deficit in which is hypothesized to underlie SLI.
AIMS/METHODS & PROCEDURES: Recent uses of the NRT seem to accept it as a measure of phonological working memory capacity in spite of the fact that researchers have consistently acknowledged that the task taps many language processes, including speech perception, phonological encoding, phonological memory, phonological assembly and articulation. This paper reviews the literature on the use of the non-word repetition task (NRT) in children with NL and children with SLI, emphasizing the component skills necessary for successful repetition.
For children with NL, discussion has focused on (1) the relationship between non-word repetition ability and vocabulary, and (2) lexical and sublexical influences on repetition accuracy. For children with SLI, discussion has focused on these factors as well, but has also considered other component skills that support non-word repetition. Researchers have examined speech perception and discrimination, phonological encoding, phonological memory, phonological assembly, motor planning, and articulation, and have found evidence that children with SLI exhibit impairments in each of these supporting skills.
Because repetition accuracy depends on lexical and sublexical properties, the NRT can be used to examine the structural properties of the lexicon in both children with NL and with SLI. Further, because the task taps so many underlying skills, it is a powerful tool that can be used to identify children with language impairments.
非词重复任务（NRT）在描述正常语言发展（NL）儿童和特定语言障碍（SLI）儿童的语言习得方面已获得广泛认可。该任务之所以获得广泛认可，是因为它与单词学习的语音成分非常匹配，并且与语音工作记忆的测量相关，而语音工作记忆的缺陷被认为是SLI的潜在原因。
目的/方法与程序：尽管研究人员一直承认该任务涉及许多语言过程，包括语音感知、语音编码、语音记忆、语音组合和发音，但NRT最近的应用似乎将其视为语音工作记忆容量的一种测量方法。本文回顾了关于非词重复任务（NRT）在NL儿童和SLI儿童中的应用的文献，强调了成功重复所需的组成技能。
对于NL儿童，讨论集中在（1）非词重复能力与词汇之间的关系，以及（2）词汇和次词汇对重复准确性的影响。对于SLI儿童，讨论也集中在这些因素上，但也考虑了支持非词重复的其他组成技能。研究人员检查了语音感知和辨别、语音编码、语音记忆、语音组合、运动计划和发音，并发现有证据表明SLI儿童在这些支持技能中的每一项都存在缺陷。
由于重复准确性取决于词汇和次词汇属性，NRT可用于检查NL儿童和SLI儿童词汇的结构属性。此外，由于该任务涉及如此多的潜在技能，它是一种强大的工具，可用于识别有语言障碍的儿童。
