Lee Alice, Nyland Joseph, Peppé Sue
Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland,
Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Folia Phoniatr Logop. 2021;73(6):527-536. doi: 10.1159/000513082. Epub 2021 Jan 22.
Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication (PEPS-C) is a computerised test for assessing the abilities to understand and use speech prosody in communication. It has been used to obtain a profile of strengths and weaknesses in different prosodic forms and functions for different clinical populations (e.g., autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome) and second language learners. The 2015 edition of PEPS-C incorporates four new subtests addressing the understanding and production of lexical stress and phrasal stress, and collapses four form subtests (Intonation/Short-Item Input and Output, Prosody/Long-Item Input and Output) into two (Discrimination, Imitation). However, the suitability of these new tasks has not been reported in any published studies, although they are likely to be relevant for learners of English. Moreover, the present authors update the Irish English (IE) version of PEPS-C to the 2015 edition for another research project on prosodic skills in children with spina bifida. Hence, this paper reports the making of PEPS-C 2015 (IE) and examines the usefulness of this test in assessing a group of non-native speakers of English, as compared to a group of native speakers of IE.
PEPS-C 2015 for Irish English was developed by adapting the test items of the UK English version of the test. The PEPS-C 2015 (IE) was then trialled on 25 native speakers of Irish English and 10 Spanish speakers who speak English as a second language (ESL).
All native speakers of Irish English showed competence (scored ≥75% correct) in the comprehension and expression of prosodic form and functions assessed. For the ESL speakers, the test identified two areas of possible difficulty for this group: Phrase Stress Comprehension and Expression, and Contrastive Stress Comprehension.
The PEPS-C 2015, with its extra stress tasks, might therefore be useful as a prosody assessment tool for ESL speakers, particularly those with a Romance first language or at an early stage of learning, but further research is needed.
言语交流中韵律元素剖析测试（PEPS-C）是一项用于评估在交流中理解和运用言语韵律能力的计算机化测试。它已被用于获取不同临床群体（如自闭症谱系障碍、唐氏综合征）以及第二语言学习者在不同韵律形式和功能方面的优势与劣势概况。2015年版的PEPS-C纳入了四个新的子测试，涉及词汇重音和短语重音的理解与产出，并将四个形式子测试（语调/短项目输入与输出、韵律/长项目输入与输出）合并为两个（辨别、模仿）。然而，尽管这些新任务可能与英语学习者相关，但尚未有任何已发表的研究报道其适用性。此外，本文作者为另一个关于脊柱裂儿童韵律技能的研究项目，将爱尔兰英语（IE）版的PEPS-C更新至2015年版。因此，本文报告了PEPS-C 2015（IE）版的编制过程，并考察了该测试在评估一组非英语母语者（与一组爱尔兰英语母语者相比）时的有用性。
爱尔兰英语版的PEPS-C 2015是通过改编该测试的英国英语版测试项目而开发的。然后，对25名爱尔兰英语母语者和10名以英语作为第二语言（ESL）的西班牙语使用者进行了PEPS-C 2015（IE）版测试。
所有爱尔兰英语母语者在评估的韵律形式和功能的理解与表达方面均表现出能力（得分≥75%正确）。对于以英语为第二语言的使用者，该测试确定了该群体可能存在困难的两个领域：短语重音理解与表达以及对比重音理解。
因此，带有额外重音任务的PEPS-C 2015可能作为以英语为第二语言使用者的韵律评估工具有用，特别是那些以罗曼语为第一语言或处于学习早期阶段的使用者，但还需要进一步研究。
