Li Yani, Li Qun, Wen Jian, Li Lin, Zheng Yun
Department of Audiology and Speech-language Pathology，Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery，West China Hospital of Sichuan University，Chengdu，610041，China.
Lin Chuang Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi. 2025 Apr;39(4):312-318. doi: 10.13201/j.issn.2096-7993.2025.04.004.
This study aims to investigate the perception of Mandarin aspirated and unaspirated consonants by children with cochlear implants （CIs） under quiet and noisy conditions. It also examines factors that may affect their acquisition, such as auditory conditions, place of articulation, manner of articulation, chronological age, age at implantation, and non-verbal intelligence. Twenty-eight CI children aged 3 to 5 years who received implantation from 2018 to 2023 were recruited. Additionally, 88 peers with normal hearing （NH） were recruited as controls. Both groups participated in a perception test for aspirated/unaspirated consonants under quiet and noisy conditions, along with tests for speech recognition, speech production, and non-verbal intelligence. The study analyzed the effects of group （CI vs. NH）, auditory condition, and consonant characteristics on children's perception of aspirated/unaspirated consonants in Mandarin, as well as the factors contributing to CI children's acquisition of these consonants. ①CI children's ability to perceive aspirated/unaspirated consonants was significantly poorer than that of their NH peers （= 14.16, <0.01）, and their perception accuracy was influenced by the acoustic features of consonants （<0.01）; ②CI children's consonant perception abilities were adversely affected by noise （<0.01）, with accuracy in noisy conditions particularly influenced by the manner of articulation （<0.05）; ③The age at implantation significantly affected CI children's ability to perceive aspirated/unaspirated consonants （= -0.223, =0.012）, with earlier implantation associated with better performance. It takes time for CI children to acquire Mandarin aspirated/unaspirated consonants, and early implantation shows many advantages, especially for the perception ability of fine speech features.
本研究旨在调查人工耳蜗（CI）植入儿童在安静和嘈杂环境下对汉语送气和不送气辅音的感知。同时，本研究还考察了可能影响其习得的因素，如听觉条件、发音部位、发音方式、实足年龄、植入年龄和非言语智力。招募了28名在2018年至2023年期间接受植入手术的3至5岁CI儿童。此外，招募了88名听力正常（NH）的同龄人作为对照组。两组儿童均参与了在安静和嘈杂环境下对送气/不送气辅音的感知测试，以及言语识别、言语产出和非言语智力测试。本研究分析了组别（CI组与NH组）、听觉条件和辅音特征对儿童汉语送气/不送气辅音感知的影响，以及影响CI儿童习得这些辅音的因素。①CI儿童对送气/不送气辅音的感知能力显著低于NH组同龄人（ = 14.16，<0.01），其感知准确性受辅音声学特征影响（<0.01）；②CI儿童的辅音感知能力受到噪声的负面影响（<0.01），嘈杂环境下的准确性尤其受发音方式影响（<0.05）；③植入年龄显著影响CI儿童对送气/不送气辅音的感知能力（ = -0.223， =0.012），植入时间越早表现越好。CI儿童习得汉语送气/不送气辅音需要时间，早期植入有诸多优势，尤其是对精细语音特征的感知能力。
