Reliability of listener transcriptions of compensatory articulations.

Abstract

This study examined the ability of speech-language pathologists to transcribe compensatory articulation errors. Speech-language pathologists phonetically transcribed audiorecordings of 130 monosyllabic words, 70 of which contained compensatory articulations. The participants for this study were two groups of 10 speech-language pathologists. Group I included speech-language pathologists who were experienced in evaluating children with cleft palate, and group II speech-language pathologists were not. Marked variability was evident across listeners, with percentages of agreement ranging from 19 to 71 (mean agreement = 41%). The experienced listeners performed significantly better on the transcription task than the inexperienced listeners, but poor interjudge agreement was evident across both groups. The results of this study suggest that speech-language pathologists may differ in their understanding of the auditory perceptual characteristics of compensatory articulations. The results underscore the need for increased training and standardization of transcription procedures.