An electropalatographic and perceptual investigation of /s/ productions in Cantonese children with cleft palate

This study had two aims. The first aim was to use electropalatography (EPG) to investigate the articulatory characteristics of /s/ produced by five Cantonese-speaking children with repaired cleft palate. The EPG stimuli were analyzed, and categorized into seven different EPG patterns. Variability among these EPG patterns was found in these aspects: a) the presence and absence of a groove, b) the location and length of the groove, and c) the extent of contact. The second aim was to investigate listeners’ perceptual judgments for /s/ targets produced by these cleft palate children. A multiple-choice listening task was administered to fifteen listeners who were asked to select from seven choices after listening to each auditory stimulus. Results indicated poor intra-listener agreement and listeners had difficulties identifying the types of /s/ production. Possible reasons for this difficulty, and the clinical implications for the evaluation and treatment of cleft palate speech are discussed.