Greek trisyllabic word list developed: 40 words retained after testing 20 children aged 6 to 12 for speech recognition threshold
Synopsis
Addressing the gap in Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT) materials for Greek-speaking school-aged children (6 to 12 years), this study selected words on four criteria—syllabic structure (trisyllabics), age-appropriate vocabulary familiarity, phonemic differentiation, and homogeneity in audibility—recorded and processed them per ISO 8253-3:2022, had 20 children take part in the word homogeneity evaluation, determined for each word the presentation level needed for 50% correct recognition, and measured recognition rates across intensities to locate the steepest rise of the Performance-Intensity (PI) function between 20% and 80% recognition; it found that words homogeneous in recognition rate are not homogeneous in recognition threshold and vice versa, so only words within +1 Standard Deviati
Interpretation
The study developed a Greek SRT word list of 40 trisyllabic words intended for school-aged children aged 6 to 12. Greek-speaking populations previously lacked trisyllabic SRT materials for this age group, and this list addresses that gap. The abstract reports a final list of 40 trisyllabic words, selection based on four criteria, and recording and processing following ISO 8253-3:2022; 20 children participated in the homogeneity evaluation.
The study found that homogeneity in recognition rate and homogeneity in recognition threshold do not coincide: words homogeneous in recognition rate are not homogeneous in recognition threshold, and vice versa. This observation indicates that screening words along a single dimension is insufficient to obtain homogeneous materials, and both dimensions need to be considered together. The abstract states this finding explicitly and, on that basis, changed the selection rule to keeping words within +1 Standard Deviation in both recognition rate and recognition threshold.
The study evaluated words by determining, for each word, the presentation level for 50% correct recognition and by locating the steepest rise of the PI function across the 20% to 80% recognition range. This approach grounds homogeneity assessment in each word's threshold and slope characteristics rather than only comparing at the whole-list level. The abstract describes both the 50% recognition level determination and the measurement across the 20% to 80% recognition range, but reports no specific intensity values or statistics.
The results are consistent with previous studies in other languages that developed trisyllabic SRT materials. This suggests the Greek list's homogeneity behavior aligns with cross-language experience. The abstract states that 'Results are consistent with previous studies in other languages,' without listing specific comparison studies or values.
Perspective
The list is intended for SRT assessment in Greek-speaking school-aged children aged 6 to 12, recorded and processed per ISO 8253-3:2022, and can be used in pediatric audiological testing and subsequent research; applicability to other languages or age groups would require separate validation.
The abstract does not report the 50% recognition intensity values for individual words, the standard deviation ranges for recognition rate and recognition threshold, or the specific PI function slopes, nor does it describe the hearing status or sampling of the 20 children; test-retest reliability in clinical use and performance in children with different types of hearing loss remain open questions for follow-up research.