Auditory Temporal Processing Abilities in Early Azari-Persian Bilinguals

Introduction: Auditory temporal resolution and auditory temporal ordering are two major components of the auditory temporal processing abilities that contribute to speech perception and language development. Auditory temporal resolution and auditory temporal ordering can be evaluated by gap-in-noise (GIN) and pitch-pattern-sequence (PPS) tests, respectively. In this survey, the effect of bilingualism as a potential confounding factor on auditory temporal processing abilities was investigated in early Azari-Persian bilinguals.   Materials and Methods:                                     In this cross-sectional non-interventional study, GIN and PPS tests were performed on ۲۴ (۱۲ men and ۱۲ women) early Azari-Persian bilingual persons and ۲۴ (۱۲ men and ۱۲ women) Persian monolingual subjects in the age range of ۱۸–۳۰ years, with a mean age of ۲۴.۵۷ years in bilingual and ۲۴.۶۸ years in monolingual subjects. Data were analyzed with t-test using SPSS software version ۱۶.   Results: There was no statistically significant difference between mean gap threshold and mean percentages of the correct response of the GIN test and average percentage of correct responses in the PPS test between early Azari-Persian bilinguals and Persian monolinguals (P≥۰.۰۵).   Conclusion:  According to the findings of this study, bilingualism did not have notable effect on auditory temporal processing abilities.

Keywords:

Auditory perception , Multilingualism , Pitch perception