Prosody is an umbrella term which refers to the different patterns of speech, for example, how we use intonation, rhythm and stress when speaking. Prosody is crucial because it allows us to express emotions, attitudes, and emphasis, which words alone, cannot convey. In other words, “It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it”.
Prosody disorders have been reported in many conditions including Down syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Parkinson’s disease. In addition, individuals who learn English as a second language often have difficulties with prosody in English as well. This is because prosody varies based on language and accent. Hence, to evaluate a person’s prosodic skills appropriately, the prosody assessment must be language and accent specific.
The Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication (PEPS-C) is a world-recognised test for assessing the ability to understand and produce prosody in children. The latest edition, PEPS-C 2015, can be used to assess adults also. There are currently different adult versions for two accents of English – British-English and American-English. Though an Irish-English version exists for use with children, this latest edition, the PEPS-C 2015, has not been modified for use with Irish-English speaking adults.
Therefore, this research project will develop a version of the PEPS-C 2015 which can be used as a clinical tool for assessing prosody difficulties in Irish-English speaking adults; the PEPS-C 2015 (IE). The assessment will then be trialled on typical speakers of Irish-English, before being used to evaluate the prosodic skills of second language learners of Irish-English.