OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of speaker accentedness by adult CI users and the relevance of segmental and suprasegmental features to CI users' accentedness rating.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists fitting cochlear implants in adults should be aware that foreign accent perception is influenced by both sound-segment and pitch/rhythm cues, which may affect communication outcomes in multilingual or multicultural patients — though no specific protocol change is indicated from this single study.
Understanding how cochlear implant users perceive foreign accents has implications for speech perception testing, rehabilitation design, and equity in outcomes for linguistically diverse patients.
- 01Postlingually deafened cochlear implant users can perceive degrees of foreign speaker accentedness.
- 02Both segmental (individual speech sounds) and suprasegmental (rhythm, stress, intonation) cues contribute to accent perception.
- 03Study population was adult cochlear implant users who lost hearing after acquiring language.
- 04Findings relevant to audiologists working with multilingual or multicultural CI recipients.
- 05Published in Cochlear Implants International.
Postlingually deafened cochlear implant users can distinguish degrees of foreign accent in speech.
studysupportedBoth segmental and suprasegmental features contribute to foreign accent perception in cochlear implant users.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42808206
- DOI
- 10.1080/14670100.2026.2735702.
- Journal
- Cochlear Implants International
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Postlingually deafened adults with cochlear implants
- Intervention
- Perception of foreign speaker accentedness (segmental and suprasegmental features)
Primary outcomes
Perceived degree of foreign accentedness; Role of segmental vs. suprasegmental features in accent perception