ABSTRACT
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the influences of adult age and aphasia type on the repetition of timing and fundamental frequency (F0) cues in Mandarin-speaking persons with aphasia (PWAs).
Method: Participants completed the repetition subset of the Chinese version of Western Aphasia Battery (WAB). Timing realization was assessed at the syllable level through the durations of initials and finals, while F0 realization was evaluated based on F0 contours across four lexical tones (Tones 1–4).
Results: Aphasia type, but not adult age, significantly affected timing and F0 realization. Expressive PWAs produced longer initials and finals than anomic PWAs, with timing also modulated by Aphasia Quotient (AQ) and Time Post-Onset (TPO) in expressive PWAs. F0 contours largely followed canonical patterns, with expressive PWAs showing greater modulation than anomic PWAs for Tones 2–4. Random forest classification of F0 contours showed modest tonal distinctions (~55% accuracy) for both types, and AQ or TPO did not significantly predict tonal accuracy. Exploratory analyses reported that receptive PWAs generally showed intermediate performance in both timing and F0 realization.
Conclusion: Acquired aphasia might obscure the subtle agerelated effects on segmental timing and tonal contours. These findings emphasize the importance of evaluating both temporal and tonal features in clinical assessment and intervention for PWAs.
本文2026年3月发表于Aphasiology, DOI: 10.1080/02687038.2026.2646444
