title: Auditory perceptual performance of children in the identification of contrasts between stressed vowels.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the auditory perceptual performance of children in a task of identification of vowel contrasts, to classify which phonemes and vowel contrasts provide higher or lower degrees of difficulty, and to verify the influence of age in this performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data recordings of auditory perceptual performance of 66 children in a task of identification using the software Perception Evaluation Auditive & Visuelle (PERCEVAL) were selected from a database. The task consisted of presenting sound stimuli through headphones to children, who would then choose, from two pictures arranged on the computer screen, the one corresponding to the word they heard. The time between auditory inputs and the child's reaction was automatically computed in the software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The perceptual accuracy was 88% and we found a positive correlation with the variable age. The time of response was significantly longer for incorrect answers as opposed to correct answers (p=0.00). Different degrees of similarity in auditory perception were observed, where front vowels were similar more often than back vowels. The tendency for errors was prevalent in the range of non-peripheral to peripheral vowels, which suggests that the latter may serve as a reference or perceptual anchor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The auditory perceptual ability concerning the identification of vowel contrasts is not yet established in the age group studied. The auditory perception of vowel contrasts occurs gradually and asymmetrically, as the order of acquisition in terms of production and perception was not always the same.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho, School of Philosophy and Sciences, MaríliaSP, Brasil, School of Philosophy and Sciences, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho - UNESP - Marília (SP), Brasil.
authors.forename: Larissa Cristina
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Berti
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho, School of Philosophy and Sciences, MaríliaSP, Brasil, School of Philosophy and Sciences, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho - UNESP - Marília (SP), Brasil.
authors.forename: Lívia Mayra Rodrigues
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Roque
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000367:Age Factors; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D010700:Phonetics; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013068:Speech Production Measurement