Normative nasalance scores for the Malay language

Abstract

Objective: To establish normative nasalance scores for a set of newly developed stimuli in Malay. Design: Cross-sectional study. Participants: Participants were 150 native speakers of Malay aged 6 years to 12 years. Method: All consented participants were initially screened to identify any overt difficulties relating to hearing, voice quality, resonance, or speech and language skills. Participants who passed the screen read or repeated each stimulus, and nasalance scores were recorded. Results: The mean nasalance score for the Oral passage was 13.86% (SD = 5.11, 95% CI = 13.04 to 14.68), 60.28% (SD = 6.99, 95% CI = 59.15 to 61.41) for the Nasal Passage, and 27.72% (SD = 4.74, 95% CI = 26.96 to 28.49) for the Set of Sentences. Conclusion: Despite small variations, the overall mean nasalance scores in Malay are consistent with published norms in other languages. Age and sex differences were observed but clinically not relevant.