Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 2014; Early Online: 1–18 ß 2014 Informa UK Ltd. ISSN: 0269-9206 print / 1464-5076 online DOI: 10.3109/02699206.2014.892154 The role of language familiarity in bilingual stuttering assessment AMANDA SAVIO LEE 1 , MICHAEL P. ROBB 1 , TIKA ORMOND 1 ,& MICHAEL BLOMGREN 2 1 Department of Communication Disorders, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand and 2 Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA (Received 17 May 2013; revised 2 February 2014; accepted 4 February 2014) Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of English-speaking speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to evaluate stuttering behaviour in two Spanish–English bilingual adults who stutter (AWS1 and AWS2). The English-speaking SLPs were asked to judge the frequency, severity, type, duration, and physical concomitants of stuttering in both languages of the two AWS. The combined results from the English- speaking SLPs were then compared to the judgements of three Spanish–English bilingual SLPs. Results indicated that English-speaking SLPs (1) judged stuttering frequency to be greater in Spanish than English for AWS1, and equal in Spanish and English for AWS2, (2) were more accurate at evaluating individual moments of stuttering for the English samples compared to the Spanish samples, (3) identified fewer and less severe stuttering behaviours than the bilingual SLPs in both languages, and (4) were accurate judges of overall stuttering severity in both languages. The results correspond to past research examining the accuracy of stuttering evaluations in unfamiliar languages. Possible explanations for the findings, clinical implications, and future research directions are discussed. Keywords: Assessment, bilingual, language, stuttering Introduction Bilingualism is a continuum implying the use of two languages by an individual speaker. The individual may be equally proficient in both languages, as in the case of true balanced bilingualism, or, more commonly, may demonstrate a higher level of proficiency in one of the languages (Owens, 2005; Roberts, 2011). In its varying degrees, bilingualism is evident in millions of people throughout the world, who use more than one language in their daily lives. In fact, it has been estimated that more than half of the world’s population is now bilingual (Kohnert, 2007; Van Borsel, 2011). Consequently, SLPs are now encountering clients who are bilingual or multilingual with increasing frequency (Caesar & Kohler, 2007). In these speakers, the communication disorder will manifest in both or all of the languages, but may affect each to a different extent (Kohnert & Medina, 2009). It is well recognised that the clinical management of bilingual speakers with communication disorders presents a number of specific challenges and Correspondence: Amanda Savio Lee, Department of Communication Disorders, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800 Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. E-mail: amanda.lee@pg.canterbury.ac.nz Clin Linguist Phon Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University of Canterbury on 03/31/14 For personal use only.