Cross-Linguistic Insights From the Boston Naming Test: Structural Comparability and Performance Comparisons of English and Korean Speakers With Aphasia
American journal of speech-language pathology
Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2026 May 29:1-15. doi: 10.1044/2026_AJSLP-25-00417. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study examined the structural comparability of the English and Korean versions of the Boston Naming Test (E-BNT and K-BNT) and evaluated whether structural similarity translates into comparable performance patterns in individuals with aphasia.
METHOD: In Study 1, we analyzed two psycholinguistic features-lexical frequency and syllable length-across the E-BNT and K-BNT. In Study 2, 38 monolingual individuals with aphasia (19 English- and 19 Korean-speaking), matched on demographic and severity variables, completed the test. Overall accuracy and cluster-based item performance were compared across groups.
RESULTS: Study 1 revealed no significant differences in lexical frequency between versions, although the K-BNT contained longer syllabic forms. In both versions, lexical frequency was strongly associated with item order, supporting a preserved graded difficulty structure. Study 2 showed comparable overall naming accuracy across groups but a significant Language × Cluster interaction. In English, lower frequency clusters showed progressively stronger associations with aphasia severity. In Korean, severity associations were observed for mid- and high-difficulty clusters, including culturally salient items, but did not follow the same monotonic gradient.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings support broad structural comparability between the E-BNT and K-BNT while demonstrating that item-level contributions to severity may differ across languages. These results inform cautious cross-linguistic research comparisons and underscore the importance of considering cultural and linguistic factors, particularly in bilingual contexts.
