CHOCSLAT: Chinese Healthcare-Oriented Computerised Speech & Languag

This paper describes an on-going project to develop diagnostic profiling tools for healthcare professionals to identify potential speech and language developmental problems of Chinese-speaking children. The tools aim to provide a technical advance in helping children who may have speech impairment or language delay. The project is currently being carried out as a collaboration with Chinese healthcare professionals, and a multidisciplinary team including applied linguists, speech and language pathologists, and computer scientists (staff and students) at the first Sino-foreign higher education institution in China, University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC). The paper presents the background, development, and current state of the project. Challenges to project completion, including difficulties encountered due to the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent world-wide emergency and lock-down are also discussed.