Related Experiment Videos
Stuttering and sentence length
Journal of Speech and Hearing Research
|December 1, 1976
Summary
Sentence length significantly impacts stuttering frequency. Longer sentences increase stuttering on shared words, suggesting motor planning complexity plays a role in speech disfluency.
Area of Science:
- Speech and Language Pathology
- Neurolinguistics
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- Stuttering is a complex speech disorder.
- The influence of linguistic factors on stuttering frequency is an area of ongoing research.
- Sentence length as a variable in stuttering has not been extensively studied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between sentence length and the frequency of stuttering.
- To determine if longer sentences elicit more stuttering than shorter sentences on identical words.
Main Methods:
- Fourteen individuals who stutter participated in the study.
- Participants read aloud 20 short sentences and 20 long sentences in a randomized order.
- Long sentences were created by adding phrases to short sentences; stuttering was analyzed on common words.
Main Results:
- A significantly higher frequency of stuttering was observed on words when they were part of longer sentences compared to when they appeared in shorter sentences.
- The same words elicited more disfluencies in the context of extended sentence structures.
Conclusions:
- Sentence length appears to be a contributing factor to stuttering frequency.
- Findings suggest that anticipated motor complexity or motor planning demands may play a role in the occurrence of stuttering.