Oral language skills of adult cleft palate speakers

This study investigated selected oral language skills and their relationship to speech intelligibility in forty cleft palate and normal adult speakers. Connected speech samples were analyzed to determine spoken language status which included response length, grammar or syntax, and vocabulary size. The subjects were judged for intelligibility by two groups of listeners: sophisticated and unsophisticated. It was concluded: (a) cleft palate speakers used shorter responses and were more consistent in their language usage; (b) there were no significant differnences in syntax and vocabulary; (c) for cleft palate speakers there was a relationship between intelligibility and language measures; (d) unsophisticated listiners were more consisitent in intelligibility judgements, and (e) sophisticated listeners rated cleft palate speakers poorer than unsophisticated listeners.