Sentence length--duration relationships in an auditory assembly task

A sentence assembly performance task related to sentence duration and length was studied using sentences four to eight words in length. Durational constraints were imposed through utilization of 30% speech compression of words in addition to insertion of silent intervals (200 or 1000 msec) between each word. Tape recordings of sentences were played to 60 preschool children. All responses were tape recorded and analyzed according to total ereors, error type and location of the error within the sentence. Results suggest that successful assembly performance is significantly related to the number of words in a sentence and not to the duration of the sentence.