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Intonation and speech rate in dysarthric speech
G Le Dorze1, L Ouellet, J Ryalls
1Ecole d'Orthophonie et d'Audiologie, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Journal of Communication Disorders
|March 1, 1994
Summary
Dysarthric speakers show reduced intonation differences between sentence types compared to non-dysarthric individuals. Speech rate also varied, indicating performance deficits in dysarthria.
Area of Science:
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Neurolinguistics
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Dysarthria, a motor speech disorder, affects speech production due to neurological damage.
- Intonation and speech rate are crucial prosodic features impacted by dysarthria.
- Understanding these deficits is key to improving communication for dysarthric individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare intonation and speech rate in dysarthric versus non-dysarthric speakers.
- To investigate the influence of sentence type (declarative vs. interrogative) on these measures.
- To examine the relationship between dysarthria severity and prosodic variations.
Main Methods:
- Compared 10 dysarthric speakers with age/gender-matched controls.
- Utilized 40 short declarative and interrogative sentences.
- Measured mean intonation difference and speech rate using the IBM Speech Viewer system.
Main Results:
- Dysarthric speakers exhibited significantly reduced intonation differences.
- Speech rate varied significantly across subject groups, sentence types, and sets.
- Intonation deficits correlated with dysarthria severity, unlike speech rate.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the view of dysarthria as a performance deficit, not a competence issue.
- Results align with 'breath-group' theory regarding intonation.
- The study highlights specific prosodic challenges in dysarthric speech production.