Listener judgement of differences in stutterers' nonstuttered speech during chorus- and nonchorus-reading conditions

The hypothesis that a stutterer's usual manner of speaking changes during chorus reading was tested. Nine stutterers orally read a passage under chorus- and nonchorus-reading conditions. Stutter-free speech samples of similar prose content were obtained from oral readings made between and within both conditions. Observers were asked to identify pairs of samples made under different (chorus/nonchorus) or similar (chorus/chorus or nonchorus/nonchorus) oral reading conditions. The results provided only partial support for the hypothesis. Observers were unable to distinguish confidently the speech sample group that was made under similar conditions from the sample group made under different conditions. However, judges were able to identify correctly samples from four of the nine stutterers that were made under different speaking conditions.