Relationship of speech rhythm, stuttering frequency and discourse type

Abstract

The present study aimed to compare the speech rhythm of reading and conversation in Cantonese and investigates the relationship between stuttering frequency and speech rhythm across the two types of discourse. Eight native Cantonese-speaking adults diagnosed with stuttering participated in the study. Each participant read a non-emotion-provoking expository passage in the reading task and engaged in conversation on casual topics with the investigator in the conversation task. Speech rhythm and stuttering frequency of the collected speech samples were analyzed. Speech pattern in reading was shown to be more syllable-timed than in conversation using acoustic analysis. However, results showed no significant difference in stuttering frequency in reading and conversation. The relationship between difference in speech rhythm and stuttering frequency in reading and conversation in Cantonese was discussed with reference to the current model of causes of stuttering and the linguistic features of Cantonese. The findings provided insight on appropriate use of reading and conversation tasks in clinical assessment and treatment of stuttering.