The influence of phonetic complexity on stuttered speech

Clin Linguist Phon. 2012 Jul;26(7):646-59. doi: 10.3109/02699206.2012.682696.

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to re-examine the influence of phonetic complexity on stuttering in young children through the use of the Word Complexity Measure (WCM). Parent-child conversations were transcribed for 14 children who stutter (mean age = 3 years, 7 months; SD = 11.20 months). Lexical and linguistic factors were accounted for during the analysis. Results indicate that phonetic complexity, as measured by WCM, did not exhibit a significant influence on the likelihood of stuttering. Findings support previous data that suggest stuttering in preschool-age children does not appear significantly related to phonetic complexity of the production.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Audiometry, Pure-Tone
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Language Tests
  • Male
  • Parents
  • Phonetics*
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Semantics*
  • Speech / physiology*
  • Speech Production Measurement
  • Stuttering / physiopathology*
  • Vocabulary*