HighlightsWe investigated speech rhythm in people with Parkinson’s Disease (PwPD) and controls.Even mildly affected PwPD differed from controls in their rhythmic performance.PwPD showed less difference between reading and spontaneous speech.Spontaneous speech highlighted more differences between speakers than reading.DDK performance did not relate to rhythmic behaviour in connected speech.

Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is a motor speech disorder in which changes to segmental as well as suprasegmental aspects lead to the perception of a foreign accent in speech. This paper focuses on one suprasegmental aspect, namely that of intonation. It provides an in-depth analysis of the intonation system of four speakers with FAS with the aim of establishing the intonational changes that have taken place as well as their underlying origin. Using the autosegmental-metrical framework of intonational analysis, four different levels of intonation, i.e. inventory, distribution, realisation and function, were examined in short sentences. Results revealed that the speakers with FAS had the same structural inventory at their disposal as the control speakers, but that they differed from the latter in relation to the distribution, implementation and functional use of their inventory. The current results suggest that these intonational changes cannot be entirely attributed to an underlying intonation deficit but reflect secondary manifestations of physiological constraints affecting speech support systems and compensatory strategies. These findings have implications for the debate surrounding intonational deficits in FAS, advocating a reconsideration of current assumptions regarding the underlying nature of intonation impairment in FAS.

The autosegmental-metrical (AM) framework represents an established methodology for intonational analysis in unimpaired speaker populations, but has found little application in describing intonation in motor speech disorders (MSDs). This study compared the intonation patterns of unimpaired participants (CON) and those with Parkinson's Disease (PD), ataxic dysarthria (AT), and foreign accent syndrome (FAS) to evaluate the approach's potential for distinguishing types of motor speech disorders from each other and from unimpaired speech. Method: Spontaneous speech from 8 PD, 8 AT, 4 FAS and 10 CON speakers were analyzed in relation to inventory and prevalence of pitch patterns, accentuation and phrasing. Acousticphonetic baseline measures (maximum-phonation-duration, speech rate and F0-variability) were also performed. Results: The analyses yielded differences between MSD and CON groups and between the clinical groups regarding prevalence, accentuation and phrasing. AT and FAS speakers used more rising and high pitch accents than PD and CON speakers. The AT group used the highest number of pitch accents per phrase, and all three MSD groups produced significantly shorter phrases than the CON group. Conclusions: The study succeeded in differentiating MSDs on the basis of intonational performances using the AM approach, thus demonstrating its potential for charting intonational profiles in clinical populations.

After reading this article the reader will be able to (1) explain the relevance of phonology and phonetics in the perception of stress production in ataxic dysarthria; (2) describe the different levels of intonational analysis; and (3) understand the observed intonation patterns in ataxic dysarthria as well as the compensatory mechanisms speakers may adopt to produce stress.

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