Disfluency clusters in typical and atypical finnish adult speech. A pilot study

Abstract

This study first aimed to investigate disfluency clusters in typical and atypical Finnish adult speakers. Secondly, it aimed to observe possible fluency strategies in speakers representing different fluency levels. In addition to individual disfluency types, we examined different characteristics of disfluency clusters produced by 23 speakers in a fluency continuum. Three adult speaker groups participated in this study: typical speakers with high disfluency frequencies (GA), typical and atypical speakers with very high disfluency frequencies (GB) and atypical speakers with the highest disfluency frequencies (GC). Data were based on a narrative speech task, and disfluency clusters were analysed with both traditional methods and alternative methods. Two statistically significant differences between the speaker groups were found: 1) the length of the clusters was highest in GC compared to other groups, and 2) speakers in GC formulated their utterances more than other groups. Other results, although nonsignificant, were that 3) speakers in GA revised utterances more often than interrupted them compared to GB and GC speakers, and 4) clusters using repetitive words and phrases to maintain fluency were found in GA and GB only. In this study, different fluency levels revealed different strategies in both the production of single disfluencies and in disfluency clusters. It seems that more fluent speakers formulate their messages differently than less fluent speakers, and repetitions can be used to maintain fluency and possibly prevent difficult clusters, as noted with more fluent speakers.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Speech Disfluencies in Autistic Young Adults and Control Young Adults: Group Differences in Typical, Stuttering-Like, and Atypical Disfluencies

“…Filler words were defined as semantically meaningless, extraneous words, such as 'like' and 'well'. Thus, similar to Jansson-Verkasalo et al ( 2021), the term 'filled pause' in this study referred to both hesitation sounds ('uh', 'um') and filler words, which were seen as a way to fill a pause while speaking and which have both been associated with message planning (Penttilä & Korpijaakko-Huuhka, 2019) (see also Table 2). Secondly, an additional category of atypical disfluencies was created for the disfluencies which did not fit into this classification system and were reported in previous studies of autistic persons (e.g., Plexico et al, 2010;Scaler Scott et al, 2014;Sissikin, 2006;Sisskin & Wasilus, 2014).…”

“…The disfluency coding system was adapted from the Illinois Disfluency Classification System, which divides disfluencies into groups of typical disfluencies and stuttering-like disfluencies (Table 2) (Ambrose & Yairi, 1999; see also Yairi & Ambrose, 2005). Even though the system was originally developed for children, it has also been used in adults (e.g., Chon et al 2021) and, more specifically, in Finnish-speaking adults (Penttilä & Korpijaakko-Huuhka, 2019). We adhered to the guidelines provided by Ambrose and Yairi (1999;Yairi & Ambrose, 2005, p. 104), stating that when more than one type of disfluency occurs in a word, all disfluency types are counted separately (for different strategies, see Yaruss, 1998).…”

“…Two adaptations in the classification system were made for this study. First, we added filler words to the category of filled pauses (also labeled as interjections) since those have been labeled as disfluencies in previous studies (e.g., Eggers et al, 2020;Jansson-Verkasalo et al, 2021;Penttilä & Korpijaakko-Huuhka, 2019;Wiklund & Laakso, 2021). Filler words were defined as semantically meaningless, extraneous words, such as 'like' and 'well'.…”

Listener- Versus Speaker-Oriented Disfluencies in Autistic Adults: Insights From Wearable Eye-Tracking and Skin Conductance Within a Live Face-to-Face Paradigm

“…Based on this link between cognitive abilities and repetitions, Engelhardt (2021) suggests that repetitions are speaker-oriented disfluencies, and studies in non-autistics also tended to show that repetitions reflect cognitive effort in front of complex tasks (Bortfeld et al, 2001). However, other researchers argue that repetitions could be (at least) not detrimental to the addressee (Tree, 1995); that they could be used as fillers (e.g., Crible & Pascual, 2020) to maintain fluency despite difficulties (Penttilä et al, 2021); and, in sum, that they would be listener rather than speaker oriented.…”

Speaking Disfluency of an English Major Students at One Public University in Indonesia

“…The importance of speaking disfluencies has become the focus of debates in several previous studies conducted by several research (Bergmann, 2015;De Jong, 2018;Penttilä, 2021;Shriberg, 1994;and Verkasalo, 2021). Although several studies have been conducted about difficulties and constraints in producing a foreign language particularly in the form of spoken language, but very few studies have been undertaken regarding speaking disfluency in the context of English as a foreign language committed by foreign language learners.…”