Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Motor ability; Speech--Measurement; Tempo (Linguistics);
Abstract
The proportional duration model is used to explain one invariant feature of generalized motor programs, relative timing. This model states that although the overall duration of a movement will change based on how fast or slow it is performed, the relative timing, across movement components remains the same (Gentner, 1987). The purpose of this research was to examine the proportional duration model as it pertains to speech in the normal population. This researcher wanted to determine if the relative timing of syllables in a word remain the same across three different rates of speech (i.e., slow, normal, and fast). The participants in this study included 30 adults ranging in age from 20 to 25 Each participant was recorded while saying the word "pateecake" at slow, normal, and fast rates, 25 times each. The recordings were made using the real-time spectogram module of the Kay Elemetric CSL 4100. A rule-based system for measuring syllable durations and overall durations was established by the researcher. Results revealed significant differences in duration for the slow, normal, and fast productions made by the subjects. This means that the subjects followed directions and produced the slow utterances slower than the normal rate and the fast utterances faster than the normal rate. Results also revealed intra-judge reliability (r = .99, p < .01) for measurement to be significant. This means that there was excellent agreement between the first and second measurements taken by the researcher. Finally, results revealed a significant difference in the proportion time of syllable length when the slow rate was compared with the medium and fast rates. However, significance was not found when the proportion time of syllable length was compared between the medium and fast rates. These findings can be interpreted to show that the proportional duration model does hold true for medium and fast rates of speech in the normal population and that at slow speeds, either a different program was used or a "closed-loop" approach was used to control movements.
Year of Submission
2001
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Communicative Disorders
First Advisor
Carlin F. Hageman
Second Advisor
Angela N. Burda
Third Advisor
Melanie A. Hart
Date Original
2001
Object Description
1 PDF file (69 leaves)
Copyright
©2001 Darath Adele Fisher
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Fisher, Darath Adele, "Temporal Stability of Speech Motor Programs in Young Adults" (2001). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2625.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2625
Comments
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