Internal structure of content words leading to lifespan differences in phonological difficulty in stuttering

Gestural overlap in consonant clusters: effects on the fluent speech of stuttering and non-stuttering subjects

“…In the PWNS group, no such effect was found. Although we had originally expected that cluster type differences would be more pronounced in syllable coda position (where coarticulation effects are assumed to be stronger compared to coarticulation across syllable boundaries), the finding in itself is interesting as it clearly is in contrast with results of Howell et al (2000), who only found effects of consonant cluster complexity in word-initial positions.…”

“…In recent years, a great number of studies have investigated the speech production skills of stuttering subjects (see e.g., Archibald & de Nil, 1999;Baken, McManus, & Cavallo, 1983;Bosshardt, 1999;Caruso, 1988;de Nil, 1995;Postma, Kolk, & Povel, 1990; van Lieshout, Hulstijn, & Peters, 1996a, 1996b and the findings indeed show that persons who stutter (PWS) differ from persons who do not stutter (PWNS) in the way they plan and/or execute speech gestures (i.e., as evidenced in a longer speech reaction time (RT) and/or word duration (WD), e.g., Diepstra, Huinck, Hulstijn, & Peters, 2001;Huinck, Wouters, Hulstijn, & Peters, 2001;Peters, Hulstijn, & Starkweather, 1989; van Lieshout et al, 1996a; but, see van Lieshout et al, 1996b). Howell, Au-Yeung, and Sackin (2000) showed that consonant clusters at word-initial position increase the chance of stuttering. However, clusters at other positions were not found to have a significant influence on stuttering frequency.…”

“…Whether their influence is limited to initial word positions as argued in the papers discussed above (Howell et al, 2000;Santiago et al, 2000) is debatable. For example, a study by van Lieshout, Peters, and Bakker (1997) showed that clusters had a consistent effect on reaction times and word durations for monosyllabic non-words, regardless of their position (onset versus coda).…”

Stuttering Frequency on Meaningful and Nonmeaningful Words in Adults Who Stutter

“…A theoretical model for the occurrence of stuttering moments that is based on differences in stuttering frequency patterns on content and function words [8,[20][21][22][23]] is a prime example. Although the proponents of this theoretical construct suggest a phonological difference between these word categories as a contributing factor for the varied frequency of stuttering moments, it nevertheless encompasses the generic issue of word meaning.…”

“…That is, adults stutter more on content words when compared to function words, whereas children stutter more on function words when compared to content words [8,[20][21][22][23] . It is suggested that children use a 'stalling' strategy by stuttering on function words that are relatively simple and carry less meaning, thereby creating a time window to complete the processing of the more complex content words.…”