Listeners (N=120) heard test words in three conditions: in sentences, as isolated words, and as segmented words. For both experienced and inexperienced listeners, scores varied systematically depending on the relative predicted intelligibility of the test words and the amount of context in the sentence. (Author/CL)

Results of a comparative study of speech-like vocalizations of a deaf infant and 11 hearing infants indicated that from eight to 13 months, the deaf subject differed strikingly from hearing infants of comparable age. The topography of the deaf infant's vocalizations resembled that of four- to six-month-old hearing infants. (Author/CL)

Seven English- and seven Spanish-learning two-year-olds were tested for speech skills in a real speech context. Results showed that both groups of children found identification of native contrasts much easier than identification of nonnative contrasts. (Author/CL)

Comparison of 10 stuttering and 10 nonstuttering young adult subjects on self-paced rhythmic tasks at various rates found that the stutterers performed more slowly than the nonstutterers and were less variable than nonstutterers suggesting less flexible systems more susceptible to breakdown. (Author/DB)

The study investigated the reaction times in the fluent speech utterances of 20 adult stutterers and 20 nonstutterers. Results indicated that reaction times for longer utterances and for utterances requiring minimal preparation were longer for stutterers than for nonstutterers, suggesting stutterers may have difficulty in motor programing of…

Two studies are reported in which homonymy in the speech of children with specific language impairment (SLI) was examined. Findings revealed similar performance of SLI and normal language Ss in the degree to which they showed evidence of homonymy. (Author/CL)

On two tests of phonetic manipulation 25 male stutterers were found to be inferior to matched controls. Results are reported to be consistent with previous findings of author and to interrelate with earlier research suggesting that some inadequacy in sound-making skills is an important aspect of stuttering. (Author/KW)

A study was conducted of five individuals exhibiting acquired apraxia of speech to examine vowel durations and length of intervals between words produced in utterances that varied in type of utterance as well as in length. Results found evidence that longer vowel durations were a salient characteristic of apraxia of speech. (CR)

The study examined the frequency of occurrence of velar deviations in spontaneous single-word utterances over a six-month period for 40 children (2 to 3-years-old). Results indicated that velars presented difficulty for less than half of the children. Velar difficulty was associated with position in the word and the vowel environment. (Author/DB)

The effects of reduced auditory feedback on spatial and temporal parameters of speech production were investigated using cinefluorographic techniques with three normal hearing women. Results suggested that auditory information plays a role in maintaining dynamic aspects of speech kinematics. Implications for hearing impaired speakers are noted.…

Word boundaries of 30 sentences spoken by deaf children were acoustically marked by means of silent pauses between words. Subsequent tests with normal-hearing listeners demonstrated that after insertion of pauses the intelligibility of the sentences increased significantly. Results are compared to studies in which segmental and suprasegmental…

Twenty adult male nonstutterers became more fluent when pacing their speech with a metronome. The degree to which they became more fluent was within the range which has been reported for stutterers. This finding suggests that the effect of the metronome on stuttering is not primarily a result of distraction. (Author/KW)

Analysis of the speech intelligibility of 20 hearing impaired college students revealed that sentence intelligibility scores were higher than word intelligibility scores only for the better speakers and that no differences were apparent between sentence and single word intelligibility for the poorer speakers. (Author/CL)