Abstract
It is poorly understood whether and how normal aging affects different aspects of connected speech production, such as fluency, informativity, efficiency, and vocabulary use. The present study cross-sectionally investigates the effects of age on a broad variety of language production measures, using connected speech samples elicited by the two most frequently used picture description tasks. Twenty-six young (20-25 y.o.) and twenty-two older participants (55-90 y.o.) were included in this study. Speech samples were transcribed using the CLAN program and eight measures were extracted. Our results indicate that, in a picture description task, older adults produce more disruptions to fluency, but that lexical diversity, informativity, and efficiency of speech remain unaffected by age. The use of less frequent words by older adults might reflect a larger vocabulary size. These findings have implications for future studies assessing changes in connected speech production, in both healthy and clinical populations.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
