Segmental Duration in Parkinsonian French Speech

Abstract

Objectives: The present study had 2 main objectives: (1) examine the effect of Parkinson’s disease (PD) on vowel and consonant duration in French read speech and (2) investigate whether the durational contrasts of consonants and vowels are maintained or compromised. Results: The data indicated that the consonant durations were shortened in Parkinsonian speech (PS), compared to control speech (CS). However, this shortening was consonant dependent: unvoiced occlusives and fricatives were significantly shortened compared to other consonant categories. All vowels were slightly longer in PS than in CS, however, the observed differences were below the level of significance. Despite significant shortening of some consonant categories, the general pattern of intrinsic duration was maintained in PS. There was slightly less agreement for vowels with the normal contrast of intrinsic durations, possibly because vowel durational contrasts are more sensitive to PD disorders. Conclusion: Most PD patients tended to maintain the intrinsic duration contrasts of both vowels and consonants, suggesting that low-level articulatory constraints operate in a similar way and with the same weight in PS and CS.