Semantic influence on stuttering ocurrance in adults who stutter and who do not stutter

Abstract

Background and Aim: Studying the various aspects of stuttering is necessary for better understanding of complex and multi -factorial nature of stuttering. Therefore, researching stuttering from a linguistic perspective and the effect of linguistic factors on it has particular importance. The goal of this study was to investigate non- fluency frequency of words and non- words in Persian speaking adults who stutter and who do not stutter. Materials and Methods: In this research, 15 Farsi speaking adults who did not stuttered (+ 17 years old) were matched in age (±7 months) and sex, with 15 adults who stutter. For this study, two lists of words and non- words were prepared. 60 words containing 2 6-syllables with various frequency of occurrence in Farsi were selected. Then, 60 non- words were made based on words that at least 50 percent of their phonemes were changed. Participants repeated words and non- words and data was collected and analyzed. Results: Findings from this study showed that non- fluency frequency on words and non- words in adults who stutter was significantly higher than adults who do not stutter . Other findings indicate that the ratio of non- fluency occurrence on words and non- words was significantly different on words and non- words (P< 0/05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate a significant increase in non- fluency frequency on non- words compared to words in adults who stutter and who do not stutter. Comparison between stuttering and non- stuttering shows that in repeating both lists, a non- fluency increase in adults who stutter is remarkably higher. In addition, the ratio of non- fluency occurrence on words and non- words is significantly higher in adults who stutter. Key words: semantic, stuttering,nonfluency, word and nonword repetation