Abstract

This study examines filled and unfilled pause durations between utterances in the speech of 60 people with no language disorder. It also evaluates the proportions of different pause lengths, examines the location of pauses within an isolated speech sample, and compares speech pause in male speakers and female speakers. Using speech samples gathered from a picture description task, Praat acoustic analysis software was used to segment C-units and measure pause duration between utterances (Boersma & Weenink, 2022; Öktem et al., 2021). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze these data, including pause duration mean and standard deviations. Pause mean durations ranged from 70 ms to 90 ms. Speakers used pauses shorter than 0.5 seconds and 1 second more frequently than longer pauses. Both pause frequency and mean pause length increase in the final 50% of the speech sample compared to the initial 50% for both male and female speakers. No significant differences were found between male and female speakers. Speakers produce prolongations at a rate of 0.07 to 0.08 per C-unit across both male and female speakers. Both male and female speakers have a higher frequency of prolongations in the final portion of the speech sample, compared to the initial portion. Further research across several types of speech tasks is needed to provide greater insight into variations in pause duration and location in different types of speech tasks. Further research might also examine pause durations within utterances.

Degree

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Communication Disorders

Rights

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