Characteristics of normal speech

Areas of Speech in Brain

Speech is the verbal means of communicating.

The components of speech includes -

•Articulation

How speech sounds are made - pronunciation

•Voice

Use of the vocal folds and breathing to produce sound

•Fluency

   The ease and flow of speech

•VOICE

•QUALITY OF VOICE:

speaker’s speech is considered to be normal and good when it posses good quality of voice, means pleasant and intelligible.

•  PITCH:

Speaker should use his optimum pitch where output is maximum with less vocal efforts.

That means he should not deviate from his optimum speech.

Pitch should not be too high, too low or monotonous or stereotype.

•  LOUDNESS:

the speaker’s loudness should be normal i.e. in range of 40-80 dB.

•Articulation

   INTELLIGIBILITY OF SPEECH: clarity of speech

•Fluency

RATE OF SPEECH:

• It refers to the number of words or syllables uttered in a particular time period.

•Speakers rate of speech should be 140 words/minute & 300 syllables/minute or 2.5 words/second & 7syllables/second.

•Being too fast may result in omission of syllable and articulation may not be similar.

  INTONATION:

•Intonation means variation of pitch or fluctuation of pitch during delivery of speech.

• Speech is considered having good characteristics when there is proper use of intonation or inflexion (tone).

RHYTHM:

It refers to easy and smooth flow of speech or continuity of speech.

•A good speaker’s easy flow of speech can be observed during his delivery of speech that means he should not have any struggle or effortful speech neither he repeats, hesitates, pauses nor stops in syllables.

  STRESS:

It refers to extra pressure given on particular syllable during speech.

Speaker is considered to have good speech if he doesn’t lay stress on making us clear his speech.

•All Parameters or components of speech are normal

•CHARACTERISTICS OF DISORDERED SPEECH

•Articulation – Misarticulation - Difficulty in producing speech

Distortion -

A speech sound is distorted when it sounds more like the intended phoneme than another speech sound but is conspicuously wrong.

The /s/ sound, for example, is relatively difficult to produce; children may produce the word “sleep” as “schleep,” “zleep,” or “thleep.”

•Some speakers have a lisp; others a whistling /s/.

•Distortions can cause misunderstanding, although parents and teachers often become accustomed to them

Substitution:

• Children sometimes substitute one sound for another, as in saying “train” for “crane” or “doze” for “those.”

• Children with this problem are often certain they have said the correct word and may resist correction.

•Substitution of sounds can cause considerable confusion for the listener.

Omissions:

•Children may omit certain sounds, as in saying “cool” for “school.”

•They may drop consonants from the ends of words, as in “pos” for “post.”

•Most of us leave out sounds at times, but an extensive omission problem can make speech unintelligible.

Additions:

•The addition of extra sounds makes comprehension difficult.

•For example, a child might say “buhrown” for “brown” or “hamber” for “hammer.”

•Voice

A voice disorder can be defined as a problem involving abnormal pitch, loudness or quality of the sound produced by the larynx, more commonly known as the voice box.

Almost every disorder may present in more than one symptom and one cannot associate one single symptom with one specific voice disorder.

•

For example, hoarseness, increased vocal effort or limitations in pitch and loudness may be a sign of any number of disorders.

Severity of the voice symptoms varies according to the disorder and the individual.

Voice disorders may be present in both adults and children.

•Misuse, abuse or overuse of voice

•Tips should be followed to take care of voice

-Hydrate yourself well

-Don’t take too much caffeinated drinks, aerated drinks

-Don’t shout

-Less consumption, oily foods and spicy foods

•Fluency

•Stuttering affects the fluency of speech. It begins during childhood and, in some cases, lasts throughout life.

•The disorder is characterized by disruptions in the production of speech sounds, also called "disfluencies."

•Most people produce brief disfluencies from time to time.

•For instance, some words are repeated and others are preceded by "um" or "uh." Disfluencies are not necessarily a problem; however, they can impede communication when a person produces too many of them.

•"W- W- W- Where are you going?" (Part-word repetition: The person is having difficulty moving from the "w" in "where" to the remaining sounds in the word. On the fourth attempt, he successfully completes the word.)

• "SSSS ave me a seat." (Sound prolongation: The person is having difficulty moving from the "s" in "save" to the remaining sounds in the word. He continues to say the "s" sound until he is able to complete the word.)