Acoustic Analysis of Repetitions in Stutterers’ Speech

A major focus of research has been on the question of why, in part-word repetitions in stuttered speech, the speaker terminates an attempt at an utterance and recommences one or more times. The difficulty the stutterer experiences at these points may occur because the articulators above the larynx are positioned incorrectly (e.g., Van Riper, 1971, 1982) or because stutterers experience difficulty in controlling phonation (e.g., Conture, McCall and Brewer, 1977).