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Speech Development between 30 and 119 Months in Typical Children III: Interaction between Speaking Rate and Intelligibility

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Title: Speech Development between 30 and 119 Months in Typical Children III: Interaction between Speaking Rate and Intelligibility
Language: English
Authors: Tristan J. Mahr (ORCID 0000-0002-8890-5116), Paul J. Rathouz (ORCID 0000-0001-8380-4300), Katherine C. Hustad (ORCID 0000-0002-8544-7754)
Source: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2025 68(1):79-90.
Availability: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 12
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) (DHHS/NIH)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Contract Number: R01DC015653
P50HD105353
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Intelligibility, Articulation (Speech), Language Rhythm, Speech Habits, Language Patterns, Children, Child Development, Accuracy
Geographic Terms: Wisconsin (Madison)
DOI: 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00356
ISSN: 1092-4388
1558-9102
Abstract: Purpose: Earlier work has established developmental benchmarks for intelligibility and articulation rate, but the intersection of these two variables, especially within individual children, has received limited attention. This study examines the interaction between intelligibility and speaking rate in typically developing children between the ages 2;6 and 9;11 (years;months) and evaluates whether children show a speed-accuracy trade-off in their habitual speech production. Method: Speech samples of varying lengths were collected from 538 typically developing children. Intelligibility was measured as the number of words correctly transcribed by untrained adult listeners, and speaking rate was calculated in number of syllables per second. Regression models estimated the effects of age, utterance length, and speaking rate on intelligibility. Results: Intelligibility and speaking rate were positively correlated overall but weakly correlated after adjusting for age. In regression analyses, intelligibility increased with age and decreased with utterance length, and there was a trend for intelligibility to decrease with increased speaking rate, especially in longer utterances. At the individual level, for most children, there was a negative effect of speaking rate on intelligibility. Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence from a large-scale sample for the hypothesis that children's speech is subject to a speed-accuracy trade-off where increased speaking rate leads to reduced articulatory accuracy and hence reduced intelligibility. Further research is needed on how to apply this trade-off in a clinical setting.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1457671
Database: ERIC
FullText Links:
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  Data: Speech Development between 30 and 119 Months in Typical Children III: Interaction between Speaking Rate and Intelligibility
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tristan+J%2E+Mahr%22">Tristan J. Mahr</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8890-5116">0000-0002-8890-5116</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Paul+J%2E+Rathouz%22">Paul J. Rathouz</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8380-4300">0000-0001-8380-4300</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Katherine+C%2E+Hustad%22">Katherine C. Hustad</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8544-7754">0000-0002-8544-7754</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language%2C+and+Hearing+Research%22"><i>Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research</i></searchLink>. 2025 68(1):79-90.
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  Data: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) (DHHS/NIH)<br />Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intelligibility%22">Intelligibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Articulation+%28Speech%29%22">Articulation (Speech)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Rhythm%22">Language Rhythm</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech+Habits%22">Speech Habits</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Patterns%22">Language Patterns</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+Development%22">Child Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Accuracy%22">Accuracy</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wisconsin+%28Madison%29%22">Wisconsin (Madison)</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00356
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
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  Data: 1092-4388<br />1558-9102
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: Earlier work has established developmental benchmarks for intelligibility and articulation rate, but the intersection of these two variables, especially within individual children, has received limited attention. This study examines the interaction between intelligibility and speaking rate in typically developing children between the ages 2;6 and 9;11 (years;months) and evaluates whether children show a speed-accuracy trade-off in their habitual speech production. Method: Speech samples of varying lengths were collected from 538 typically developing children. Intelligibility was measured as the number of words correctly transcribed by untrained adult listeners, and speaking rate was calculated in number of syllables per second. Regression models estimated the effects of age, utterance length, and speaking rate on intelligibility. Results: Intelligibility and speaking rate were positively correlated overall but weakly correlated after adjusting for age. In regression analyses, intelligibility increased with age and decreased with utterance length, and there was a trend for intelligibility to decrease with increased speaking rate, especially in longer utterances. At the individual level, for most children, there was a negative effect of speaking rate on intelligibility. Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence from a large-scale sample for the hypothesis that children's speech is subject to a speed-accuracy trade-off where increased speaking rate leads to reduced articulatory accuracy and hence reduced intelligibility. Further research is needed on how to apply this trade-off in a clinical setting.
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        Value: 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00356
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      – Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 79
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      – SubjectFull: Intelligibility
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Articulation (Speech)
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      – SubjectFull: Language Rhythm
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      – SubjectFull: Speech Habits
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      – SubjectFull: Language Patterns
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      – SubjectFull: Children
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      – SubjectFull: Child Development
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      – SubjectFull: Accuracy
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      – SubjectFull: Wisconsin (Madison)
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      – TitleFull: Speech Development between 30 and 119 Months in Typical Children III: Interaction between Speaking Rate and Intelligibility
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