Prosodic deviation in dysarthria: a case study.
Traditionally, prosodic difficulties in dysarthria have been described in phonetic terms with little attention being paid to the phonological implications of these impairments. This cast study attempts to illustrate the need for a phonological level of analysis. The speech of a 30-year-old ataxic dysarthric is analysed using Crystal's framework and the patterns are discussed in terms of the effect of the phonetic difficulties on the speaker's ability to use his intonation system to mark meaning contrasts. The analysis reveals that this speaker has developed a personal subsystem where he retains some of the features of 'normal' speech and systematically exploits variables still under his control to compensate for other deficits. This study highlights both the value of considering phonological aspects in the analysis of disordered prosody and the need for careful assessment of the appropriacy of the compensatory strategies that have been developed.
Department of Logopaedics, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
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JE
Vance
D000328:Adult; D004401:Dysarthria / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications; D010700:Phonetics