Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

The Relationship Between Intelligibility And Length And Complexity Of Language In A Group Of 4- And 5-Year-Old Children, Susan Fodell

Dissertations and Theses

Previous research has indicated that speech and linguistic variables develop concurrently. When one aspect of speech and linguistic development is delayed, there are typically associated delays in another area as well. This interactive relationship has been studied extensively in the context of phonological and syntactical development, as well as fluency and syntactical development. The relationship between intelligibility and linguistic proficiency has not been studied as extensively. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between varying levels of intelligibility and length and complexity of language in preschool-aged children. Mean length of utterance was correlated with the mean percentage …