Some characteristics of nonfluency in normal speakers and stutterers.

The 1st study investigated the relationship between nonfluency and information value in the oral reading of normal 5s, controlling for the known relationship between nonfluency and sentence position of the words. As expected from studies of stuttering, a positive nonfluency-information relationship was found. The 2nd study investigated the same relationship in the spontaneous speech of normal 5s, again controlling for sentence position. Contrary to expectation, nonfluency tended to occur more often on lower information words. Further analysis showed that nonfluency was strongly related to sentence position of words as anticipated. The 3rd study failed to demonstrate a relationship between nonfluency and information value in the spontaneous speech of stutterers.