ZASxTalks: Speech timing in stuttering: From syllable organization to speech-motor preparation

Abstract

Fluent speech depends on precise temporal coordination of articulators. In stuttering, a neurodevelopmental speech fluency disorder, the flow of speech is involuntarily disrupted by repetitions, prolongations, and blocks. An interesting phenomenon is that stuttering can be markedly reduced when speakers produce speech in time with an external rhythm, such as a metronome. This makes stuttering particularly informative for understanding the role of rhythm in fluent speech production and its effect on speech motor control.

In this talk, I bring together acoustic and articulatory (EMA) findings on speech timing in stuttering across different age groups and across different rhythmic contexts, and present ongoing EEG work that extends this research by examining speech-motor preparation and adaptation to fluent and disfluent speech input in speakers who do not stutter.

Across these studies, I argue that speech timing in stuttering shows developmental and rhythmic-context-dependent differences, affecting both onset-vowel coordination and the alignment of speech to rhythmic cues. Taken together, these novel findings support the view that stuttering is best understood as a multifactorial neurodevelopmental disorder involving altered auditory and motor timing processes and their interaction.

Bio

Dr. Mona Franke is a phonetician whose research focuses on rhythm and timing in speech, particularly in stuttering. She completed a cotutelle PhD at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and the Université de Montréal, combining Experimental Phonetics and Neurolinguistics, under the supervision of Phil Hoole and Simone Falk. She defended her thesis in February 2025. Her work uses articulatory and neurophysiological methods, including EMA and EEG, to study speech motor control and temporal coordination in fluent and disfluent speech.

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