Cross-Linguistic Study of Temporal Characteristics of Different Types of Speech Materials

The temporal characteristics of different types of utterances (spontaneous speech, semi-prepared material, formal speech, oral reading) in two languages (English and French) are examined. Relationships among temporal variables are found to be consistent across languages. The greater the speech proportion of the passage, the longer and more variable the duration of speech bursts and conversely, the shorter and less variable the duration of pauses. An inverse relationship is noted between speech rate and articulation rate, which may be due to stylistic differences across the different types of materials. Articulation rate is similar across languages in relation to each type of material separately, and is a relatively constant speech parameter.