Articulation Rate in Children and Adolescents: Hebrew Speakers

Doreen Grinfeld and Ofer Amir

Articulation rate is a common measure used in the evaluation of speech and fluency. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in articulation rate in children and adolescents. One-hundred and forty Hebrew-speaking children, age 3 to 17, were examined in two speaking tasks: conversation and picture-description. Measurements were performed using three metrics: word-per-minute (WPM), syllable-per-second (SPS) and phone-per-second (PPS). In addition, diadochokinetic (DDK) rate was evaluated. Results indicated that articulation- and DDK-rates increased with age, but not linearly. Articulation rate was faster during conversation than during picture-description, with no significant gender differences. Rate measurements among the Hebrew speakers were typically higher than those reported among English speakers.