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Semin Speech Lang 1997; 18(2): 135-141
DOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1064068
© 1997 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.

Speech Production of Normally Aging Adults

Barbaranne J. Benjamin
  • Department of Special Education Services, The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio
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Publication Date:
15 May 2008 (online)

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ABSTRACT

A number of changes in older adults' speech characteristics accompany aging. This article reviews the changes usually perceived in elders' speech, then focuses on several key components of older adults' speech that account for these changes: vowel productions, voice onset time and phoneme segment duration, and speaking rate. Although laryngeal factors are evident in older voices and associated with declining physiological conditions, certain changes are associated with advanced age.

KEY WORDS

articulatory timing - speaking rate - vowel productions