A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC APPROACH TO STUTTERING AND IT’S LINGUISTIC IMPLICATIONS

ABSTRACT

The study examined the impediments of stuttering to linguistic fluency. The objectives of the study were to identify the various types of speech or language difficulties experienced by persons who stutter, determine the factors that tend to exacerbate the severity and frequency of stuttering, explore the ways by which stuttering affects the social and daily life of the stutterer, identify individual measures adopted by persons who stutter to cope with their stuttering, and determine the effectiveness of available stuttering treatments or therapies if explored by stuttering persons. Semi-structured interview was adopted to collect data relevant for the validation of the research objectives. From the analysis of data, similarities in stuttering types across the sampled participants with minor variations in intensity and severity was discovered with the most prominent stuttering type observed being repetitions which was followed by prolongations and blocks. The study also identified heightened emotions as factors that tend to worsen the condition of stuttering for most people who stutter. The study also highlighted individual measures taken by persons who stutter to cope with their condition with varying degrees of success. Although participants who were members of a speech therapy group affirmed the success of the group in improving their attitude around their condition as well as lessening its severity, the study advocates for the creation of more specialized and successful stuttering therapy programs that address the unique fluency issues that stutterers face which may range from speech rate, articulation, language synthesis, and other linguistic qualities impacted by stuttering.