| pubmed-article:6209950 | pubmed:abstractText | Analysis of head movement during speech, monitored by the polarized light goniometer, showed that head movement accompanies speech almost continuously in a manner specific to the concomitant, suprasegmental speech features. Thus initiation of speech after long pauses was accompanied by wide, linear movements (PS). The termination of speech in a pause (terminal juncture) was accompanied by movements of medium amplitudes and frequencies (OM). Sharp, intense movements (RM) were indicative of a peak in loudness, and often of a major phonetic stress. Finally, a speech disturbance was accompanied by movement if it involved a sharp prosodic transition. We suggest that these correlations indicate that head movement may have a role in speech production, regulating the many degrees of freedom and the dissipation of energy in speech. Furthermore, head movements may play a role in linguistic processing through the generative functions of stress, prominence, and orienting responses. Implications for speech pathology, especially dysphasia, are discussed. | lld:pubmed |
