2017 Volume 58 Issue 2 Pages 191-195
The present study examined whether bi-mora frequency in the initial and final positions of words affects stuttering frequency in Japanese school-aged children who stutter (CWS). The participants consisted of 21 CWS, ranging in age from 7 to 12 years. Four types of three-morae stimulus words were used based on the bi-mora frequencies of the initial and final word positions: high-high, high-low, low-high, and low-low. Results indicated that bi-mora frequency in the initial position affected stuttering frequency only if the final position was low, and bi-mora frequency in the final position affected stuttering frequency only if the initial position was low. These findings suggest that the occurrence of stuttering is not independently affected by bi-mora frequency in the initial or final word positions. Additionally, stuttering frequency was higher for low-low words than for the other types of stimuli. These findings suggest that stuttering frequency is affected by the bi-mora frequency of an entire word.