The Informativeness and Efficiency of the Connected Speech Samples in Korean Fluent Aphasics

Im, Eun-Ju; Kwon, Miseon; Sim, Hyun-Sub

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Commun Sci Disord. 2001;6(2): 374-391.

Eun-Ju Im^` , Miseon Kwon^` , and Hyun-Sub Sim^`

임은주(Im, Eun-Ju)| 권미선(Miseon Kwon)| 심현섭(Hyun-Sub Sim)

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study is to examine informativeness and efficiency of the connected speech samples in the discrimination of the severity of fluent aphasic individuals. Thirty fluent aphasic subject s participated in the study. The subjects were grouped into three subgroups according to their severity. The verbal picture descriptions and interviews elicited from 10 mild, 10 moderate, and 10 severe aphasic speaker s were audio- recorded and transcribed. These samples were analyzed in terms of Correct Information Unit (CIU). The analyses includes a measure of speaking rate (words per minutes), two measures of amounts of information conveyed (CIUs, DCIUs) and three measures of information conveyance efficiency (CIU%, CIU/min, DCIU/min). The results were as follows: (1) Significant differences were not found in the measure of word per minute between the three groups. (2) An inver se relationship was found between the severities of aphasia and the amount s of information conveyed. However , moderate aphasic speakers tended to communicate as much information as mild aphasic speakers did. (3) Significant differences were found in the measure of communication efficiency between the three groups. All measures of efficiency seem to contribute to the classification of the subject s into mild, moderate, or severe category. The results of the study imply that this quantification system might be useful to detect the severity as well as the recovery level of the aphasia.