Research involving stuttering in multilingual individuals is limited. Speech-language therapists face the challenge of treating a diverse client base, which includes multilingual individuals. The aim of this study was to examine the stuttering moments across English, Afrikaans, and German in a multilingual speaker. A single multilingual adult with a severe developmental stutter participated in this study. A mixed-method design was implemented. The results were perceptually analyzed, and interrater reliability was determined. The results revealed that the voiceless plosive [k], the voiceless fricative [f], and the plosive-lateral approximant cluster [kl] caused stuttering moments across the languages. More stuttering moments occurred on consonants as opposed to vowels. The most prominent core behavior was prolongations. Language proficiency plays a role in the increase of the moments of stuttering in the least proficient language. Future research on a larger sample size is recommended. Research on African language speaking multilingual person who stutters (PWS) should be pursued.
Au-YengJ.HowellP. (2002). The EXPLAN theory of fluency control applied to the diagnosis of stuttering. Theory and History of Linguistic Science, 4, 75–94.
BialystokE. (2001). Bilingualism in development: Language, literacy, and cognition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
4.
BüchelC.SommerM. (2004). What causes stuttering?PLoS Biology, 2(2), e46.
5.
CoalsonG.PenaE.ByrdC. (2013). Description of multilingual participants who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 38, 141–156.
6.
CrystalD. (2003). The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
7.
DworzynskiK.HowellP. (2004). Predicting stuttering from phonetic complexity in German. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 29, 149–173.
8.
DworzynskiK.HowellP.NatkeU. (2003). Predicting stuttering from linguistic factors for German speakers in two age groups. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 28, 95–113.
9.
GuitarB. (2014). Stuttering: An integrated approach to its nature and treatment (4th ed.). Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
10.
HallN.EvansD. (2004). Examining adaptation and bilingualism in stuttering. In PackmanA.MeltzerH.PetersH. (Eds.), Theory, research and therapy in fluency disorders: Proceedings of the Fourth World Fluency Congress on Fluency Disorders (pp. 363–368). Nijmegen, The Netherlands: Nijmegen University Press.
HowellP.Au-YeungJ.SackinS. (2000). Internal structure of content words leading to lifespan differences in phonological difficulty in stuttering. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 25, 1–20.
13.
HuinckW.van LieshoutP.PetersH.HulstijnW. (2004). Gestural overlap in consonant clusters: Effects on the fluent speech of stuttering and non-stuttering subjects. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 29, 3–25.
JankelowitzD.BortzM. (1996). The interaction of bilingualism and stuttering in an adult. Journal of Communication Disorders, 29, 223–234.
16.
KashulaR.AnthonissenC. (1995). Communicating across cultures in South Africa: Toward a critical language awareness. Johannesburg, South Africa: Hodder-Stoughton.
17.
LadefogedP. (1975). A course in phonetics. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
18.
LadefogedP.MaddiesonI. (1996). The sounds of the world’s languages. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.
19.
LeeA.RobbM.OrmandT.BlomgrenM. (2014). The role of language familiarity in bilingual stuttering assessment. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics. 28, 723–740.
20.
LimV.LincolnM.ChanY.OnslowM. (2008). Stuttering in English-Mandarin bilingual speakers: The influence of language dominance on stuttering severity. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 51, 1522–1537.
21.
LockeJ. (1983). Phonological acquisition and change. New York, NY: Academic press.
22.
NatkeU.GrosserJ.SandrieserP.KalveramK. (2002). The duration component of the stress effect in stuttering. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 27, 305–318.
23.
NieslerT.LouwP.RouxJ. (2005). Phonetic analysis of Afrikaans, English, Xhosa and Zulu using South African speech databases. South African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies23, 459–474.
24.
PennC. (1978). Speech pathology and audiology in South Africa–past, present and future perspectives. In LanhamL.PrinslooK. (Eds.), Language and communication studies in South Africa (pp. 233–259). Cape Town, South Africa: Oxford University Press.
25.
RoachPeter. (2004). British English: Received pronunciation. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34, 239–245.
26.
RileyG. D. (2009). Stuttering Severity Instrument–Fourth Edition. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
27.
RobertsP.ShenkerR. (2007). Assessment and treatment of stuttering bilingual speakers. In ContourE.CurleeR. (Eds.), Stuttering and related disorders of fluency (3rd ed., pp. 183–209). New York, NY: Thieme Medical.
Scharff-RethfeldtW. (2005). Das “bilingual Patientenprofil” als Basis einer Logopädischen Intervention [The bilingual patient profile as basis for logopaedic intervention]. Forum Logopädie, 3(19), 6–11.
30.
ShaimanS. (2001). Kinematics of contemporary vowel shortening: The effect of speaking rate and coda composition on intra–and inter–articulatory timing. Journal of Phonetics, 29, 89–107.
31.
ShapiroD. A. (2011). Stuttering intervention: A collaborative journey to fluency freedom (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
32.
ShenkerR. (2011). Multilingual children who stutter: Clinical issues. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 36, 186–193.
33.
SmithA.SadagopanN.WalshB.Weber-FoxC. (2010). Increasing phonological complexity reveals heightened instability in inter-articulatory coordination in adults who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 35, 1–18.
34.
TaylorI. (1966). The properties of stuttered words. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 5, 112–118.
35.
Van BorselJ.Britto PereiriaM. (2005). Assessment of stuttering in a familiar versus an unfamiliar language. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 30, 109–124.
36.
Van BorselJ.MaesE.FoulonS. (2001). Stuttering and bilingualism: A review. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 26, 179–205.
37.
Van BorselJ.MeirlaenA.AchtenR.VingerhoetsG.SantensP. (2009). Acquired stuttering with differential manifestation in different languages: A case study. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 22, 187–195.
38.
Van BorselJ.SunaertR.EngelenS. (2005). Speech disruption under delayed auditory feedback in multilingual speakers. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 30, 201–217.
39.
Van BorselJ.TaillieuC. (2001). Neurogenic stuttering versus developmental stuttering: An observer judgement study. Journal of Communication Disorders, 34, 386–392.
40.
Van WykE. B. (1979). Praktiese fonetiek vir taalstudente: ‘n inleiding [Practical phonetics for language students: An introduction]. Durban, South Africa: Butterworth.
41.
WieseR. (1996). The phonology of German. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.
42.
YarussJ.QuesalR. (2004). Stuttering and the international classification of functioning, disability, and health (ICF): An update. Journal of Communication Disorders, 37, 35–52.
