| The use of "pragmatic repetition," the iteration of one's own speech or the speech of a co-participant, has been overlooked in the language sciences. In adult communication disorders, repetition is described from a pathological perspective or used as a formal diagnostic parameter, without basic knowledge of normal repetition. In more recent years a shift has occurred towards studying normal language use, or the pragmatics of language. The purpose of this study is to examine repetition in the verbal discourse of normal and disordered speech. The first study analyzed three discourse samples made up of non-disordered speech, to determine incidence, type and function of repetition during naturalistic conversational exchanges: a transcript of an unscripted telephone conversation, a screenplay of a classic comedy, and conversational segments from a reality television show. The second study analyzed repetition using transcripts of discourse by stroke patients with damage to either left or right hemisphere, compared to matched normal-control speech samples. In addition to incidence data, other variables analyzed included localness of repetition, preservation, source, unit of speech, function of repetition, and formulaicity. Results from Study One indicated that an average of 17% of morphemes were repeated, ranging from 9% in the screenplay to 22% in the telephone conversation. The screenplay had the least repetitions classified as formulaic (48%) as compared to the telephone conversation (75%). Differences between scripted and unscripted texts were also noted regarding lack of repetition to enhance form of talk. In Study Two, results indicated significantly higher use of repetition by left hemisphere (27%) than right hemisphere damaged subjects (19%). The left hemisphere group used significantly more repetition of formulaic expressions (57%) than the right hemisphere group (30%). Results indicate that repetition occurred regardless of location of brain damage while additional factors such as functions of repetition, preservation of repetition, source of repetition, and unit of repetition differed between groups. It is suggested that repetition becomes pathological when used in place of novel language, thus content is no longer being added. Findings from this study solidify the role of repetition in the pragmatics of language and established criteria for measuring repetition. |
