Fluency and aphasia: A pragmatic reconsideration

Abstract

The fluency behaviour of fourteen aphasic patients was investigated within a communicative framework. As part of an overall pragmatic analysis, judges were required to rate the subjects' fluency behaviour as to their appropriateness within the context of interactive discourse. Results indicated differences between subjects which related consistently neither to the classificatory type of aphasia nor to severity. Implications regarding the characterisation of fluency and its utility as a classifcatory concept are discussed.