Dis- or Dys-?
When I was in undergrad my professor was adamant that stuttering events were referred to as dysfluencies. More and more lately, in blogs, forums and even in our own shell report, I've seen "disfluency" used.
Here's a link to a JSLHR letter to the editor that espouses the same viewpoint as my former professor.
For those who have to reset their ASHA password every time they log in because they keep forgetting it (like me!) here's an excerpt:
"The prefix dis- is used to form words that define the opposite of something or lack of something. In this sense, the word disfluency means a lack of fluency in speech or simply speech that is not fluent. We all exhibit disfluent speech at various times. I also would imagine that a good proportion of a stutterer's speech would contain disfluencies. On the other hand, the prefix dys- means bad, ill, difficult, abnormal, and so forth. Therefore, the word dysfluency would refer to speech that is abnormal. Most likely, our primary concern with stutterers' speech is the dysfluency they exhibit. Based on this, the phrase "normal dysfluency" (Bernstein Ratner& Sih, 1987, p. 278) is a contradiction in terms. In addition, in Bernstein Ratner and Sih's article, there was a control group of nonstuttering children. In a strict sense, and in keeping with good usage of terms, normal children would not exhibit dysfluencies."
What are y'all's thoughts?
Here's a link to a JSLHR letter to the editor that espouses the same viewpoint as my former professor.
For those who have to reset their ASHA password every time they log in because they keep forgetting it (like me!) here's an excerpt:
"The prefix dis- is used to form words that define the opposite of something or lack of something. In this sense, the word disfluency means a lack of fluency in speech or simply speech that is not fluent. We all exhibit disfluent speech at various times. I also would imagine that a good proportion of a stutterer's speech would contain disfluencies. On the other hand, the prefix dys- means bad, ill, difficult, abnormal, and so forth. Therefore, the word dysfluency would refer to speech that is abnormal. Most likely, our primary concern with stutterers' speech is the dysfluency they exhibit. Based on this, the phrase "normal dysfluency" (Bernstein Ratner& Sih, 1987, p. 278) is a contradiction in terms. In addition, in Bernstein Ratner and Sih's article, there was a control group of nonstuttering children. In a strict sense, and in keeping with good usage of terms, normal children would not exhibit dysfluencies."
What are y'all's thoughts?
Interesting! I tend to use "dys" over "dis"... but I'm pretty sure that the google spell check in eSPED corrects it to "disfluencies." When you're breaking the word down like that "disfluency" makes a lot more sense...
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking dysfluency makes more sense. We are looking to separate instances of disfluency (typical bumps) from instances of dysfluency (blocks, excessive repetitions, secondary characteristics, etc).
DeleteI didn't think of it that way. That makes a lot of sense. =)
DeleteMy undergrad professor, Dr. Vincent, did a lot of research in the area of fluency. She trained me to use:
ReplyDeleteDys- for all abnormal bouts of not being fluent (i.e., blocking, prolongations, etc.)
Dis- for all typical bouts of not being fluent (i.e., interjections, whole word repetitions, etc.)
That said I've had one graduate professor, point out that I used "two different spellings" in a report. When I explained my intention it was fine!
I like Kathleen's explanation. Maybe we could find a way to define them in the shell and then use the appropriate spellings. We will take a look at it and get back to you.
DeleteKathleen, that makes sense!
Delete