Reading competency, speech rate and rhythm

Background: There is increasing evidence defining reading competency in terms of accuracy, speed and prosody, as well as interest in gaining better understanding of the interrelation as a function of prosodic features. This study aims to analyze the relationship between reading competency, in terms of accuracy and speed of written word recognition, and two attributes related to prosody in oral reading of texts: speech rate and rhythm. Method: Oral reading of a narrative text by 141 third and fourth grade Spanish-speaking students was analyzed using an automated acoustic speech procedure and their reading competency was assessed. Results: Reading proficiency was associated with a lower proportion of the number and duration of pauses and greater regularity of syllable intervals, resulting in a higher rate of speech and higher regularity of rhythm. The reading experience improves rhythmic reading with some independence from the levels of automation achieved in written word recognition. Conclusions: The results suggest that when there is greater reading competence there is greater speed and rhythmic expressiveness; this improves with reading experience when a sufficient level of automation has been achieved in reading access.