Human Movement Science 2 (1983) 35-46 North-Holland 35 zyxwvutsrqpon KINEMATICS OF HEAD MOVEMENTS ACCOMPANYING SPEECH DURING CONVERSATION * U. HADAR Chelsea College, London, UK T.J. STEINER Charing Cross Hospital, London, UK E.C. GRANT Chelsea College, London, UK F. CLIFFORD ROSE Charrng Cross Hospital, London, UK U. Hadar, T.J. Steiner, E.C. Grant and F. Clifford Rose, 1983. Kine- matics of head movement accompanying speech during conversation. Human Movement Science 2, 35-46. Head movement during conversation is closely related to the suprasegmental features of concur- rent speech. Study of this relationship builds heavily on speed-related parameters of movement, the kinematic description of which is made here. In 4 subjects, movement of the head monitored by polarised-light goniometer was continuously recorded, together with the associated speech and a signal proportional to the peak loudness of speech. Results revealed a division of head movements into five kinematic classes: recognition of these may be helpful in understanding the role of head movements during speech. Introduction The speed-related aspects of spontaneous movement behaviour consist mainly of tempo, defined as number of movements per time unit, and * The authors thank Mr. Tom Going of the Electronic Workshop of the BMSG, Chelsea College, for constructing the auxiliary electronic circuits. Mailing address: U. Hadar, Dept. of Neurology, Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8RF, UK. 0167-9475/83/$3.00 Q 1983, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)