Which strategy involves the gradual onset of voicing during speech production?

The strategy that involves the gradual onset of voicing during speech production is the easy or gentle onset. This technique is especially useful for individuals who may experience difficulties with voice onset or those who stutter, as it helps to reduce tension and promote a smoother start to speech. By initiating voice production gently, it allows the speaker to ease into vocalization, thus improving fluency and overall speech quality. This method focuses on producing soft and gradual voicing that feels more controlled and less abrupt, which can lead to a more natural speaking rhythm.

The other options serve different purposes in speech therapy. Light articulatory contact refers to making contact between articulators with minimal pressure to facilitate clearer sound production. Continuous phonation, on the other hand, involves maintaining a steady flow of voice throughout the speech. Prolonged syllables focuses on extending the length of sounds or syllables, which may be beneficial in certain speech therapy contexts but does not specifically pertain to the gentle onset of voice. Each of these techniques has distinct applications, but the gentle onset specifically targets the manner in which speech begins.