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From:
Date: 09 Oct 2010
Time: 20:55:46 -0500
Remote Name: 74.198.12.5
As I say in the article, there has never been a documented case of a bilingual with developmental stuttering (since childhood) who stuttered in only one language. Since it is a motor problem, this seems logical. The same motor processes are needed for speech no matter which language is used. So maybe it is possible or maybe not. There may be cases when someone is in the process of learning a language when they appear to not stutter in it: distraction effect, novelty, playing a role ( of a ___ speaker) or when utterances are so short and so slow that the stuttering does not appear. But this would be a temporary situation. Careful assessment, using a range of topics and tasks, and including reading aloud in both languages would be the way to see if stuttering is present in both languages or not (see the book chapter by Roberts & Shenker in Conture and Curlee's 2007 book for more on this). Every year in my Fluency Disorders class, I issue a challenge to the graduating students: if you find a bilingual person who stutters in only one language, this would be a really important contribution to our understanding of stuttering. Call me and we will assess and publish this important case study together!