Passing As Fluent

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Re: Article 87

From: Terry Dartnall
Date: 10/20/03
Time: 2:04:47 AM
Remote Name: 132.234.9.79

Comments

Hi Lauren

“Has [my wife], or anyone else you have told, made any comments to you that even though they didn't realize you stuttered, that they DID in fact notice that your speech was not necessarily fluent (before they knew about the stutter)?”

Well, … not really. People have said that I talk fast – and I do. Non-native speakers sometimes have trouble following me for this reason. But their reactions need to be taken in context. They are often made when my wife is there, and she used to teach English as a foreign language, so her diction is clear (to the point of being enunciated) and she uses simple language. It may be that when non-native speakers say that I speak quickly and am hard to follow that they mean, “compared to Wendy!”

It’s a nice question, and it’s made me think. No. I don’t think that people have said that my speech isn’t fluent. They might have thought so. I – with the typical paranoia of the covert –may have THOUGHT that they thought so. But pretty much nobody has actually said so.

Terry


Last changed: September 12, 2005