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From: Ken St. Louis
Date: 10/17/01
Time: 2:42:23 PM
Remote Name: 157.182.12.51
Dear Andy,
Nan Ratner provided a great answer to both of your questions. Let me also add a few comments.
I wish someone would carry out an exhaustive review of the literature internationally on the subject of bilingualism and stuttering. There is actually a great deal of information available, but, to my knowledge, it has not been pulled together recently into a careful, objective review that is available to those of us in the USA. As you know, many of the people of the world are reared in multilingual environments. Anything that is known about stuttering in those areas could have some important clues about the nature of bilingualism and stuttering. There are also a number of studies of stutterers who speak more than one language. The problem seems to be that the area is so large and so complex that we don't really know what to make of the divergent results that have been reported.
In addition to Nan's answer, I suggest you take a look at the interchanges with Daniele Orla at the beginning of this section for more insights and experiences. In the meantime, I believe you will need to do what the rest of us do: consider each case individually. I know that is not likely to completely satisfy a group of SLPs who want to answers, but, at present, that may be the best we can do.
Ken