While reading Wikipedia's article on speech disorders, I came across a list of famous people who have (or had) some kind of impediment. I was surprised by a couple of them, since I hadn't noticed. This isn't the whole list since I decided to exclude the cartoon characters, as well as a couple of not-so-well know people.
- Humphrey Bogart (lisp)
- Truman Capote (lisp)
- Winston Churchill (lisp, cluttering, stutter)
- Roman Emperor Claudius (stutter)
- Thomas Jefferson (lisp)
- Stephen Jenkins, Third Eye Blind (rhotacism)
- James Earl Jones (stutter)
- Jim Jones (lisp)
- Robert Kennedy (spasmodic dysphonia)
- Marilyn Monroe (stutter)
- Joe Strummer, The Clash (rhotacism)
- Barbara Walters (rhotacism, lisp)
- Bruce Willis (stutter)
- Tiger Woods (stutter)
- Anthony Kiedis (lisp)
I think I should also explain some of the above words in case you're not familiar with them (most from Encarta's dictionary tool):
Rhotacism: unusual pronunciation of the letter "r," or too much emphasis on this sound
Lisp: the sound produced when "s" and "z" are pronounced like the soft "th" sound in "third" or "thick"
Stutter: to say something haltingly, repeating sounds frequently when attempting to pronounce them, either from nervousness or as the result of a speech disorder
Cluttering: words run together rapidly
Spasmodic Dysphonia: involuntary movements of one or more muscles of the voice box
2 comments:
I had no idea about any of those people besides Barbara Walters. So many of them are famous for their voices (actors, singers, speechmakers)! And thanks for letting us know what "rhotacism" is, since I was about to go look it up!
what about the talented casey affleck?
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