Jamie Oliver'th Lithp

May 11, 2006 1:14 AM

Help me identify this physical characteristic. What would you call what Jamie Oliver has? A lisp?

In my mind a lisp is more pronunced, you can hear the "s" in a word changed to a "th", which kids often do but I think is rare among adults. Oliver doesn't really do this, and if you heard him speak and didn't see his mouth, you wouldn't notice anything unusual. But he (and a couple of my friends) have a sort of protruding toungue when he talks. Is there a name for this? Is it a lisp?

posted by zardoz to science & nature (6 comments total)

I think he just has a big, fat tongue.
posted by brautigan at 1:59 AM on May 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

I've always just referred to that as a "speech impediment".
posted by qwip at 2:18 AM on May 11, 2006

I've noticed this too and have talked with others that speak the same. Phil Spencer from Location, Location, Location is another person that comes to mind. I had thought that perhaps it could be a regional dialect characteristic. But maybe brautigan is right; it's just a big, fat tongue.
posted by medium format at 3:11 AM on May 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

Fat Tongue Syndrome.
posted by blag at 3:42 AM on May 11, 2006

It's called a tongue thrust. I have the same condition. It can affect speech by encouraging what's called a sibilant "S," which isn't the same as a lisp, but can make "S" sounds more whistling and "juicy." It's a tiny thing, but it can doom a career in radio.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:02 AM on May 11, 2006

The tongue thrust probably seems even more pronounced in Oliver because of his Essex accent, which isn't commonly heard on television (well, at least not in the US).
posted by bcwinters at 6:15 AM on May 11, 2006