What are some tips in having better speech? [more inside]
posted by InterestedInKnowing on Dec 14, 2009 - 9 answers

How do I talk to doctors in a professional manner? [more inside]
posted by bananaskin on Oct 7, 2009 - 11 answers

Is it a widespread behavior for multilingual speakers of english to get a more anglicized accent when talking to a native speaker? [more inside]
posted by Non Prosequitur on Aug 22, 2009 - 19 answers

I want to learn what everyday conversation (vocabulary, speech patterns, etc.) among American social and political elites was like around the time of the US Civil War. Where should I look for this sort of information? Online sources would be great. [more inside]
posted by thirteenkiller on Mar 9, 2009 - 5 answers

Is there some linguistic or cultural explanation for mistakenly calling Firefox FoxFire? [more inside]
posted by odinsdream on Jan 7, 2009 - 31 answers

My pronunciation of r's and l's is the same - for example, I pronounce lot and rot the same. English is my first (and only) language. When listening, i have no problems distinguishing between the two. No problems with writing either. Only with pronunciation. How do I become better at pronouncing those sounds? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 16, 2008 - 12 answers

Is there a word or a phrase, other than the too-broad "understand," for when a listener understands what someone else is trying to convey even when the speaker doesn't express it clearly and/or correctly? [more inside]
posted by amyms on Apr 28, 2008 - 31 answers

Can anyone help me select a high-quality recording device for fieldwork and speech analysis, please? [more inside]
posted by mateuslee on Dec 19, 2007 - 12 answers

I'd like some advice about preventing "regression" in the ability to speak a foreign language. If I am away from communicating in a foreign language for a few days, it feels like I might have lost it. That's because when I start speaking, I don't feel like I can get into it. [more inside]
posted by gregb1007 on Oct 11, 2007 - 10 answers

What is the origin of pronouncing "I've got you" like "I've gotchew?" Does this go back to ancient English speaking times, or is this merely a sloppy, learned Americanism? Is there a name for it? [more inside]
posted by iguanapolitico on Aug 30, 2007 - 32 answers

Is there a term for mangling two words to create a new word or term? [more inside]
posted by suki on Jul 17, 2007 - 28 answers

Intonation (specifically English). Can I change it? Can I flip between them? [more inside]
posted by gadha on Jul 2, 2007 - 11 answers

Help me speak and write two phrases in Farsi. [more inside]
posted by perissodactyl on Apr 29, 2007 - 2 answers

I am a master's student in speech-language pathology looking for a clinical fellow position starting this summer. I'm doing all the regular sending out resumes to hospitals and whatnot, but I'd like to know if anybody here has any experience with the big US based therapy agencies... [more inside]
posted by absquatulate on Feb 15, 2007 - 10 answers

I know some people who just can’t seem to get the hang of correctly pronouncing uncommon words, no matter how many times they hear the correct way. These are intelligent, educated people, and at least one is an avid reader, but for some reason they constantly, repeatedly, stumble over certain words. Is there a name for this? [more inside]
posted by mauglir on Jan 29, 2007 - 72 answers

How do I keep myself from mumbling and speaking at mach 3? [more inside]
posted by misled on Nov 18, 2006 - 9 answers

Language/Dialect-filter: In search of "authentic" Southern (American) accents... [more inside]
posted by ibeji on Oct 11, 2006 - 48 answers

I friend of mine from London, England had this "way" of coming up with names for people. As an example; he would call me bubbles (wasn't thrilled about that) because you can associate it with "squeak" (the sound bubbles can make when cleaning something, or like squeaky clean), which rhymed with the word "greek" which is my nationality... does anyone know what this is called and what the origin is?
posted by Cohiba4009 on Apr 12, 2006 - 33 answers

Where did pirate speech come from? [more inside]
posted by IndigoJones on Jan 9, 2006 - 18 answers

I'm concerned about my oldest nephew's language development. [more inside]
posted by scody on Oct 17, 2005 - 18 answers

Why do senior citizens refer to one-word objects with two words? [more inside]
posted by Servo5678 on Oct 15, 2005 - 27 answers

Help! I have less than one week to memorize a 5-minute speech for a contest--in Japanese. Most of what I can find on Google tells me not to bother with memorization, but the contest rules say I have to have it memorized verbatim. I have about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes memorized so far, but they're not solid yet. Does anyone have some tips for memorization?
posted by Jeanne on Mar 7, 2004 - 17 answers