Why do I sometimes have a lisp?

May 26, 2021 9:22 AM

I generally have a very clear pronunciation (I teach languages), but sometimes, especially when I'm not feeling well, I notice a lisp. Why does this happen?

It happens mainly when I'm feeling a little tired or sick, so I thought it might be the mucus making things harder/different, or my muscles acting up. If this happens to anyone else, what do you do to combat it?

posted by LoonyLovegood to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Response by poster: Just thought to add because I was reading something else: my dentist once said my frenulum was a little short. This rarely bothers me, only when I have to roll my Rs.
posted by LoonyLovegood at 9:23 AM on May 26, 2021

Did you have a lisp when you were younger? I was in a lot of speech therapy as a kid and don’t have a lisp now, but if I’m very tired or if I practice speaking with a lisp for a few words, the lisp can slip back in.

My speech therapist said she thought I have a lisp because my tongue is larger than average for my mouth size, so that’s another thing to consider.

No advice on how to fix it when it comes back, it’s just being conscious of tongue placement when I’m talking, and then my brain takes over.
posted by umwhat at 2:22 PM on May 26, 2021

Do other people say you have a lisp? One thing I’ve noticed (in a noisy cicada season) is that I hear myself with a lisp even if I’m not actually speaking with one. It could be your hearing rather than your speaking.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 3:46 PM on May 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Are you autistic, ADHD, or neurodivergent in some other way? I mumble more when I'm tired, and I think it is because when I'm low on cognitive "spoons" I'm likely to discard "extra" effort such as that required to speak more clearly. I do have a vague recollection of some speech therapy back in elementary school.
posted by matildaben at 4:48 PM on May 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: No speech therapy ever. I had one high school mean girl tell me I have a lisp once, and after that I remember my mother telling me my S weren't sharp enough to be a voice actor, but I never really did much with their comments because they were both, well, mean girls. No known neurodivergency, but I'm definitely an anxious person with a suspected chronic illness (endometriosis).

I actually taught pronunciation in grad school and my prof had no issues with me teaching S and TH despite me asking if it was really okay several times, but I also don't remember feeling like I lisped when I did that. Hm...
posted by LoonyLovegood at 12:10 AM on May 27, 2021

Just as a data point, I speak less clearly when I'm very tired (not a lisp, but I feel like I trip over my tongue much more often). Sometimes it's what makes me realize how exhausted I am.
posted by trig at 3:25 AM on May 27, 2021

No-one told me I had a lisp until my Lamda exam (about 14 years old), but I only lisped during my modern piece, not my Shakespeare. So I suspect it has to do with the amount of effort you're putting in. If you're tired or ill, maybe you're not just trying as hard as you normally would to pronounce words clearly.
posted by missmagenta at 6:50 AM on May 27, 2021