Lisp

A lisp (OE wlisp, stammering)^[1] is a speech impediment, historically also known as sigmatism.^[2] Stereotypically, people with a lisp are unable to pronounce sibilants (like the sound [s]), and replace them with interdentals (like the sound [θ]), though there are actually several kinds of lisps. The result is that the speech is unclear.

• "Interdental" lisping is produced when the tip of the tongue protrudes between the front teeth and "dentalised" lisping is produced when the tip of the tongue just touches the front teeth.
• The "lateral" lisp, where the /s/ and /z/ sounds are produced with air escaping over the sides of the tongue, is also called 'slushy ess' or a 'slushy lisp' due to the wet, spitty sound. The symbols for these lateralized sounds are in the Extended International Phonetic Alphabet for speech disorders, [ʪ] and [ʫ]. Notably the former mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, has this type of lisp.^[3]
• Finally, there is the "palatal lisp," where the speaker attempts to make the sounds with the tongue in contact with the palate.^[2]

Cause of lisps

The cause of a lisp can vary. In some instances, the cause is physiological, and the patient has some sort of deformity or medical condition which causes a lisp. For example, a child with swollen adenoids may tend to lisp, as will people who have recurring stuffy noses. More commonly, a lisp appears to be psychological in origin, and lisps often emerge as a reaction to stress. Children may start lisping, for example, to gain attention, or someone may develop a lisp after a traumatic incident.

Treating lisps

Treating lisps in children usually involves short-term speech therapy and is generally successful. Speech therapy sessions include a wide variety of activities and speech drills, though what specifically happens in any given session will depend upon many variables. The length of the therapy session (usually between a half hour and one hour), the location of the therapy session (whether at home, school or a private facility), the age of the child involved, whether the therapy session is private or involves a group, and the type of lisp that is being treated will all affect the content of these sessions. During these sessions the child will be taught the isolated sound that he or she is having trouble with. When this sound is mastered, the child will then learn to say the sound in syllables, then words, then phrases and then sentences. When a child is able to speak a whole sentence without lisping, attention is then focused on making correct sounds throughout natural conversation. Towards then end of the course of therapy, the child will be taught how to monitor his or her own speech, and how to correct as necessary.

See also

• Gay lisp

References

• http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-lisp.htm
• http://www.speechdisorder.co.uk/Lisps.html

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