3 ms·

> word substitution tactics to get around a minor stutter What are those?

msla 9y ago
You live with a censor in your head. If the censor doesn't like a specific word, you cannot say it. Your vocal muscles tense, then freeze like iron, causing you pain. Or perhaps they begin to repeat the same motions, uselessly, until you stop talking. This list of words changes over time and circumstance, but some sounds might be reliable predictors of problems. The way around that is to find some other word to use to express yourself. Or stop talking as much as possible.
- jackhack 9y ago
  That's the most insightful explanation I've ever read on this subject. Thank you for helping me to understand.
gamegoblin 9y ago
I have a stutter. Here are some examples: I almost always stutter on the word "but", so I say "though" instead if it fits. Same as "but", I can't say "butter" easily. In a restaurant if I ask for butter I'll usually say "Could I have some vutter?" which sounds close enough to 'butter' if you slur it just right. I have trouble saying "dad" so I say "father" instead. I'll get stuck on the 'm' in "money" so I'll use "cash" instead. There are hundreds of implicitly defined rules that I've learned over the years. When I was a kid, my stutter was really, really bad. As I've aged, I don't think it's necessarily gotten better, but I've learned all of these rules that let me hide it. So it can usually take people several hours of being around me before I encounter an unavoidable word. The most awkward part is I occasionally stutter on my own name. But I can mitigate this by leading into it with something else, which makes it easier to say. So when someone asks what my name is, I don't say "Foo", I say "My name's Foo" -- the 's' from "name's" helps soften the first letter and slide into it easier. If you haven't seen it, watch the movie "The King's Speech". As a stutterer, I found the portrayal quite accurate. Also, the strategies the speech coach gives the king are similar to what I do. For example, there is one line where the king must give a speech and use the word "people", but stutters on the 'p', so he "bounces" into the word by saying "uh-people" which is a lot better than stuttering on the 'p' for 10 seconds. All this being said, the only time in my life I have been really angry about having a stutter was during an quiz bowl (competitive trivia) match. I buzzed in immediately, knowing the answer, but was unable to say it. I stuttered on the first letter for a solid 5 seconds, and as the judge called time-out I finished the word, but they deemed it past time. And then because I'd said the answer, the other team just buzzed in, used my answer, and got the point.
Overtonwindow 9y ago
I met a lawyer who did contracts because he didn't have to talk. His word substitution game was amazing. He practiced constantly swapping words when he had a block.
southphillyman 9y ago
There are probably people that you have known for years that stutter and you don't realize it. I almost never stutter in interviews, on dates, or casual conversation in public. It's possible to "hide" in normal casuals settings. If you feel a block coming when you want to say "outrageous" just say "crazy" instead and things like that. I once worked on a team where two other guys stuttered, a DBA and Project Manager which is extraordinary since I think it affects less than 1% of the population. Anyway I knew instantly that they stuttered because they would take pauses a lot and the DBA in particular spoke very slowly like he was constantly thinking about his choice of words. I don't think any of us ever stuttered on the job but from someone familiar with the situation it was clear that coping mechanisms were being used to increase fluency.
- lsadam0 9y ago
  Exactly. The thing that I've struggled to explain to others is just how exhausting those coping mechanisms can be. I've lost count of how many times I've had to explain "No, I'm not shy, I'm just completely exhausted from talking".
- joewee 9y ago
  This explains a lot about my speech patterns, I never realized they developed as a result of my childhood stutter.

msla 9y ago

You live with a censor in your head. If the censor doesn't like a specific word, you cannot say it. Your vocal muscles tense, then freeze like iron, causing you pain. Or perhaps they begin to repeat the same motions, uselessly, until you stop talking. This list of words changes over time and circumstance, but some sounds might be reliable predictors of problems. The way around that is to find some other word to use to express yourself. Or stop talking as much as possible.

jackhack 9y ago
That's the most insightful explanation I've ever read on this subject. Thank you for helping me to understand.

gamegoblin 9y ago

I have a stutter. Here are some examples: I almost always stutter on the word "but", so I say "though" instead if it fits. Same as "but", I can't say "butter" easily. In a restaurant if I ask for butter I'll usually say "Could I have some vutter?" which sounds close enough to 'butter' if you slur it just right. I have trouble saying "dad" so I say "father" instead. I'll get stuck on the 'm' in "money" so I'll use "cash" instead. There are hundreds of implicitly defined rules that I've learned over the years. When I was a kid, my stutter was really, really bad. As I've aged, I don't think it's necessarily gotten better, but I've learned all of these rules that let me hide it. So it can usually take people several hours of being around me before I encounter an unavoidable word. The most awkward part is I occasionally stutter on my own name. But I can mitigate this by leading into it with something else, which makes it easier to say. So when someone asks what my name is, I don't say "Foo", I say "My name's Foo" -- the 's' from "name's" helps soften the first letter and slide into it easier. If you haven't seen it, watch the movie "The King's Speech". As a stutterer, I found the portrayal quite accurate. Also, the strategies the speech coach gives the king are similar to what I do. For example, there is one line where the king must give a speech and use the word "people", but stutters on the 'p', so he "bounces" into the word by saying "uh-people" which is a lot better than stuttering on the 'p' for 10 seconds. All this being said, the only time in my life I have been really angry about having a stutter was during an quiz bowl (competitive trivia) match. I buzzed in immediately, knowing the answer, but was unable to say it. I stuttered on the first letter for a solid 5 seconds, and as the judge called time-out I finished the word, but they deemed it past time. And then because I'd said the answer, the other team just buzzed in, used my answer, and got the point.

Overtonwindow 9y ago

I met a lawyer who did contracts because he didn't have to talk. His word substitution game was amazing. He practiced constantly swapping words when he had a block.

southphillyman 9y ago

There are probably people that you have known for years that stutter and you don't realize it. I almost never stutter in interviews, on dates, or casual conversation in public. It's possible to "hide" in normal casuals settings. If you feel a block coming when you want to say "outrageous" just say "crazy" instead and things like that. I once worked on a team where two other guys stuttered, a DBA and Project Manager which is extraordinary since I think it affects less than 1% of the population. Anyway I knew instantly that they stuttered because they would take pauses a lot and the DBA in particular spoke very slowly like he was constantly thinking about his choice of words. I don't think any of us ever stuttered on the job but from someone familiar with the situation it was clear that coping mechanisms were being used to increase fluency.

lsadam0 9y ago
Exactly. The thing that I've struggled to explain to others is just how exhausting those coping mechanisms can be. I've lost count of how many times I've had to explain "No, I'm not shy, I'm just completely exhausted from talking".
joewee 9y ago
This explains a lot about my speech patterns, I never realized they developed as a result of my childhood stutter.