Archive for lisps

Made for Each Other

{ September 14, 2007 @ 8:52 pm } · { Local Government Building, deaf, deafness, hard of hearing, hearing impaired, hearing loss, lipreading, lisps }
{ } · { Comments (4) }

I sit quietly at my desk in the Local Government Building. Customers are behaving themselves, and all is peaceful, when the door opens and The Dreaded Customer walks in the door. He’s never rude, never impolite, but I cringe inwardly the second he appears. Why? He’s the bane of my existence; every word he speaks looks EXACTLY the same. He simply repeats it endlessly. “Don’t look at his lips, don’t look at his lips,” I chant in my mind as he saunters up to my desk.

Me: Hi, may I help you?

Dreaded Customer: Bub-bub-bub-bub-bub-bub-bub-bub. Bub-bub-bub-bub?

Me: (Totally clueless look on my face) Excuse me?

Dreaded Customer: Bub-bub-bub-bub-bub-bub-bub-bub. Bub-bub-bub-bub?

Me: What kind of information do you need?

He gestures wildly, and speaks louder. Beads of perspiration form on my forehead. With intense effort, I manage to decode his nonsensical word formations and he leaves quickly. My sense of relief vanishes rapidly, however, as my gaze falls upon the next person to enter the Local Government Building. This is unbelievable! It can’t be! Not two in a row!

Now it’s time for an encounter with Miss Thith-thith-thith-thith-thith.

I saw what you said last summer

{ August 20, 2007 @ 12:35 am } · { Local Government Building, deafness, hard of hearing, hearing impaired, hearing loss, lipreading, lisps }
{ } · { Comments (1) }

An international business traveler named Rick, commenting in response to my first post, stated “non-native English speakers often do not move their lips as …expect[ed] from a native speaker” and that he has “adjusted to many different accents and lip movements, but it required lots of practice.” That’s downright miraculous! Like most hard of hearing people, I struggle to understand anyone with heavily accented English. But living in Florida, I’m used to hearing, “Do you want cheeps with that sub?”

What makes me a little crazy is normal hearing native speakers of English blissfully unaware that they are mispronouncing their own name! There oughta be a law!  Mandatory time locked in a speech clinic ’til they can say their own name right might do ‘em some good!

Anyway, I digress. Hard of hearing people are very attentive to the way people speak. We must depend upon our eyes to fill in the sounds our ears fail to receive. But sometimes our eyes see too well. For example, while I was at work in the Local Government Building, a female customer needed assistance. I asked for her name.

She said, “Bef Smif.” *

Hmm….. A bit confused, I politely said, “Please spell your name for me.”

She very carefully spelled, B-E-T-H-S-M-I-T-H.  She then leaned over, slowly enunciating, “Bef Smif.”

I can’t hear the difference, but I sure can SEE the difference!

*Name changed to protect the guilty