I'm fluent in 4 languages... and I stutter.
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I'm fluent in 4 languages... and I stutter. I've had a passion for languages since I was a child. I've also stuttered mostly mildly since I was a child--I can even remember when it started :( Native language: Spanish. I tend to stutter 30-40% of the time, or I tend to talk fast in order to avoid it. Either way, people can tell I have some sort of speech impediment. Second language: English. I have a mild foreign accent in this language. I stutter mildly maybe 5-10% of the time in this language. Sometimes, it takes people weeks or months to realize I have a stutter if all we speak is English. I can expressed 99% of my thoughts in this language--I can say that I'm almost almost fluent in this language. Third language: Italian, and this is a language that I absolutely love. I do stutter in Italian but a little less than I do in Spanish. Fourth language: French, and this is where my stuttering is most obvious :( I live in Europe and just recently moved in with some French people. I love that I get to practice my French at home every day, but sometimes I get embarrassed when I stutter in front of them. I have noticed one thing, though. I acquire a certain 'mood' or even a certain 'diaphragm position' depending on the language. Every time I'm able to anticipate a stuttering event, I just want to immediately switch to English, but the person I'm talking to doesn't always necessarily speak English :( Given that I've lived in several countries, my stuttering sometimes can be confounded by or hidden under my 'speaking in a foreign language' excuse. Ever since I began stuttering, I remember a couple of time when I felt fully 'liberated' and have wondered if these events can be somehow replicated. The first time was when I laughed so hard after a joke I heard that I didn't feel anything blocking my speech immediately after. It was amazing! I was "normal", but my stuttering came back the next day unfortunately. The other time was when I took some time off work. After several days, I started to feel relaxed and not stressed, and I felt "free", but my stuttering came back again shortly after that. The first stuttering-free event I talked about, though, was by far the best. I was totally totally fluent. I honestly believe there is a cure for this, just like I felt cured for at least once in my life. I'm no expert, but if you ask me, the cause for stuttering is somewhere in our chest--physically. Has anyone had similar experiences?