postr/StutterJuly 28, 2024

I stutter a lot more in languages that aren't my first language

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Content

I stutter a lot more in languages that aren't my first language I was born and raised up in Australia so my first language is English. I'm ethnically Bengali so I also know how to speak Bengali and I'm currently learning Arabic (modern standard Arabic). Whenever I try converse in Arabic, I get stuck and stutter a lot more. I know what to say but the words don't come out and everyone thinks I just don't know the language well enough. It's slowing down the rate at which I'm learning Arabic, especially conversation skills. A similar thing happens to a lesser degree when I converse in Bengali. I think I stutter a lot less in English because throughout my life, I've developed a lot of psychological techniques to mask my stutter, and I've become very accustomed to conversing in English so it's comfortable for me and doesn't require brain power. Do other bilingual (or trilingual or more) stutterers notice a similar phenomenon when they speak a different language?

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceCauses & Variability

Subthemes

Avoidance & SubstitutionSituational Variability