# What is this speech impediment called?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 29, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385 "2009-11-29T22:12:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385/1 "2009-11-29T22:12:00Z")
I recently was checking out this AV Rant podcast:
> **[AV Rant](https://avrant.com/)**
>
> AV Rant answers your AV and home theater questions - covering loudspeakers, subwoofers, displays, TVs, and more.
The male host has a speech impediment which seems to be common in “nerdy” types. (I believe Daxflame from Youtube also has it.) I was a little amused that the guy has such a stereotypical voice for an AV nerd. (He refers to himself as a nerd.) It’s most apparent on the letter D. Words like “didn’t” don’t out very clearly. Does anyone know what this type of speech impediment is called?
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### Author:  [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385/2 "2009-11-29T22:31:47Z")
I could barely hear anything amiss except maybe he does say “dint” for “didn’t”. I don’t think this is an impediment, rather some regionalism that I can’t place.
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### Author:  [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385/3 "2009-11-29T23:06:55Z")
I don’t hear anything significant either. I agree with **Cosmic Relief** ; you may be hearing a regionalism you’re not used to. Many of you guys south of the border sound a lot more “different” to me than the people in that recording. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385/4 "2009-11-29T23:59:40Z")
There is certainly something funny about his “d” pronunciation. Can’t say I’ve noticed it in any other speakers before, but then again I may not have noticed it with this guy if it hadn’t been pointed out.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385/5 "2009-11-30T00:47:21Z")
He sounds like he has a very mild mid-Atlantic (Philly) accent. Very mild. He also has some of what I call a “young cohort” way of speaking, noticeable in the way he pronounces a long “o” sound. Seems like most people under 30 talk that way. Phone becomes something like “Pho-oon”.
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### Author:  [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385/6 "2009-11-30T02:33:34Z")
My take on this guy is that he has an eccentricity (maybe that “youth cohort” thing) where some d’s and terminal t’s (as in get) are articulated as a glottal stop, but not consistently. I also noticed a couple of Tom Brokaw-style back-of-the-throat l’s, though not consistently (such as sometimes when he says “blend”). Not sure I would call any of this an impediment since I think he is perfectly capable of a more standard pronunciation when he thinks about it.
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### Author:  [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2009, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385/7 "2009-11-30T09:06:44Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#):
>
> There is certainly something funny about his “d” pronunciation. Can’t say I’ve noticed it in any other speakers before, but then again I may not have noticed it with this guy if it hadn’t been pointed out.
Yes, sometimes he sounds like he is missing the “d”.
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### Author:  [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2009, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385/8 "2009-12-01T10:19:34Z")
A related question - what exactly is the origin/explanation for the stereotypical geek/fanboy speech pattern, examples being the nerd on Robot Chicken and if I recall correctly, Jon Stewart also does a similar thing? To me it kind of sounds like the cheeks are sucked in a little bit and saliva is collecting in front of the airflow, combined with a higher pitch.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2009, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-speech-impediment-called/519385/9 "2009-12-01T10:43:15Z")
Jerry Lewis?