Dysprosody and Phonological Deficiencies in Native Language

[Lucas88]

Dysprosody is a neurological disorder characterized by alterations in the melody, intonation, rhythm, cadence, stress and vocal quality of one's speech. Those who are affected are often perceived to speak with a foreign accent.

I have high verbal intelligence and am multilingual but at the same time I suffer from some degree of dysprosody. Since I was a teenager, I have always spoken with quite atypical rhythm and intonation and tend to pronounce some of the phonemes of the English language poorly. Various people have told me that I have a bit of a foreign accent. Some people have asked me where I'm from and, when I reply that I'm from the UK, they give me a confused stare. I believe that my dysprosody is one of the reasons why I was never able to fit in with British people. I don't speak exactly like them and so I was never perceived as one of them.

I'm on the autistic spectrum. Even though dysprosody is not part of the diagnosis, I've read anecdotes of other autistic people who claim that they suffer from speech irregularities and are often perceived to speak with a foreign accent. Among these were some Irish autists who were perceived to speak in a somewhat American or British manner despite having never lived in either America or the UK. It is possible that in some cases autism could affect the neural connections associated with speech and give rise to pseudo-foreign accent syndrome.

In my case, I perceive that dysprosody affects me more severely when I'm speaking my native language. My rhythm and intonation in English sound considerably more unnatural than when I'm speaking Spanish, a language which I began learning when I was 17. I speculate that this is because Spanish has a much smoother and more regular rhythm than English and also has a more well-formed phonology. I find Spanish more natural to pronounce.

Having irregular pronunciation in my native language, my way of dealing with this has always been to "run to the hills". Since I despise the UK and British culture anyway, I tend to spend a lot of time in Hispanic countries where I speak nothing but Spanish. I'm fine with speaking Spanish all of the time. I have little affinity to my native culture and prefer Spanish from an aesthetic standpoint. If I didn't have certain family members that I like and @Pixel--Dude, then I wouldn't ever speak English at all. I think that English sounds like dog shit anyway. My pronunciation of Spanish is good and is not as impaired as my pronunciation of English. I don't speak Spanish like a gringo either. So whenever I'm in Spain or Latin America I speak nothing but Spanish and actively avoid English-speaking expats or L2 English speakers. I hate my own national identity.

I've thought about how I could reduce the degree of dysprosody in my native language through speech therapy and such but, to tell you the truth, I think that pretty much all varieties of British English sound ugly if not downright ridiculous and so learning a proper variety of English is probably out of the question. I somewhat like North American English due to its more pleasant intonation but me speaking like a cowboy from across the pond would certainly raise some eyebrows and wouldn't be culturally appropriate. So I suppose that I'm forced to go with my original strategy of "run to the hills", flying to either Spain or Latin America as Iron Maiden screeches through my headset. I understand that I am not a British soul and that English as a language doesn't suit me. It would simply be better for me to permanently relocate to Colombia, get my own harem of Colombian mamasotas and baby mamas, and speak nothing but Spanish.

I don't feel comfortable speaking English with strangers. I perceive that I sound too awkward and dumb and that British people just sound retarded in general. So when I'm in the UK I tend to keep to myself and avoid people. Anything to avoid unnecessary verbal interaction with British Anglophone cretins. However, whenever I'm in Spain or Latin America, I become more sociable and verbose. I often can't stop talking and even drive myself manic speaking Spanish. I feel muzzled by my own native language but Spanish brings me out of my shell. I'm resentful that I had to be born in the shitty UK and that I am saddled with such a faggy and dorky-ass native language that sounds like dog shit and doesn't even suit me anyway. I'm resentful with fate itself.

I often record myself reading texts in various languages and then analyze my own pronunciation. I shared some recordings with @Tsar. Tsar agrees that I speak Spanish with a more natural rhythm and pronunciation than English.