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Subscribe to RSSA British teenager was so desperate to speak the Korean language with the proper accent that she had a surgery that lengthened her tongue, reports The Telegraph. Wait. What?
Nineteen-year-old student Rhiannon Brooksbank loves Korean culture and plans to study it in college. Her only problem: She struggled to correctly pronounce certain sounds in the Korean language, because of her shorter-than-average tongue, "caused by an unusually thick lingual frenulum – the flap of skin that joins the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth," the UK paper reports. More from The Telegraph:
Her parents agreed to her having a lingual frenectomy, a 15–minute operation under local anaesthetic that involved an incision in the flap of skin. Rhiannon admitted that it was "agony at first" but her tongue is now about 1cm longer and she can say words that were impossible before.
So is surgery the answer to shaking an unwanted accent? Not exactly, explains Dr. Amee P. Shah, associate professor and research director in Cleveland State University's speech and hearing program. Brooksbank likely had a condition called ankyloglossia, often nicknamed "tongue-tie," because it restricts the tongue's movement, keeping it tethered too close to the lower jaw -- which can result in in a number of speech problems, says Shaw.
Although Shah has not treated Brooksbank, she expects the teenager didn't just have problems correctly pronouncing Korean words -- she likely has had problems pronouncing English words, too. Shah explains that a "tongue-tied" person would have trouble pronouncing all vowels, and especially the consonants that are formed using the front and the top of the mouth, like T, D, L, R, S, Z, N and Y. But there's nothing unique about the Korean language that would require a lingual frenectomy. The Korean language doesn't "have an 'L' and 'R' distinction the way we do, but they do have a version that sounds like 'L' or 'R,' depending on the situation," Shah says. "They do have the vowels 'e' and 'ah' -- those would be affected."
The teenager's surgery sounds like an extreme measure, but Shah explains that a lingual frenectomy is actually a very common procedure, normally done in children who are born with a shorter tongue and thicker frenulum. But people like Brooksbank who have the procedure done later in life, usually require speech therapy in addition to the frenectomy to correct the pronunciation habits they've formed over the years to compensate for the shorter tongue.
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Leave a Comment:
Believe it or not, some Koreans do the same thing in an effort to speak better English.
No they don't. They cut OFF their tongue, not add to it.
Would the longer tongue help in other areas, besides speaking?
Yes, when you marry her she would give you even better tongue lashings.
Wow, talk about drastic measures.
Good for her. I can't speak a lick of Korean.
Good one Tony.
Good man Tony!
Kelvin
well, isthn't dat just twheet. now i know how to tawk good in korean.....jus get an operathun
People in Korea can speak and understand English.......
Oh I thought she just wanted to have a forked tongue.
Wow.... lots of tongue-in-cheek comments.....
Can't recommend this minor surgery enough. My son was struggling with a minor speech issue before his pediatrician recommended the procedure. Unfortunately a ridiculous 6 month quest ensued for someone who would sign off on this for the stupid insurance company. Finally an ENT specialist was recommended to us and he was fantastic. The procedure took minutes, and within a week my son's pronunciation issues were gone and 4 years later we can unequivocally say this was the right choice! As a side note, some pediatricians will diagnose akyloglossia in infants and the procedure is even easier at that age!
Agreed. My son was "tongue tied", but it wasn't caught at birth. While he didn't have speech issues, he couldn't stick his tongue out (it bothered him!) and the dentist hinted at future gum and dental issues if uncorrected. He had a frenectomy as a pre-teen and has never regretted it.
Yup. One of my son's had this done when he was about 2 months old. He was so messy when he drank from the bottle. Constantly dripping milk down his face. He also couldn't even stick his tongue past his gums! But with one snip, it was all done. And I swear, he instantly cried louder!
@ KimChee - I'm an American living in Korea and this is flat out wrong. A FEW Koreans can speak English well, mostly those born abroad, or who have studied abroad extensively. A FEW are conversational. SOME know enough to carry on a basic conversation. However, the LARGE majority are at a low intermediate level at best. Your comment seems to imply that anyone traveling to Korea from an English-speaking country will have no problem getting around and conversing with the average Korean. After living here for nine years, I can assure you that this is not true. Koreans have an insatiable appetite for learning English, but methods of teaching, etc. have kept them on a level similar to what you would expect in China or Japan (although probably slightly more competent than both those countries).
I was slightly tongue-tied at birth. My mother spotted it and had it corrected when I was 2 weeks old.
Her dad was completely tongue-tied his entire life, although you would have never known it to hear him talk. In fact he was a Spanish and French teacher.
Thanks to my mom, I've never gotten my tang tongueled.
I've got a tongue-tied husband and several tongue-tied children. My dh's tongue was cut twice as a baby but it grew back both times and my m-i-l decided not to go for three (too hard on her to endure). He doesn't have any speech issues but, yes, some 'types' of kissing are compromised but I don't have anything to complain about :-)....
As for my kids, my pediatrician took a wait and see approach and in all cases there was no need for surgery as they never developed any speech issues. The thought my ped has that despite being tongue-tied, the fact they were breast-fed (over a year each) helped their tongues stretch naturally. Interesting thought but I've not found any proof via a study or medical research to prove her doctor's intuition.
That being said, if any of my kids showed speech problems, I'd do the surgery in a heartbeat.
This is nothing more than just another plastic surgery story. No different. Just a mere sign of someone else not happy with what they have. If people would stop wishing to be someone else, sound, look, or act like someone else, they lose all self-worth, self-love, self-assurance, in fact, no more self to self anything. They're now someone else. Quite sad. If people were to just work on what they have, work on the imperfections of their personality and character which is enough groundwork to deal with for a lifetime by will, they could be better people and happier in their own skin.
Obviously you've never known someone who actually is tongue-tied. It's not a B.S. plastic surgery condition...yes, this girl could speak English, but it's still something that impairs speech. I was born slightly tongue-tied and rather than surgery my parents opted for speech therapy because it would be easier on me, but I struggled to pronounce the English language. I can't pronounce certain things in Spanish, which led me not to major in it in college although I enjoyed it very much.
How much you wanna bet she's a Starcraft player haha
Awww come on OveritLoL, if you had a giant butt on your forehead that made funny sounds every time you gave a speech I'm sure that you would have something done about it!
jsmack- I have a short tongue, but not tongue-tied (although one of my boys was before they snipped it). But I always said that if I lived in a Spanish speaking country, I'd have a speech impediment. I can't roll my R's nothing!!
Patient: So, Doctor, will I be able to speak Korean after the surgery?
Doctor: Yes.
Patient: Really? I couldn't before!
I thank you....
Well I know my day can go on now that this teenager can properly speak Korean. What a relief!
An operation to make your tongue longer? Guys, where do we line up?
Big to do over nothing. My son was born with this condition and it hasn't affected him whatsoever. He had some speech issues, but it had nothing to do with his frenelum. If it did, I would have had the procedure done. Like the article said, 15 minutes, no biggie.
When my son was born, my mother-in-law said he should have his tongue clipped. I had never heard of this before, but the pediatrician said "tongue-tied" does run in families. It doesn't actually lengthen the tongue, it just allows more freedom of movement. My husband and his siblings had it done as infants - not really a big deal at that age. My son didn't need to have it done, but it was one of those things where I thought my mother-in-law was a little nuts until the doctor confirmed the condition.
I had this done when I was 8 because I had a slight lisp, it was no big deal but apparently it helped my speech (says my speech pathologist mother).
Buh cad I keep da thud in by dung? (but can I keep the stud in my tongue?)
Yes, in infants the condition can cause problems when nursing.
My daughter was extremely tongue tied at birth, but since she was able to nurse, the pediatrician refused to do a frenulectomy. She had to have one at 15 months old because her tongue was so tied, it was literally forked. She was unable to make a lot of the sounds she should have been making at that stage. She was old enough that she was absolutely terrified of the whole procedure. She's now three and speaks pretty well. My son, now 3 months, is also tongue tied, but can nurse well enough that they also refused to do a frenulectomy until he's older. He's not as tongue tied as his sister, so I'm hoping he won't need one at all!
So SO stupid. But I've seen even stupider people in my life.
And not ONE post about anything political. Well done, all.