| Pandemona England. August 12 2011 21:32. Posts 9548 | Profile Blog # |
STUDENT Rhiannon Brooksbank-Jones has had surgery to lengthen her tongue so she can speak Korean like a native.
Rhiannon, 19, who hopes to live in Korea after university, found she had difficulties pronouncing some words.
Her dentist said it was because her tongue was shorter than average, which meant she could not make a distinctive L-sound that occurs in the Korean language.
So determined Rhiannon had surgeons snip part of the skin flap that attaches the tongue to the mouth - and it now reaches a full centimetre further.
She said: "Surgery was the only option. It's not like you can just stretch your tongue.
"Some people might say it's a bit extreme but I'm a perfectionist. My pronunciation was very foreign before but now I can speak with a Korean accent."
Rhiannon, of Beeston, Notts, is awaiting A-level results and hopes to do a Korean Studies degree at Sheffield University.
Mum Fiona said: "When she sets her mind to something she goes for it wholeheartedly."
Source - TheSun
Interesting! I have to love The Sun paper! Truely amazing news story i read this lunch time! She states that having a shorter tongue than average meant she couldnt pronouce "L-Words" very well and made her Korean acsent sound Foreign!
Wonder if Tastosis have this trouble? Last edit: 2011-08-12 21:34:44 |
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| Shana Indonesia. August 12 2011 21:34. Posts 1260 | Profile Blog # |
| I have short tongue and I can pronounce 'L-words' perfectly |
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| RosaParksStoleMySeat Japan. August 12 2011 21:36. Posts 914 | Profile # |
This is an old scam, but it usually went the other way around. More than a few people in Korea have had tongue reshaping surgery to become "better" speakers of English. The truth of the matter, however, is that this is just surgeons taking advantage of people who know no better.
Her pronunciation is not better, her Korean is not better, and it scares me that any form of medical practitioner would believe that she can't speak Korean because her tongue is too short. |
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| aebriol Norway. August 12 2011 21:38. Posts 2064 | Profile # |
| It scares me that people believe stories from the sun. |
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| Flenser166 United States. August 12 2011 21:45. Posts 96 | Profile Blog # |
| Actually, I work in an ENT Clinic for the military, and we do this quite regularly in clinic. It's just a quick snip and I almost wouldn't qualify it as a surgery, but it does allow better pronunciation for most people. |
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| Pandemona England. August 12 2011 21:47. Posts 9548 | Profile Blog # |
On August 12 2011 21:38 aebriol wrote:
It scares me that people believe stories from the sun.
Troll  I buy it for the Sport, and just love the gossip they put in it too :3 |
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| RosaParksStoleMySeat Japan. August 12 2011 21:51. Posts 914 | Profile # |
On August 12 2011 21:45 Flenser166 wrote:
Actually, I work in an ENT Clinic for the military, and we do this quite regularly in clinic. It's just a quick snip and I almost wouldn't qualify it as a surgery, but it does allow better pronunciation for most people.
No, it doesn't.
There is absolutely no evidence and no reasoning that it would. Differences in pronunciation between native and non-native speakers of a language exist solely in the brain. It makes no sense that they would be physical considering tongue lengths and shapes vary just as much within a tribe as they do on a worldwide level. Why is it that Korean people seem to be just fine with their tongue length, and this problem only afflicts non-native speakers? I'd even bet you that comparing places of articulation with the Korean /l/ and the English /l/ do not show that much of a difference in tongue extending.
Surgery cannot treat non-native pronunciation in a language; it's a completely different issue. You may ask "Why does the military do it then?" and to that I'll just ask you another question: Why does the military still use the audiolingual method--a methodology of teaching second languages that was proven completely ineffective in the mid 60's--as the primary way of training their soldiers to speak other languages?
The reason why you hear differences in their pronunciation is because you're looking for differences in their pronunciation. |
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| Probe1 United States. August 12 2011 21:53. Posts 16445 | Profile Blog # |
What an oddly offensive username.
And what a strange thread for people to argue in. |
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| Derez Netherlands. August 12 2011 21:53. Posts 4482 | Profile Blog # |
| It's an extremely common surgery, if you can even call it that. Supposedly helps with french kissing also ;p. |
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| ReaperX Hong Kong. August 12 2011 21:54. Posts 1755 | Profile Blog # | |
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| GinDo August 12 2011 22:16. Posts 2927 | Profile Blog # |
| I was reading, and I was like O_O. And then I read the source and i was like XD. The Sun........ Last edit: 2011-08-12 22:16:30 |
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| Kevan Sweden. August 12 2011 22:23. Posts 2269 | Profile # | |
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| Palmar Iceland. August 12 2011 22:24. Posts 7583 | Profile Blog # |
| lol, the sun strikes again! Last edit: 2011-08-12 22:24:11 |
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 HaXXspetten Sweden. August 12 2011 22:24. Posts 15716 | Profile Blog # | |
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| synapse China. August 12 2011 22:25. Posts 6908 | Profile Blog # |
| Asians can make L sounds? |
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| SpeaKEaSY United States. August 12 2011 22:25. Posts 828 | Profile Blog # |
| Man I was thinking tongue job meant something else... Gotta get that mind out of the gutter. |
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| PanN United States. August 12 2011 22:29. Posts 2603 | Profile # |
On August 12 2011 22:25 synapse wrote:
Asians can make L sounds?
Yes. What other fascinating questions do you want me to answer? |
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| qrs United States. August 12 2011 22:31. Posts 3497 | Profile Blog # |
On August 12 2011 22:25 synapse wrote:
Asians can make L sounds?
Of course--it's R's they have trouble with. You're getting the stereotype backwards.
edit: Although from what I've heard, it's more that many Asian languages have a consonant that's sort of between a western R and L.Last edit: 2011-08-12 22:33:21 |
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| Wyrm_uW United States. August 12 2011 22:33. Posts 242 | Profile Blog # |
On August 12 2011 22:25 SpeaKEaSY wrote:
Man I was thinking tongue job meant something else... Gotta get that mind out of the gutter.
You're not alone here. That's the only reason I clicked the link. FALSE ADVERTISING I'D SAY. |
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| Jombozeus China. August 12 2011 22:46. Posts 1000 | Profile Blog # |
On August 12 2011 22:31 qrs wrote:Of course--it's R's they have trouble with. You're getting the stereotype backwards. edit: Although from what I've heard, it's more that many Asian languages have a consonant that's sort of between a western R and L.
South Asians have trouble with Ls and Korean/Japanese have trouble with Rs.
Not that hard. |
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