- The smallest bone in the human body is the stirrup, which is located in the ear.
- Teachers are most at risk for developing a voice disorder due to overuse.
- Many famous people have or had speech and language disorders, including U.S. President Joe Biden (stutter), Marilyn Monroe (stutter), Tom Cruise (dyslexia), Barbara Walters (lateral lisp), and Bruce Willis (primary progressive aphasia).
- Approximately 1 in 10 people in the U.S. and Canada have a speech-language or hearing disorder.
- By first grade, most children can understand about 10,000 words.
- One of the many areas of specialization in speech-language pathology is dysphagia (swallowing disorder). Aspiration pneumonia due to dysphagia is, in fact, the leading cause of death in Parkinson’s Disease.
- Children who learn two languages before the age of five have altered brain structures and have much denser gray matter as adults. Bilingualism improves cognitive skills and even shields against dementia in the elderly.
- It is a misconception that sign languages are simply a set of gestures derived from spoken languages. They are independent natural languages that have evolved from groups of people wishing to communicate, just like any spoken language.
- Ears not only help you hear, but they also aid in balance.
- And last fun fact, which is near and dear to my specialization as an accent coach – Everyone has an accent, but not everyone knows it. Non-native speakers have non-native accents, and every language has countless regional accents.
I can spew on and on for pages and pages about my fascinating but little-known profession. Thank you for indulging me, and I hope you found some of these fun facts interesting.
Subscribe to my newsletter on LinkedIn if you’d like to know more about accent training.
Ready to become an effective and confident speaker? Contact me today for a complimentary consultation.