Jonathon Ross's Lisp

[Mark74]

Is it real? I ws told that this started as a gimmick when he started in broadcasting and is now just habbitt can someone confirm that is was not real and he put it on to start with????????

Please??????

[Octavius]

It is not a lisp, Ross speaks with a rhotacism, causing him to pronounce the consonant 'r' like a 'w'. It has been asserted by Dr. David Hornsby that Ross is simply manifesting a common dialectal variant of English common in the UK called the labiodental approximate.

[Mattk]

Its not a lisp its another impediment where he can say his 'R's'.
I remember him when he started on 'The Last Resort' back in the 80's and he had it then.

[Mattk]

double post but yeh like she said !

[Mark74]

So was it a gimmick to start with or was he born with it do you know????????

[Octavius]

I don�t know him well enough to answer. It depends whether you view it as a speech impediment or a deliberate alteration of speech. If it is the latter, I can�t see why anyone would maintain it for the best part of 30 years, but you never know.

[Quizmonkey]

Pronouncing Rs as Ws is very rarely an actual speech impediment, ie. there is rarely anything physiologically wrong with the speaker's vocal parts that would prevent the correct pronunciation. It is usually regarded as an affectation which, once adopted (usually when the speaker's quite young), is then very hard to shake off.

[cole13uk]

I have also heard this about Ozzy Osbourne, that his Umm unusual speech patterns are in fact "put on" for the tv show. Another urban myth perhaps?!

[smeghead81]

Mattk, Ross CANNOT say his R's