Line #82 Main/FangThpeak


1	[[quoteright:340:[[Webcomic/WapsiSquare https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fangthpeak.png]]]]
2
3	->''"The teeth, I had to put fangs in. I didn’t want to, but I was told to. I went to an orthodontist, and they put in these fangs, with a bit of plasticine, but I found it very hard to speak, very hard to speak clearly, so I took the bottom ones out after a while. Bad continuity, that."''
4	-->-- '''Anthony Ainley''' [[http://drwhointerviews.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/anthony-ainley-1991/ on]] ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival "Survival"]]
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6	A {{speech impediment}} that strikes vampires (and other fanged creatures, as well), where their spoken ''s''[='s=] become ''th''[='=]s or, more often, ''sh''[='s=].
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8	Here's the technical explanation for why it happens: False teeth tend to cause sibilants (''s''; soft ''c'', like the first ''c'' in "circus"; and sometimes ''z'') to be mispronounced because the prosthetics force a change in the position of the tongue. Interdentals (''th'') are made by the tongue going against the upper incisors - sibilants are more likely to be mispronounced as interdentals when the '''incisors''' are altered or missing, as with fake buck teeth or missing front teeth[[note]]hence the stereotypical gap-toothed child's lisp.[[/note]] More common with prosthetic '''fangs''' are for the sibilants to become post-alveolar fricatives (''sh''), caused by the tongue being forced back by the wider and longer ''canines''.
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10	Fang Thpeak can be called to the audiensh'sh attention in two waysh:
11	# When the writersh make no effort to avoid shibilantsh, charactersh who have fangsh will alwaysh shpeak thish way, or,
12	# When the people writing the show, having one actor (or more) who wear a fang proshthetic, go out of their way to try to write dialogue avoiding the letter "S". An attempt of that nature will very likely end with the character having a rather odd vocabulary and pattern of word choishe. And the shibelentsh that ''do'' get through are glaring.
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14	Can be avoided by the actors just redubbing the offending voices over later (without the problematic prosthetics), but episodic tv shows don't always have the time or the budget for that.
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16	The same thing happens to a slightly lesser degree to people who wear upper dentures, and orthodontic retainers. Again, it's the mouthpiece interfering with the position of the tongue.
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18	Other consistent mispronunciations include ventriloquists substituting ''g'' [=or=] ''v'' [=for=] ''b'', [=and=] ''f'' [=for=] ''p'' -- it's nearly impossible to pronounce a ''b'' [=or=] ''p'' sound without noticeable movement of the lips.
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20	Related to VampireVords and SssssnakeTalk. Compare to FunetikAksent.
21
22	----
23	!!Exampleth:
24
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
28	* In the AnimatedAdaptation of ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'', the monstrous features of Clare's [[OneWingedAngel partially-Awakened form]] include enlarged teeth which force her to speak like this.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Comic Bookth]]
32	* Mr. Scarface in ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comics had this problem, pronouncing all 'B's as 'G's. This was because he was actually a ventriloquist dummy who was the split personality of Arnold Wesker (appropriately titled the Ventriloquist), and Batman has used it to figure out his identity a few times when Scarface was trying to pretend he was somebody not made of wood. (In another story where Wesker took on a different masked identity, Robin figured out who he was when he realized this villain was ''avoiding'' words with B's.) This speech impediment was not carried over to Scarface's appearances in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' or ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', since it was deemed too awkward.
33	* Many kids in the ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' comics speak like this, including kid-ified versions of most of the main cast during the Flashback story ''How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion''.
34	* Krurgor in ''ComicBook/{{Ythaq}}'' belongs to a race that can basically be described as bipedal walrusses, including speech-hindering fangs.
35	* Another fang-induced lisp is that of the Cafou, a giant, [[TalkingAnimal talking]] saber-toothed cat in ''ComicBook/LesLumieresDeLAmalou''.
36	* In ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'', the villain King Tyrant Lizard (a human turned intelligent dinosaur) and the hero Homunculoid talk like this; the former has a tyrannosaur's jaws and teeth, the latter has oversized lips and tongue.
37	* The [[Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast Beast]] in ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'', whenever his curse is only partially in effect -- he's got fangs but not a big enough mouth to fit them in, so they get in the way.
38	* Mooch the cat in ''ComicStrip/{{Mutts}}''. He has a speech impediment that causes him to insert an sh into words when he "shpeaks", such as yesh (yes), shmilk (milk), and shmousie (mousie).
39	* In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin mentions that saber-toothed tigers probably talked like this and says they went most definitely extinct because they couldn't understand what they were saying. Hobbes is not amused with him disrespecting his ancestors like this.
40	* In ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'', this is how the snake Sivana speaks, very much averting SssssnakeTalk.
41	* In one of the ''ComicBook/CinemaPurgatorio'' stories, "Code Pru", Prudence meets a vampire who talks like that.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Fan Workth]]
45	* ''Fanfic/ChrysalisVisitsTheHague'' has a ''bad'' grammatical case of this; It's largely justified when ponies are holding platters and swords in their mouths, but that doesn't explain why any character's speech is reduced to comical "shlurs" when they have as much as a single cigarette between their lips. Edith's subtler slurring is justified at least, since [[spoiler:a falling rock almost ends up breaking her jaw]].
46	* Kate and Sophie have a variant of this due to their boxing mouth guards in ''Fanfic/WellMatched''.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Filmth — Live-Action]]
50	* ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001'' fell into this with a lot of the ape actors. Creator/TimRoth had it particularly bad, and his character's name was Thade. That's rough.
51	* In the Cast Commentary for ''Film/VanHelsing'', Creator/RichardRoxburgh mentions that the fake fangs he wore would interfere with many of his lines, creating a goofy lisp even in the most dramatic scenes, and how they sometimes had to ADR many of his lines.
52	-->'''Dracula:''' [''After being stabbed, to no effect, by a silver stake''] Ith thith your thilver thtake?
53	* ''Film/WNUFHalloweenSpecial'' has a scene where a costumed audience outside of a haunted house is being asked about the house's history. A tall, scared-looking man in a vampire costume, complete with cheap plastic fangs, says, "Shomebody died in thish houshe?"
54	* ''Film/WarCraft'' has Garona, even if they're only in her lower jaw. Webvideo/HonestTrailers even highlight that among all the teeth regarding Orcs, there's "the prosthetic teeth this actress can barely speak through."
55	[[/folder]]
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57	[[folder:Literature]]
58	* ''Literature/TheParasolProtectorate'': Vampires consider "fang-lisping" to be the height of vulgarity, and are swift to train new larvae out of it as before letting them out in public. At the beginning of the series, the fact that the mysterious vampire that attacks Alexia was lisping is one of the signs that there was something abnormal about him.
59	* {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d in ''Literature/RedDragon'', particularly the book. Dolarhyde has a corrected harelip and cleft palate and avoids sibilant words, for example, always using "Mmm-hmm" instead of "Yes."
60	* Betsy Taylor in Mary Janice Davidson's ''[[Literature/BetsyTheVampireQueen Undead and Unwed]]'' thpeakth like thith.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
64	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}''. In the DVD commentary for the first season of ''Buffy'', Creator/JossWhedon explains that the prosthetic fangs the actors wear make particular sounds [[SpeechImpediment difficult to pronounce properly]]. The makeup artists and the actors learned a few tricks to get around this; custom prosthetics for major characters eased this problem. Whedon even invoked this trope in the first season ''Buffy'' DVD commentary by apologizing to one of his guest-stars for making him use the phrase "excruciating loser" in full vamp-face. Juliette Landau wore her fangs for an extended period before taking up the role of Drusilla specifically to learn how to speak properly with them. Unfortunately, guest vamps lacked the time for this and some had more trouble than others.
65	* Many of the Klingons and Ferengi on ''Franchise/StarTrek'''s various series, particularly since they typically had entire mouths full of awkward prosthetic teeth. Particularly noticeable when recurring actors had to wear the makeup -- such as in the ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E01ApocalypseRising Apocalypse Rising]]", in which Odo, Sisko, and O'Brien go undercover as Klingons. O'Brien even points it out. And Michael Dorn (who played Worf, a Klingon, for at least 13 years) found their plight rather amusing.
66	* Vir Cotto from ''Series/BabylonFive'' originally sported large canine teeth like all other Centauri, but they quickly disappeared because it made the actor talk like this.
67	* In ''Chinese Paladin 3'', the temporarily-vampirized hero has a ''huge'' problem with this. Not only does he struggle obviously and markedly with pronunciation, he often sprays innocent bystanders with spit in the process.
68	* Not so much in ''Series/TrueBlood'' (although it does happen) but in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEqk3MwnX_4 parody video]] of the show.
69	* The werewolves and other fanged supernatural beings in ''Series/TeenWolf''. Most noticeable with Peter and Decualion, since their fangs are larger than normal.
70	* The Cat on ''Series/RedDwarf'' suffers a little bit of this from time to time.
71	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Spoofed in "[[Recap/SupernaturalS08E11LARPAndTheRealGirl LARP and the Real Girl]]" when a [=LARPer=] dressed as an orc has his false fangs fall out in the middle of a slurred BadassBoast. As he's held in the stocks, someone else has to put them back in for him.
72	* Juliet Van Heusen from ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' has a slight lisp once her fangs grow.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Puppet Showth]]
76	* ''Film/TheMuppetMovie'': "It's a myth! A MYTH!"
77	[[/folder]]
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79	[[folder:Theatre]]
80	* ''Theatre/TanzDerVampire'': Averted. Vampire actors are fitted with prosthetic fangs, but receive training to speak and sing clearly.
81	[[/folder]]
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83	[[folder:Video Gameth]]
84	* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' has a few examples that make you wonder whether the VA was wearing prosthetics, among the youngest of the vampires.
85	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': The Minidemons always talk this way in the DS version.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Webcomicth]]
89	* Vampire Camille in ''Webcomic/BloodyUrban''. When she was applying for Australian citizenship she only passed the dictation test[[note]]something Australia used to restrict non-white immigration pre-1958[[/note]] by mind-controlling the proctor.
90	** Camille, Shannon's fragile little sister, has crooked, front-facing fangs which result in a speech impediment.
91	* All of the Trolls in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' have fangs, but Sollux is the only one that has been stated to have a lisp. This is because Sollux is also the only one with ''doubled'' incisors (and it is only the incisors, and their counterparts in the lower jaw, that are doubled). [[spoiler: Which is why it vanishes when Karkat accidentally knocks those extra fangs out.]]
92	-->[[spoiler: TA: lips, lips, lipsssss. w0w, it feels s0 great t0 say that w0rd!]]
93	* Similar to the example from Homestuck, members of Species X from ''Webcomic/DNATheWebcomic'' have mouths full of sharp teeth but only one of them, named Orion, talks like this, and he gets picked on for it. His teeth stick out noticeably more than the rest of the Xs'.
94	* JustForFun/TropeTan, in ''Webcomic/TheWayOfTheMetagamer'', lisps occasionally due to her CuteLittleFang.
95	* Iacar from ''Webcomic/{{Wurr}}'' haf a diftinctive lifp.
96	* The Jagermonsters in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' show enormous fangs when they speak or smile, some even have tusks, but for reasons somewhere between plot development and RuleOfFunny, they speak with FunetikAksent -- cod-German or East European, in their case. The harshness of the accent ''could'' be put down to the fangs, but the handful of Jagers without these dental excesses talk the same way, so it seems to be cultural.
97	* ''Wapthi Thquare'', uh, ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'': Monica [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/thankth-to-you/ ekthperientheth]] a temporary(?) bout of this as a result of [[spoiler:her Jaguar Girl identity coming to the fore in the Bibliothiki]].
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Webth Video]]
101	* Nixie the Tiefling of ''WebVideo/OneForAll'' has fangs and speaks with a lisp, which complements her [[PsychopathicManchild psychopathic womanchild]] personality.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Wethtern Animation]]
105	* Shelly Marsh, from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', speaks like this because of her braces and retainer.
106	* Penny from ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone''.
107	* Lisa Loud from ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse''.
108	* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': Beth has these in season one because of her braces. She loses it in season two and onwards due to them being removed.
109	* WesternAnimation/{{Phineas\|AndFerb}} gets this when he dresses as a vampire for Halloween.
110	* The protagonist of ''Animation/LastYearsSnowWasFalling'' speaks that way (LostInTranslation, unfortunately). No explanation is given, but the condition is permanent. Possibly a parody on the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, who suffered from throat cancer.
111	* ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'' mixes this with VampireVords, where an actor who plays a vampire claims that the fake fangs he wears makes him speak in an accent when asked why he doesn't have an accent off-screen.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Real Lithe]]
115	* Any vampire LARPG player who's just gotten a new set of fake fangs tends to lisp slightly until they get used to the elongated canines.
116	[[/folder]]

Context Main / FangThpeak