Wednesday, February 18, 2009

It's pretty much a lock, right?

Slate has an interesting article on whether Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory" suffers from Asperger's Syndrome or not. And I'm not an expert, but it's pretty much a lock, right?

This fits right into my "Anakin Skywalker had Asperger's" theory, which I still maintain explains loads about the later Star Wars trilogy.

posted by Ben Wyman @ 10:42 AM

5 Comments:

At February 18, 2009 4:27 PM, Blogger Claire said...

It's "Asperger's," with a p, despite how people typically pronounce it.

Speaking of which, have I told you about my book of beastly mispronunciations which I still haven't returned to the library? I found solid proof in it that Texans (by which I mean people like Christina) actually are mispronouncing Houston and poinsettia!

 
At February 18, 2009 5:55 PM, Blogger Ben Wyman said...

Fixed.

Well, now I'm confused on how to pronounce "poinsettia." How do you pronounce it?

 
At February 18, 2009 11:19 PM, Blogger Claire said...

poyn-SET-ee-uh. The common mispronunciation down here is poyn-SET-uh. As the book says, "Setta is common, but wrong. Who says 'gar-dee'na' or 'mag-no'la'?"

 
At February 19, 2009 9:10 AM, Blogger Erin said...

I would say maybe a mild case, based on my experiences with students. Many people with Asperger's have difficulty understanding sarcasm and facial expressions/non-verbal communication. Sheldon has many social issues, but he does seem to get a good bit of this. Your dad would be able to comment more accurately. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time's main character is an example of a more severe case of Asperger's. It's a simplistic book, but gives pretty good insight into the mind of someone with Asperger's.

 
At February 19, 2009 9:06 PM, Blogger Assistant Village Idiot said...

Calling something a "correct" pronunciation is dicey. I grew up with pedants about such things, and taught my sons to use pronunciations that brand them as more classically educated, but have decided that usage and pronunciation are social, not grammatical concepts.

However, pretend you don't know that until you finish the last of your formal coursework.

How can one pronounce Houston other than HYUSE-t'n? You could put a schwa in there, but it doesn't change it. And I might affect making "poin" closer to two syllables "po-in" just to grind it in to people a little and make them insecure.

I am just finishing Born On A Blue Day by autistic savant Daniel Tammet. He also has synesthesia, and I will be writing about that at some length soon. There is enormous variety in Autism Spectrum Disorders, but Erin's thumbnail is a good one.

I will ponder why people voice the "p" in Asperger, making it a "b." Phonology is my weak point in linguistics.

 

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