Reapeating syllables (speech issue)

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Does anyone has or had this particular speech oddity? And know whether there's a name and reason for it?

I have an issue with words in which there are several similar sounding consonants and same vocals.

Take the word locomotive for example. I remember vividly that every time I had to say it as a kid, I'd say something like 'locomotomotogo...' I'd repeat the syllable 'o' with changing consonants before it. I didn't learn to say it correctly back then, even though I was corrected often and could sometimes repeat it correctly.

I wonder whether this speech issue has a name and if anybody else knows it?

The term is quite appropriate. Palilalia.
I'm wondering something; why isn't there a dictionary which one can look up the definition to find the word for it and not the reverse as traditional? Ah well, there's the term for ya!

But palilalia would be like echolalia, just that you're repeating your own words.

That's not what I do.

I repeat the syllables because I can't say the word correctly.

Would this apply to a problem I have in saying the word "phenomenon"?

I just don't know when to stop unless I say it very slowly. Usually I end up saying something like "phenomenenenen".

Sounds like it's the same, yeah.

Actually, repeating SYLLABLES is called STUTTERING! It IS common. I sometimes do that myself. It IS more common with males, but can happen with females also. It is usually do to some disconnect between speaking and hearing or thought.

I only do it when I really do not know how to pronounce a word. I will repeat word in my head till I can get on a different thought.

stevo the human...
i own a Reverse Dictionary and it is fantastic and a lot of fun

Stuttering, also known as stammering in the United Kingdom, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds. 'Verbal non-fluency' is the accepted umbrella term for such speech impediments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttering

I used to have a stutter, but that took care of itself.

I heard that it's a part of stuttering before, but I don't have that disorder, I think. I have known a lot people who stuttered and these people stuttered no matter what word they intended to say.

Stuttering is an action. Its cause or occurance can be different. With ME, it happens if I am distracted too much, get too nervous, etc... and, even then, doesn't happen ALWAYS or even with the same words. Perhaps everyone that knows me would tell you I DON'T stutter. It is rare and I try to avoid cases where it may happen.

It doesn't sound like stuttering to me. For one thing, stutterers nearly always repeat the first syllable of the word (like lo-lo-lo-lo-comotive), and they don't make errors in the syllable itself, it is just repeated. It's not that they can't end a word, it's that they can't start it. Sometimes they might also prolong the first sound of a word (llllllocomotive), or not be able to get going at all (all their articulators might be squeezed together but they can't make a sound). Most people have disfluencies at times (repeating a word, syllable, etc.), but to be a stutterer, a certain proportion of your speech must be disfluent (like say, 5%), and stutterers also develop a lot of negative feelings about their stutter, often avoid words they know they will stutter on, and develop secondary behaviors, such as head jerks, eye blinks, jaw jerks, etc., in an attempt to get out of a disfluency.

Here is a classic example of a stutterer (stammerer for the British) talking about his stuttering. Note how his disfluencies very tense, and also the presence of secondary behaviors such as the eye closing and head jerking:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-epHaW8nTJQ

I've never heard of what you are describing exactly, Sora, but what it sounds most like to me is apraxia of speech, which is characterized by "groping movements" by the articulators (lips, tongue, etc.), which can lead to the type of repeating syllables you describe as the person struggles to produce a sound correctly. People with apraxia of speech have difficulty making their articulators go where they want to go, so that they have difficulty forming sounds. Unlike someone with a phonological disorder (for example, someone with a lisp), people with apraxia make irregular speech errors (i.e., there isn't just a single sound or group of sounds they struggle with). They also experience difficulty with vowels as well as consonants, and their speech can be quite unintelligible. Unless you've always had serious difficulty producing clear speech though, I doubt it is apraxia. The mechanism might be similar though- i.e. related to speech coordination.

Here is a video of a kid with apraxia of speech saying the word "brush"- you can see her groping to produce the sounds correctly (not everyone with apraxia is this severe):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwbv2X1f ... re=related

Do you have this difficulty with just the occasional word, or is it a frequent feature of your speech? If it's a real problem, you might want to consult a speech pathologist. If not, then I would assume it's a little glitch in your speech coordination that pops up from time to time. I have some words I struggle saying as well, especially if an "r" and an "l" are right next to each other, like in "world" (ironically, given my background in linguistics and speech pathology, "linguist" and "pathologist" are two words I have trouble with). Everyone's speech glitches from time to time- spoonerisms for example. But unless it's frequent (or causes you distress), it's not something you need to worry about or seek treatment for.