Slow Talkers? Arkansas Is In The Top 10

This little gem amused me today, so I just had to share. Arkansas and Texas are both in the Top 10 of slow-talking states. Or you could say that we're in the bottom 10 of the fast-talking states. Whatever, either way you look at it, I don't think, they think, it's a good thing. Personally, I think it's great.

In my humble opinion, there is nothing more irritating that trying to hold a conversation with someone who talks so fast you have to ask them to repeat themselves over and over. Apparently, I hear about as fast as I talk, and guess what? I'm a slow reader too. But it's worked pretty well for me being a radio guy for 37 years, people seem to be able to understand what I'm saying and thankfully they keep coming back for more. So, there's that.

The rates of speech are based on timing the spoken words to get an average "syllables per second," yes, that's a thing. How else would you measure it?

Duh! - Canva

Let's Start with the Fastest Five

Here they are, along with each state's SPS (syllables per second):

Minnesota - 5.34
Oregon - 5.33
Iowa - 5.30
Kansas - 5.30
North Dakota - 5.29

Honestly, I was as shocked as you probably are right now. I figured New York, New England, Illinois, Pennsylvania, those kinds of places. Someone slap me with a buzzer, who knew?

7th Slowest Talking State - Arkansas

Arkansas Flag Slow Talkers - Canva

Arkansas comes in at a blisteringly slow 4.93 SPS.
Since I live here in Texarkana, I'm lucky enough to claim both states as my home. Turns out there's not much difference between them.

9th Slowest Talking State - Texas

Texas Flag Slow Talkers - Canva

My actual home state of Texas is a wee bit faster at 4.95 SPS.

While perception may be some people's reality, that doesn't always make it so. The perception in this case, is that if you talk slowly, you're not very bright. I've known many people who talk fast that are dumb as a box of rocks. Washington DC is loaded with them. I also know many who talk slowly that are the most intelligent people I've ever met.

Politicians at work - Canva

As you check out the tables below you should notice that the difference between #10 slowest and the #1 slowest is only 18-tenths of a second. The difference between the slowest-talking state, Louisiana, and the fastest-talking state, Minnesota, is only slightly more than half a second.

For more information on this research and the methodology, go to Preply.com.

Hey, it's a free county, talk as fast or as slow as you like, at least we can't get a ticket for that. I don't think.

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