Lisp (speech)

A lisp is a speech impediment[?]. People with a lisp pronounce the letter 's' as 'th'. It is somewhat ironic that this handicap is called a "lisp."

In Castillian Spanish, the lisp has been institutionalized as a common part of the language. For example, the word zapatos (shoes) might be pronounced as thapatoth. Similarly, Barcelona is pronounced Barthelona. In each case, the lisp is generally faint and does not interfere either with speech or with the understanding of what is said. According to legend, the lisp became common in Castillian because one of the Spanish kings (generally identified as Felipe V or Carlos V[?]) spoke with a lisp, and his courtiers did not want to embarrass him by speaking otherwise.