unsortable wrote:
I do not speak in a monotone, and I do not remember if I ever did. No one told me I did, anyway. They complained about my mumbling a lot, however, and I guess mumbling often sounds monotonous. The thing is, I have very sensitive hearing, so I can hear myself just fine - but no one else can, apparently. So I have learned to talk louder and clearer because I got tired of people telling me to 'speak up' all the time (taking acting classes helped with that). The downside of this is that on my more sensitive days I sound to myself like I'm half shouting and my ears quickly get overloaded by my own voice, but at least I can make myself understood. So yes, it is definitely possible to learn to speak like a 'normal' person.
Incidentally, I recently watched this video on youtube, where this subject came up (among other things).
This is a very interesting note you've made that I had never considered. I have been told that I speak in a monotone and noticed it when hearing a recording of my voice or seeing a video of myself. When I hear my own voice when speaking though, it has plenty of inflection and intonation. I also think I may have very sensitive hearing and it could explain my monotone speech as a dimmed down version of normal speech which would sound comical or artificial to highly sensitive ears. I'm glad you pointed that out.
A few times, I've purposely spoken in a ridiculous exaggerated way to "prove" I can speak "normally" and to me it sounds like a William Shatner poetry reading but then I'm told that I finally sound normal.