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spirit speech

Genre
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A poem presented as utterance from a spirit, ghost, or non-human voice

Detailed Definition
Spirit speech is a poetic technique in which the speaker channels a non-human voice—such as an ancestor, animal, element, or collective spirit—using first-person perspective to blur boundaries between self and other. Grounded in shamanic, indigenous, or ecological traditions, it requires cultural sensitivity and specific knowledge to avoid appropriation, transforming the poem into a vessel for voices beyond the individual ego.
Example
Example in poetry:
“I am the wind that bends the wheat” (spirit claiming natural force); “Hear me, child—I am your grandmother’s voice in the walls”; “We are the bones beneath your city”; “I speak through the crack in the mirror”; “The river is my tongue; the storm, my breath”
Additional Notes
Spirit speech channels non-human voices—ancestors, elements, animals—using first-person to blur boundaries. Ground it in specific cultural or ecological knowledge to avoid vagueness.
Also Known As
Sacred babble Speaking in tongues
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