My name is Kym and I am 36 years old. I have “suffered” from the condition of lexical gustatory synaesthesia all of my life. I never even knew that it had a name until last year when I decided to research a little bit. When I was a child I would say words in my mind over and over again just to taste them. These words would actually make my mouth salivate. Just like foods, there are good and bad tasting words. These words do not taste like any food that I have ever had. Each word has a taste unique and of its own. I do not know how I would ever be able to describe the taste of any word because the majority of them do not taste like any food at all. Not even close. I would love to share this “gift” with others, but I am trying to figure out a way to do that and I have had no success so far. If anyone has any suggestions on that, I would be willing to consider it. Being able to taste words had enhanced my life so much that I could not imagine being without it. Some pleasant tasting words are boat, April, cut and computer. Some digusting tasting words are penny, button and flat. I also taste colors and textures as well. They just kind of pop in there in between words. I would like to come back to this site again and hear from other people with this condition as well as ones that don’t. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.
Kym, are you subscribed to the synesthesia list? If not, allow me to suggest that you contact Sean Day at “Sean.Day@tridenttech.edu” and ask to subscribe.
I had done a little “test” with someone on that list to see if there were any phonological basis for her gustatory synesthesia. While I could find some similarities for a few words (say, two-syllable words with both sibilants and nasals), when tested further with the same, the results were negative: no synesthetic experience.
Based on comments by others on that list, I cannot see any phonological patterns among the triggers. If a pattern starts to form, it is readily refuted.
There is apparently a phoneme-triggered synesthesia. I haven’t seen that topic posted since I’ve been on the list. I don’t know if synesthesia researchers have uncovered a pattern there or not.
By the way, Kym, if you could do a componential analysis on your synesthetic tastes, it might open the door to better communicate your experiences with non-synesthetes and non-gustatory synesthetes.
I would like to thank you, Kathy for your comment. It was very informative. I have to say that even though there may be some similarities among people with gustatory synaesthesia, I’m sure that we have developed our “condition” to our individual “tastes”(not trying to make a pun) since we were in our childhoods. If you would like, I could give you details about my very first memories of my synaesthesia and how I’ve dealt with it through the years, but only if you are interested. I will, by the way, visit the E mail adress that you have suggested to me. Once again, thank you so much, Kathy. I hope to hear from you again.
I have a sort of reverse version of this but I can’t find any information on it.
Whenever I taste certain foods, a random word pops into my head. It’s always the same word for each different food: Cheddar cheese = “life”, green apples = “else”, raw carrot = “talk”, cooked, tinned carrot = “usual” (strange, that!) etc. There are lots more!
I think it’s only foods I ate when I was a child, which fits with what I’ve heard other synaesthetes say about the condition.
It can be really frustrating when I taste a food and I feel a word forming in my head, but it’s not a real word, just a jumble of sounds, and I can’t quite identify it or remember it to say it again - I suppose it might be similar to the way in which some words don’t taste like any food you’ve had, Kym, although I wouldn’t know.
Hi, Emily! Wow! It sounds to me like what you may have is definitely another form of synaesthesia. Since I have written my last comment I have learned so much more about. Believe it or not, our condition really is quite common. I still remember my first synaesthetic experience. I was tw years old and we lived at the house on East 28th St. FI was scared whenever I heard the sound of trains, and we heard them a lot because we lived right next to the tracks. One particular day, I heard the train strart to come, and I sat down on the floor. I bent my knees and grabbed my legs for something to hold on t because I was scared. It was then that I noticed a pungent smell coming from my knees that I have never noticed before. Then I suddenly realised that it wasn’t my knees that I smelled, but the word knee, so I said the word knee over and over inside of my head. The more I would say it, the stronger the taste was inside of my mouth. Soon i forgot about the train and enjoyed this new way to taste. It wasn’t long befor I discovered that other words had a taste to them, too. Well, long story shrort, I am 37 years old now and I haven’t stopped tasting words since. So, how about you, Emily? What was your first experience? Do you enjoy being able to do this or is it a distraction? Hope to hear from you soon.
Its so good to find out im not the only one. I had the exact same thing when
i was younger i used to say the word because over and over again because it
tastes of marsbar… I still have it now and like you it will never go away
When people are talking i am tasting the whole time. Other words i love include
des newyork because thats cheesecake and bus cus that tastes of treo biscuits
Hey, Hannah! It is nice to know that you’re not alone, isn’t it? To think that just a few short years ago I didn’t even know that there was even a name for it or that anyone else in the world had it but me. What’s really so facinating about synaeshesia is that there are so may different forms of it. There are people that see all letters as certain colors, which must really look pretty. There are people that “see” music with swirly colors and/or shapes and sooooo many more forms. None of us can prove to a nonsynaesthete that we can do these things, but there it is. Synaesthesia makes living in this world so interesting. Being able to taste words has enhanced every expeience in my life. I am a cook. I love to cook. Not only can I taste and smell my food, but I can also “taste” the bowl that it was mixed in, the wire whip that I i used to mix the ingredients in and I could go on, and on, and on. Cooking is not just an ordinary experience to me when i indulge in my gustatory senses. That would be my only advice to anyone that is lucky enough to have inherited this cross wiring in the brain that causes this. Just too indulge in the experience and enjoy it. You keep “tasting” New York, Hannah. And I love the idea of cheddar cheese popping up the word life. As a cook, I can appreciate that. Goodbye for now, word tasters and Bon Appetite!
Kym DiDonato
Comment by Kym DiDonato — April 14, 2008 @ 5:04 pm
Okay, so I’ve had some time to think since I’ve made my last comment on how wonderful my synaesthesia has been to me, and yes, It has been a positive experience for the most part. When i read my own comment I thought to myself, “Damn, Kym, you act like lexical gustatory synaesthesia is like a trip to happy land or something!” That’s when I reflected on my younger years and realized that there was a time when that wasn’t so. Being a synaesthete hasn’t always been easy. Especially during the school years. Actually, my synaesthesia was more of a distraction. For instance, in the first grade I could not for the life of me concentrate on what Miss Landers was telling us about math because all I could think of is how great that piece of bright pink chalk tasted. Not the chalk itself, of course. But the texture, color, and the word chalk tasted so good to me that it made me salivate. The kids would make fun of me because I would “space out” and the teacher would practically have to scream bloody murder to bring me back into this dimension. Even worse, the texture of my skin and the word hand was so tempting to me that I actually developed a habit of (and I’m so embarrassed to say this) licking my hands. And I don’t mean just some of the time, but constantly. I couldn’t help myself no matter who was around. My hands were so chapped from my licking them constantly. To this day, I put my hand up to my mouth so hard to taste it, that it looks like I’m smacking myself in the mouth!(insert laughter here). I have four teenagers, and don’t think that they cut me some slack about doing that, either. When I explain to them about my synaesthesia and that is why I do this, they laugh even harder. I just tell them, “Go ahead and laugh now, but when one of your kids or grandkids possibly inherit this from me, are you going to laugh at them, too?” In unison they tell me, “Yes!” So, if you believe in God as I do, I guess you would say that he does have a sense of humor and synaesthesia is kind of a inside joke on me that only we get. What was a distraction in my school years has become a balanced, healthy and controlled sensation today. I don’t space out when my boss tells me how to do something (although I would like to) and now you know the downside to my syn.
Kym D.
Comment by Kym DiDonato — April 17, 2008 @ 8:07 pm
I can taste people’s names! For example Matthew reminds me of grilled cheese…Erin is a raisin…pretty wild!
MAAAAAAAAAN that is soooooooo cooooooool~!! OMG Im a non-synthethes (typo? lol)
and I would LOVE TO TASTE STUFF!! Like peoples names or faces or even words. I’m a complete dreamer so when I found out about synaesthesia after reading a novel called “a mango shaped space” I researched it…AND it was just completely out of this world. It’s like synaesthesia is our one link to fantasy and everything that WICKEDLY opposes the reality we’ve all come to live in. What is classified as “Normal”. Except of course for you guys who are ACTUALLY LIVING IT!! Synthethes I mean. I know theres the whole negative side of it too but from what i’ve come to learn about synaesthesia it is not a DISEASE…it’s a blessing..I WOULD LOVE to have a friend or a relative who has synaesthesia of any form. The coolest thing since sliced cheese..lol kidding. And to think theres soooo many out there!! Its utterly utterly amazing. Synthethes ROCK!!!
My name is Kym and I am 36 years old. I have “suffered” from the condition of lexical gustatory synaesthesia all of my life. I never even knew that it had a name until last year when I decided to research a little bit. When I was a child I would say words in my mind over and over again just to taste them. These words would actually make my mouth salivate. Just like foods, there are good and bad tasting words. These words do not taste like any food that I have ever had. Each word has a taste unique and of its own. I do not know how I would ever be able to describe the taste of any word because the majority of them do not taste like any food at all. Not even close. I would love to share this “gift” with others, but I am trying to figure out a way to do that and I have had no success so far. If anyone has any suggestions on that, I would be willing to consider it. Being able to taste words had enhanced my life so much that I could not imagine being without it. Some pleasant tasting words are boat, April, cut and computer. Some digusting tasting words are penny, button and flat. I also taste colors and textures as well. They just kind of pop in there in between words. I would like to come back to this site again and hear from other people with this condition as well as ones that don’t. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.
Comment by Kym DiDonato — May 10, 2007 @ 10:31 pmKym, are you subscribed to the synesthesia list? If not, allow me to suggest that you contact Sean Day at “Sean.Day@tridenttech.edu” and ask to subscribe.
I had done a little “test” with someone on that list to see if there were any phonological basis for her gustatory synesthesia. While I could find some similarities for a few words (say, two-syllable words with both sibilants and nasals), when tested further with the same, the results were negative: no synesthetic experience.
Based on comments by others on that list, I cannot see any phonological patterns among the triggers. If a pattern starts to form, it is readily refuted.
There is apparently a phoneme-triggered synesthesia. I haven’t seen that topic posted since I’ve been on the list. I don’t know if synesthesia researchers have uncovered a pattern there or not.
By the way, Kym, if you could do a componential analysis on your synesthetic tastes, it might open the door to better communicate your experiences with non-synesthetes and non-gustatory synesthetes.
Comment by Kathy Hansen — May 22, 2007 @ 6:39 pmI would like to thank you, Kathy for your comment. It was very informative. I have to say that even though there may be some similarities among people with gustatory synaesthesia, I’m sure that we have developed our “condition” to our individual “tastes”(not trying to make a pun) since we were in our childhoods. If you would like, I could give you details about my very first memories of my synaesthesia and how I’ve dealt with it through the years, but only if you are interested. I will, by the way, visit the E mail adress that you have suggested to me. Once again, thank you so much, Kathy. I hope to hear from you again.
Sincerely, Kym
Comment by Kym DiDonato — June 6, 2007 @ 1:41 pmI have a sort of reverse version of this but I can’t find any information on it.
Comment by Emily — February 25, 2008 @ 11:55 amWhenever I taste certain foods, a random word pops into my head. It’s always the same word for each different food: Cheddar cheese = “life”, green apples = “else”, raw carrot = “talk”, cooked, tinned carrot = “usual” (strange, that!) etc. There are lots more!
I think it’s only foods I ate when I was a child, which fits with what I’ve heard other synaesthetes say about the condition.
It can be really frustrating when I taste a food and I feel a word forming in my head, but it’s not a real word, just a jumble of sounds, and I can’t quite identify it or remember it to say it again - I suppose it might be similar to the way in which some words don’t taste like any food you’ve had, Kym, although I wouldn’t know.
Hi, Emily! Wow! It sounds to me like what you may have is definitely another form of synaesthesia. Since I have written my last comment I have learned so much more about. Believe it or not, our condition really is quite common. I still remember my first synaesthetic experience. I was tw years old and we lived at the house on East 28th St. FI was scared whenever I heard the sound of trains, and we heard them a lot because we lived right next to the tracks. One particular day, I heard the train strart to come, and I sat down on the floor. I bent my knees and grabbed my legs for something to hold on t because I was scared. It was then that I noticed a pungent smell coming from my knees that I have never noticed before. Then I suddenly realised that it wasn’t my knees that I smelled, but the word knee, so I said the word knee over and over inside of my head. The more I would say it, the stronger the taste was inside of my mouth. Soon i forgot about the train and enjoyed this new way to taste. It wasn’t long befor I discovered that other words had a taste to them, too. Well, long story shrort, I am 37 years old now and I haven’t stopped tasting words since. So, how about you, Emily? What was your first experience? Do you enjoy being able to do this or is it a distraction? Hope to hear from you soon.
Kym D.
Comment by Kym DiDonato — April 8, 2008 @ 7:40 pmPlease forgive my misspellings on my last comment. I was in a hurry.
Kym
Comment by Kym DiDonato — April 8, 2008 @ 8:02 pmHey
Its so good to find out im not the only one. I had the exact same thing when
i was younger i used to say the word because over and over again because it
tastes of marsbar… I still have it now and like you it will never go away
When people are talking i am tasting the whole time. Other words i love include
des newyork because thats cheesecake and bus cus that tastes of treo biscuits
Happy tasting
Hannah
Comment by hannah — April 13, 2008 @ 2:27 pmHey, Hannah! It is nice to know that you’re not alone, isn’t it? To think that just a few short years ago I didn’t even know that there was even a name for it or that anyone else in the world had it but me. What’s really so facinating about synaeshesia is that there are so may different forms of it. There are people that see all letters as certain colors, which must really look pretty. There are people that “see” music with swirly colors and/or shapes and sooooo many more forms. None of us can prove to a nonsynaesthete that we can do these things, but there it is. Synaesthesia makes living in this world so interesting. Being able to taste words has enhanced every expeience in my life. I am a cook. I love to cook. Not only can I taste and smell my food, but I can also “taste” the bowl that it was mixed in, the wire whip that I i used to mix the ingredients in and I could go on, and on, and on. Cooking is not just an ordinary experience to me when i indulge in my gustatory senses. That would be my only advice to anyone that is lucky enough to have inherited this cross wiring in the brain that causes this. Just too indulge in the experience and enjoy it. You keep “tasting” New York, Hannah. And I love the idea of cheddar cheese popping up the word life. As a cook, I can appreciate that. Goodbye for now, word tasters and Bon Appetite!
Kym DiDonato
Comment by Kym DiDonato — April 14, 2008 @ 5:04 pmOkay, so I’ve had some time to think since I’ve made my last comment on how wonderful my synaesthesia has been to me, and yes, It has been a positive experience for the most part. When i read my own comment I thought to myself, “Damn, Kym, you act like lexical gustatory synaesthesia is like a trip to happy land or something!” That’s when I reflected on my younger years and realized that there was a time when that wasn’t so. Being a synaesthete hasn’t always been easy. Especially during the school years. Actually, my synaesthesia was more of a distraction. For instance, in the first grade I could not for the life of me concentrate on what Miss Landers was telling us about math because all I could think of is how great that piece of bright pink chalk tasted. Not the chalk itself, of course. But the texture, color, and the word chalk tasted so good to me that it made me salivate. The kids would make fun of me because I would “space out” and the teacher would practically have to scream bloody murder to bring me back into this dimension. Even worse, the texture of my skin and the word hand was so tempting to me that I actually developed a habit of (and I’m so embarrassed to say this) licking my hands. And I don’t mean just some of the time, but constantly. I couldn’t help myself no matter who was around. My hands were so chapped from my licking them constantly. To this day, I put my hand up to my mouth so hard to taste it, that it looks like I’m smacking myself in the mouth!(insert laughter here). I have four teenagers, and don’t think that they cut me some slack about doing that, either. When I explain to them about my synaesthesia and that is why I do this, they laugh even harder. I just tell them, “Go ahead and laugh now, but when one of your kids or grandkids possibly inherit this from me, are you going to laugh at them, too?” In unison they tell me, “Yes!” So, if you believe in God as I do, I guess you would say that he does have a sense of humor and synaesthesia is kind of a inside joke on me that only we get. What was a distraction in my school years has become a balanced, healthy and controlled sensation today. I don’t space out when my boss tells me how to do something (although I would like to) and now you know the downside to my syn.
Kym D.
Comment by Kym DiDonato — April 17, 2008 @ 8:07 pmI can taste people’s names! For example Matthew reminds me of grilled cheese…Erin is a raisin…pretty wild!
Comment by Audrey — May 12, 2008 @ 3:19 pmMAAAAAAAAAN that is soooooooo cooooooool~!! OMG Im a non-synthethes (typo? lol)
Comment by Lubi — July 12, 2008 @ 4:57 pmand I would LOVE TO TASTE STUFF!! Like peoples names or faces or even words. I’m a complete dreamer so when I found out about synaesthesia after reading a novel called “a mango shaped space” I researched it…AND it was just completely out of this world. It’s like synaesthesia is our one link to fantasy and everything that WICKEDLY opposes the reality we’ve all come to live in. What is classified as “Normal”. Except of course for you guys who are ACTUALLY LIVING IT!! Synthethes I mean. I know theres the whole negative side of it too but from what i’ve come to learn about synaesthesia it is not a DISEASE…it’s a blessing..I WOULD LOVE to have a friend or a relative who has synaesthesia of any form. The coolest thing since sliced cheese..lol kidding. And to think theres soooo many out there!! Its utterly utterly amazing. Synthethes ROCK!!!
Thanks for your support, Lubi!!! I have never read, “A Mango Shaped Space” but I think I just may now out of curiousity.
Comment by Kym DiDonato — July 26, 2008 @ 2:13 pm