Foreign accent syndrome
Encyclopedia
Irregular repetitive speech syndrome is a rare medical condition involving speech repition that usually occurs as a side effect of severe brain
injury, such as a stroke
or head trauma
. Those suffering from the condition pronounce their native language with an accent that to listeners may be mistaken as foreign or dialectical. Two cases have been reported of individuals with the condition as a development problem and one associated with severe migraine
. Between 1941 and 2009 there have been sixty recorded cases.
Its symptoms result from distorted articulatory planning and coordination processes. It must be emphasized that the speaker does not suddenly gain a foreign language (vocabulary, syntax, grammar, etc.). Despite a recent unconfirmed news report that a Croatian
speaker has gained the ability to speak fluent German
after emergence from a coma
, there has been no verified case where a patient's foreign language skills have improved after a brain injury. There have been a few reported cases of children and siblings picking up the new accent from someone with foreign accent syndrome.
native speaker of English
might sound as though he spoke with a south-eastern English
accent, or a native British speaker might speak with a New York American accent. However, researchers at Oxford University have found that certain, specific parts of the brain were injured in some foreign accent syndrome cases, indicating that certain parts of the brain control various linguistic
functions, and damage could result in altered pitch or mispronounced syllable
s, causing speech patterns to be distorted in a non-specific manner. More recently, there is mounting evidence that the cerebellum
, which controls motor function, may be crucially involved in some cases of foreign accent syndrome, reinforcing the notion that speech pattern alteration is mechanical, and thus non-specific. Thus, the perception of a foreign accent is likely a case of pareidolia
on the part of the listener.
For example, damage to the brain might result in difficulty pronouncing the letter 'r' at the end of words, forcing a rhotic
speaker to use a non-rhotic accent, even if they have never spoken with one. In the U.S., non-rhoticity is a particularly notable feature of a Boston accent
, thus the person might seem to speak with a Boston accent to the casual listener. However, many of the other features of a Boston accent may be wholly missing.
It has been suggested that in order to maintain a sense of normality and flow, someone with the syndrome then augments the accent effect by imitating the rest of the accent. Depending on how important a certain phoneme
is to a person's original accent, he might find speaking in a different accent to be much easier and his usual accent very difficult to consistently pronounce after some motor skills have been lost.
study in 1919. Other well-known cases of the syndrome have included one that occurred in Norway
in 1941 after a young woman, Astrid L., suffered a head injury from shrapnel during an air-raid
. After apparently recovering from the injury, she was left with what sounded like a strong German
accent and was shunned by her fellow Norwegians.
, USA. In 1999, at the age of 57, Roberts suffered a stroke and, after recovering, her voice spoke with what resembled an English accent, though she never had been to Britain.
, suffered a stroke while at work and after transfer to the hospital passed out and upon awaking began speaking with a very proper British accent. This was before much was known about foreign language syndrome and merely inscribed in doctors records and hospital records.
area of UK. Again following a stroke, her normal Geordie
accent was transformed and has been variously described as resembling a Jamaica
n, as well as a French Canadian
, Italian
, and a Slovak
accent. Researchers at Newcastle University were reprted to be studying the condition in the hope of finding a cure. Speech therapist Frauke Buerk said: "Foreign accent syndrome is extremely rare. When I discovered Linda had the syndrome it was an opportunity to make some progress in the treatment of the condition because so little has been made. "Although Linda has improved it looks likely that she will be left with an accent. We worked on intonation and the stress she places on different words. Some people have said the accent is Jamaican and others Eastern European. As is often the case though, a lot of accents come together." She was interviewed by BBC News 24
and appeared on the Richard & Judy
show in the UK in July 2006 to speak of her ordeal.
suddenly started speaking in English, even though he never been out of his hometown. He was reported as supposedly being the reincarnation
of an American scientist. This case was poorly understood and was never associated with Foreign Accent Syndrome. The reported symptoms, however, were quite clear indication. (A video of the boy, speaking in accented English, may be found at the link in the reference).
reported a study where a woman from Windsor
, Ontario
, after suffering a stroke, began speaking with what some people described as a Newfoundland accent
.
, who had suffered a brain injury 17 years earlier, developed foreign accent syndrome after a neck adjustment from her chiropractor
. A visit to the hospital ruled out a stroke. Afterwards she spoke with a Russian
accent and even appeared to make the grammatical mistakes of a Russian speaking English, as if English was not her native language. She was featured on the Discovery Health Channel
's Mystery ER show on October 26, 2008, and she was also featured on the October 31 edition of Inside Edition
.
, with severe Sporadic Hemiplegic Migraine
developed foreign accent syndrome. After several months of multiple, daily hemiplegic migraine attacks, her accent began sounding British
to Russia
n, depending on fatigue levels and the perception of the listener. Frazier's case is, to date, the first confirmed association of foreign accent syndrome with a migraine condition.
was publicly reported. Sarah Colwill, a frequent migraine sufferer from Devon
in the UK, experienced a headache so extreme that she had to call an ambulance. When waking in the hospital later, her accent sounded Chinese
.
UK, woke up with a French
accent.
reported the case of Karen Butler, a woman from Newport, Oregon
, who emerged from oral surgery with an Irish
accent. Other sources have indicated that her new accent had an Eastern European sound.
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
injury, such as a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
or head trauma
Head injury
Head injury refers to trauma of the head. This may or may not include injury to the brain. However, the terms traumatic brain injury and head injury are often used interchangeably in medical literature....
. Those suffering from the condition pronounce their native language with an accent that to listeners may be mistaken as foreign or dialectical. Two cases have been reported of individuals with the condition as a development problem and one associated with severe migraine
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
. Between 1941 and 2009 there have been sixty recorded cases.
Its symptoms result from distorted articulatory planning and coordination processes. It must be emphasized that the speaker does not suddenly gain a foreign language (vocabulary, syntax, grammar, etc.). Despite a recent unconfirmed news report that a Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
speaker has gained the ability to speak fluent German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
after emergence from a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
, there has been no verified case where a patient's foreign language skills have improved after a brain injury. There have been a few reported cases of children and siblings picking up the new accent from someone with foreign accent syndrome.
Description
To the untrained ear, those with the syndrome sound as though they speak their native languages with a foreign accent; for example, an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
native speaker of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
might sound as though he spoke with a south-eastern English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
accent, or a native British speaker might speak with a New York American accent. However, researchers at Oxford University have found that certain, specific parts of the brain were injured in some foreign accent syndrome cases, indicating that certain parts of the brain control various linguistic
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
functions, and damage could result in altered pitch or mispronounced syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
s, causing speech patterns to be distorted in a non-specific manner. More recently, there is mounting evidence that the cerebellum
Cerebellum
The cerebellum is a region of the brain that plays an important role in motor control. It may also be involved in some cognitive functions such as attention and language, and in regulating fear and pleasure responses, but its movement-related functions are the most solidly established...
, which controls motor function, may be crucially involved in some cases of foreign accent syndrome, reinforcing the notion that speech pattern alteration is mechanical, and thus non-specific. Thus, the perception of a foreign accent is likely a case of pareidolia
Pareidolia
Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus being perceived as significant. Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon or the Moon rabbit, and hearing hidden messages on records played in reverse...
on the part of the listener.
For example, damage to the brain might result in difficulty pronouncing the letter 'r' at the end of words, forcing a rhotic
Rhotic and non-rhotic accents
English pronunciation can be divided into two main accent groups: a rhotic speaker pronounces a rhotic consonant in words like hard; a non-rhotic speaker does not...
speaker to use a non-rhotic accent, even if they have never spoken with one. In the U.S., non-rhoticity is a particularly notable feature of a Boston accent
Boston accent
The Boston dialect is the dialect characteristic of English spoken in the city of Boston and much of eastern Massachusetts. The accent and closely related accents can be heard commonly in an area stretching into much of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and areas of south-western Nova Scotia...
, thus the person might seem to speak with a Boston accent to the casual listener. However, many of the other features of a Boston accent may be wholly missing.
It has been suggested that in order to maintain a sense of normality and flow, someone with the syndrome then augments the accent effect by imitating the rest of the accent. Depending on how important a certain phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
is to a person's original accent, he might find speaking in a different accent to be much easier and his usual accent very difficult to consistently pronounce after some motor skills have been lost.
Early cases
The condition was first described in 1907 by the French neurologist Pierre Marie, and another early case was reported in a CzechCzech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
study in 1919. Other well-known cases of the syndrome have included one that occurred in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
in 1941 after a young woman, Astrid L., suffered a head injury from shrapnel during an air-raid
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
. After apparently recovering from the injury, she was left with what sounded like a strong German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
accent and was shunned by her fellow Norwegians.
Judi Roberts
Another well-known case is that of Judi Roberts, also known as Tiffany Noel, who was born and raised in IndianaIndiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, USA. In 1999, at the age of 57, Roberts suffered a stroke and, after recovering, her voice spoke with what resembled an English accent, though she never had been to Britain.
Jerry Conner
In March 2001, Jerry Conner, a man who was living in Asheville, North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, suffered a stroke while at work and after transfer to the hospital passed out and upon awaking began speaking with a very proper British accent. This was before much was known about foreign language syndrome and merely inscribed in doctors records and hospital records.
Dallas woman, 2004
In February of 2004, a woman in Dallas, Texas was given an iodine contrast injection for a chest CT scan, although she was allergic to iodine. The resulting allergic reaction resulted in a 24-hour paralysis during which time she was unable to speak. As the paralysis wore off, she was speaking with a Russian sounding accent. Along with the change in her speech, she also began having seizures. Over time the accent became more normal but gets stronger when she has had a seizure. The Foreign Accent Syndrom website at the University of Dallas http://www.utdallas.edu/research/FAS/about/samples.html has sound clips of her speech from before the incident, and after her speech was affected.Linda Walker
A further case of foreign accent syndrome occurred to Linda Walker, a 60-year-old woman from the NewcastleNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
area of UK. Again following a stroke, her normal Geordie
Geordie
Geordie is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitants...
accent was transformed and has been variously described as resembling a Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n, as well as a French Canadian
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and a Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
accent. Researchers at Newcastle University were reprted to be studying the condition in the hope of finding a cure. Speech therapist Frauke Buerk said: "Foreign accent syndrome is extremely rare. When I discovered Linda had the syndrome it was an opportunity to make some progress in the treatment of the condition because so little has been made. "Although Linda has improved it looks likely that she will be left with an accent. We worked on intonation and the stress she places on different words. Some people have said the accent is Jamaican and others Eastern European. As is often the case though, a lot of accents come together." She was interviewed by BBC News 24
BBC News 24
BBC News is the BBC's 24-hour rolling news television network in the United Kingdom. The channel launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 17:30 as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic television channels, becoming the first competitor to Sky News, which had been running since 1989...
and appeared on the Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...
show in the UK in July 2006 to speak of her ordeal.
Rajesh, India, 2007
On 14 July 2007, a boy named Rajesh in a remote town in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
suddenly started speaking in English, even though he never been out of his hometown. He was reported as supposedly being the reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
of an American scientist. This case was poorly understood and was never associated with Foreign Accent Syndrome. The reported symptoms, however, were quite clear indication. (A video of the boy, speaking in accented English, may be found at the link in the reference).
Ontario woman, 2008
In the July 2008 issue of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences, researchers from McMaster UniversityMcMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
reported a study where a woman from Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, after suffering a stroke, began speaking with what some people described as a Newfoundland accent
Newfoundland English
Newfoundland English is a name for several accents and dialects thereof the English found in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most of these differ substantially from the English commonly spoken elsewhere in Canada...
.
Cindy Lou Romberg
In 2008, Cindy Lou Romberg of Port Angeles, WashingtonPort Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles is a city in and the county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 19,038 at the 2010 census. The area's harbor was dubbed Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles by Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza in 1791, but by the mid-19th century the name had...
, who had suffered a brain injury 17 years earlier, developed foreign accent syndrome after a neck adjustment from her chiropractor
Chiropractor
A Chiropractor, according to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges , "focuses on the relationship between the body's main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient's health. Chiropractors believe that health can be improved and preserved by making adjustments to...
. A visit to the hospital ruled out a stroke. Afterwards she spoke with a Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
accent and even appeared to make the grammatical mistakes of a Russian speaking English, as if English was not her native language. She was featured on the Discovery Health Channel
Discovery Health Channel
Discovery Health Channel is a website owned by Discovery Communications, created for people interested in health and wellness. Until December 31, 2010, it was a U.S. cable television specialty channel dedicated to television programming that highlights various aspects of health and wellness...
's Mystery ER show on October 26, 2008, and she was also featured on the October 31 edition of Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
.
Julie Frazier
In 2008, Julie Frazier, a woman from Fort Wayne, IndianaFort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
, with severe Sporadic Hemiplegic Migraine
Familial hemiplegic migraine
Familial hemiplegic migraine is an autosomal dominant classical migraine subtype that typically includes hemiparesis during the aura phase. It can be accompanied by other symptoms, such as ataxia, coma and epileptic seizures...
developed foreign accent syndrome. After several months of multiple, daily hemiplegic migraine attacks, her accent began sounding British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n, depending on fatigue levels and the perception of the listener. Frazier's case is, to date, the first confirmed association of foreign accent syndrome with a migraine condition.
Sarah Colwill
In 2010, another case associated with severe migraineMigraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
was publicly reported. Sarah Colwill, a frequent migraine sufferer from Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
in the UK, experienced a headache so extreme that she had to call an ambulance. When waking in the hospital later, her accent sounded Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
.
Kay Russell
Another incident involving migraine was recorded in September 2010, again with a British woman. After lying down for a while because of her migraine, 49-year-old Kay Russell, from GloucestershireGloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
UK, woke up with a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
accent.
Karen Butler
On May 5, 2011, The Huffington PostThe Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
reported the case of Karen Butler, a woman from Newport, Oregon
Newport, Oregon
Newport is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It was incorporated in 1882, though the name dates back to the establishment of a post office in 1868...
, who emerged from oral surgery with an Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
accent. Other sources have indicated that her new accent had an Eastern European sound.
External links
- Article from New Zealand 13th July 2010
- "Stroke gives man Italian accent" at BBC Radio 4 Home TruthsHome TruthsHome Truths was a weekly BBC Radio 4 programme which began on 11 April 1998 and was usually hosted by the DJ John Peel until his death in October 2004. In the Saturday 9-10am slot, it gradually became one of Radio 4's most successful programmes....
, 4 November 2005 - "I woke up with a foreign accent" at ABC NewsABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
- Journal of Neurolinguistics, Volume 19, Issue 5. Special issue on foreign accent syndrome.
- "Foreign Accent Syndrome Support" - site created by researchers at University of Texas at DallasUniversity of Texas at DallasThe University of Texas at Dallas, also referred to as UT Dallas or UTD, is a public research university in the University of Texas System. The main campus is in the heart of the Richardson, Texas, Telecom Corridor, north of downtown Dallas...
- "Woman gets Swedish accent after chiropractor's visit"
- "Health Sentinel: Connecting symptoms finally leads to disorder diagnosis" - article from Fort Wayne, IN describing a woman's struggles with rare conditions, including Foreign Accent Syndrome. December 6, 2010