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Foreign accent syndrome

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Foreign accent syndrome is a rare medical condition involving speech production that usually occurs as a side effect of severe brain injury, such as a stroke or a head injury, though two cases have been reported of individuals as a development problem.[1] Between 1941 and 2009, there have been sixty recorded cases.[1] Its symptoms result from distorted articulatory planning and coordination processes.

Description

To the untrained ear, those with the syndrome sound as though they speak their native languages with a foreign accent; for example, an American native speaker of English might sound as though they speak 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 syllables, 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.[2][3] 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 been 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.

Some[who?] have 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, they might find speaking in a different accent to be much easier and their usual accent very difficult to consistently pronounce after some motor skills have been lost.

Occurrences

The condition was first described in 1907 by the French neurologist Pierre Marie.[4] Another early case of FAS was in a Czech study in 1919.[5] Other well-known cases of foreign accent syndrome include 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.[6] Another well-known case is that of Judi Roberts, also known as Tiffany Noel, who was born and raised in Indiana, USA. In 1999, at the age of 57, she had a stroke. After recovering her voice, she spoke with an accent which resembled an English accent, though she never had been to Britain.[7][8]

A further case of foreign accent syndrome occurred to Linda Walker, a 60-year-old woman from the Newcastle area. After a stroke, her normal Geordie accent was transformed and has been variously described as resembling a Jamaican, as well as a French Canadian, Italian and a Slovak accent.[9] She was interviewed by BBC News 24[10] and appeared on the Richard and Judy show in the UK in July 2006 to speak of her ordeal.

More recently, in the July 2008 issue of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences, researchers from McMaster University published a study where a woman from Windsor, Ontario, after suffering a stroke, began speaking with what some people describe as a Newfoundland accent.[11][12]

In 2008, Cindy Lou Romberg of Port Angeles, Washington, 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 October 26, 2008 Discovery Health Channel's "Mystery ER" show[13] and was also featured on the October 31 edition of Inside Edition.

References

  1. ^ a b Mariën P, Verhoeven J, Wackenier P, Engelborghs S, De Deyn PP. (2009). Foreign accent syndrome as a developmental motor speech disorder. Cortex. 45(7):870-878. PMID 19121521
  2. ^ Mariën P., Verhoeven J., Engelborghs, S., Rooker, S., Pickut, B. A., De Deyn, P.P. (2006). A role for the cerebellum in motor speech planning: evidence from foreign accent syndrome. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery, 108, 518-522.
  3. ^ Mariën P., Verhoeven J. (2007). Cerebellar involvement in motor speech planning: some further evidence from foreign accent syndrome. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 59:4, 210-217.
  4. ^ Marie P. (1907). Presentation de malades atteints d’anarthrie par lesion de l’hemisphere gauche du cerveau. Bulletins et Memoires Societe Medicale des Hopitaux de Paris, 1: 158–160.
  5. ^ Pick, A. 1919. Über Änderungen des Sprachcharakters als Begleiterscheinung aphasicher Störungen. Zeitschrift für gesamte Neurologie und Psychiatrie, 45, 230–241.
  6. ^ Monrad-Krohn, G. H. "Dysprosody or Altered 'Melody of Language'." Brain 70 (1947): 405-15.
  7. ^ "Stroke gives woman British accent". BBC News. BBC. 2003-11-25. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  8. ^ Lewis, Angie. "Communicative Disorders Clinic Diagnoses Rare Foreign Accent Syndrome in Sarasota Woman". University of Central Florida-College of Health and Public Affairs. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Bunyan, Nigel (2006-07-04). "Geordie wakes after stroke with new accent". Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  10. ^ "Stroke gives woman foreign accent". BBC News. BBC. 2006-07-04. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  11. ^ Naidoo, Raveeni (2008-07-01). "A Case of Foreign Accent Syndrome Resulting in Regional Dialect". the Canadian Journal of Neurological Science. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  12. ^ "Ontario woman gains East Coast accent following stroke". CBC News. 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-07-03. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  13. ^ "Woman's Accent Foreign Even to Her". The Seattle Times. 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  • Dankovičová J, Gurd JM, Marshall JC, MacMahon MKC, Stuart-Smith J, Coleman JS, Slater A. Aspects of non-native pronunciation in a case of altered accent following stroke (foreign accent syndrome). Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics 2001;15:195-218.
  • Gurd JM, Bessell NJ, Bladon RA, Bamford JM. A case of foreign accent syndrome, with follow-up clinical, neuropsychological and phonetic descriptions. Neuropsychologia 1988;26:237-51. PMID 3399041
  • Gurd JM, Coleman JS, Costello A, Marshall JC. Organic or functional? A new case of foreign accent syndrome. Cortex 2001;37:715-8. PMID 11804223 PSHAW

See also

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