Jump to content

Foreign accent syndrome


Randomguy

Recommended Posts

Foreign accent syndrome is a medical condition in which patients develop speech patterns that are perceived as a foreign accent[1] that is different from their native accent, without having acquired it in the perceived accent's place of origin.

Foreign accent syndrome usually results from a stroke,[1] but can also develop from head trauma,[1] migraines[2] or developmental problems.[3] The condition might occur due to lesions in the speech production network of the brain, or may also be considered a neuropsychiatric condition.[4] The condition was first reported in 1907,[5] and between 1941 and 2009 there were 62 recorded cases.[3]

Its symptoms result from distorted articulatory planning and coordination processes and although popular news articles commonly attempt to identify the closest regional accent, speakers suffering from foreign accent syndrome acquire neither a specific foreign accent nor any additional fluency in a foreign language. Despite an unconfirmed news report in 2010 that a Croatian speaker had gained the ability to speak fluent German after emergence from a coma,[6] there has been no verified case where a patient's foreign language skills have improved after a brain injury.

There is more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_accent_syndrome#:~:text=Foreign accent syndrome is a,perceived accent's place of origin.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

Foreign accent syndrome is a medical condition in which patients develop speech patterns that are perceived as a foreign accent[1] that is different from their native accent, without having acquired it in the perceived accent's place of origin.

Foreign accent syndrome usually results from a stroke,[1] but can also develop from head trauma,[1] migraines[2] or developmental problems.[3] The condition might occur due to lesions in the speech production network of the brain, or may also be considered a neuropsychiatric condition.[4] The condition was first reported in 1907,[5] and between 1941 and 2009 there were 62 recorded cases.[3]

Its symptoms result from distorted articulatory planning and coordination processes and although popular news articles commonly attempt to identify the closest regional accent, speakers suffering from foreign accent syndrome acquire neither a specific foreign accent nor any additional fluency in a foreign language. Despite an unconfirmed news report in 2010 that a Croatian speaker had gained the ability to speak fluent German after emergence from a coma,[6] there has been no verified case where a patient's foreign language skills have improved after a brain injury.

There is more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_accent_syndrome#:~:text=Foreign accent syndrome is a,perceived accent's place of origin.

 

I saw a news piece the other day that some lady woke up from surgery with a foreign accent.  I don't understand this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm, I don't consider the English language foreign accent situation too amusing....when some of us bilingual folks, did work hard early in life with ESL situation, to make our speech accent fit our local home region/home country. It has an impact how strangers /people who don't know you well at all and they judge you unfairly. This affects career progression (especially up the management chain) and in situations where a job demands large group presentations/training and meetings / interviews with the journalists on TV/radio.

I mean bilingual...as in English or French and 2nd (mother) language is completely different.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After finishing grad school at IIT, I came back to Baltimore with a little bit of a Chicago accent that took about a year to lose: more rounded vowels, occasionally substituting "d" for "th," etc.

But I wonder if the foreign accent syndrome after a brain injury is that you forget exactly how to use your tongue and mouth when pronouncing words.

In college, French instruction included learning how to pronounce certain consonant sounds where, in English, we touch our tongues to the top of our mouth but the french make the same sound by touching the tongue to the back of the upper teeth or, for example, the French long "u" sound is made by forming your lips to whistle and trying to say a long e.  A lot of French vowels sounds are made by touching the front of your bottom teeth with your tongue.

If you're speaking English and your mouth and tongue fall into those kind of positions, a French accent would be heard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

I often say "Howdy" to folks I pass on rides.  The accent is sort of built in to the word.

Years ago I had a coworker who immigrated from Zimbabwe. Great guy. He really worked hard to assimilate. One morning one of the guys on the team said Howdy when he walked in. Gift (his real name) tried for nearly an hour to say it right, but he could shake his African accent. We were all cracking up at how wrong it sounded. However to this day, I can rattle him by saying Howdy. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sometimes I want to move farther north to Houghton Co. or Keweenaw Co. The Yooper accent is still there. It's disappearing a lot. Very sad.

I recorded a documentary on PBS about the Finn's in Pelke. The old guys speak just like my grandpa and many older Yoopers. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Also makes me respond in full Yooper! Ha!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, smudge said:

Sometimes I want to move farther north to Houghton Co. or Keweenaw Co. The Yooper accent is still there. It's disappearing a lot. Very sad.

I recorded a documentary on PBS about the Finn's in Pelke. The old guys speak just like my grandpa and many older Yoopers. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Also makes me respond in full Yooper! Ha!

The Brits worked decades (centuries?) to wipe out the various languages, dialects, and accents in places like Wales.  Serious BS!  Those places have been regaining some of the old language as much as possible as the UK has become a little more "civilized", but it can't be as easy to recover as it is to destroy. :(

FTR, though, on shows like the British Baking Show, Pottery Throwdown, or even Derry Girls, the accents of some of those folks are BRUTALLY hard to understand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...