Foreign accent syndrome

Foreign accent syndrome
SpecialtyPsychiatry, Neurology

Foreign accent syndrome is a rare 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 with foreign accent syndrome acquire neither a specific foreign accent nor any additional fluency in a foreign language. There has been no verified case where a patient's foreign language skills have improved after a brain injury.

  1. ^ a b c Kurowski, Kathleen M.; Blumstein, Sheila E.; Alexander, Michael (1996). "The foreign accent syndrome: a reconsideration" (PDF). Brain and Language. 54 (1): 1–25. doi:10.1006/brln.1996.0059. PMID 8811940. S2CID 6281914. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Severe migraines give Devon woman a bizarre Chinese accent at". Asylum.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b Mariën, P.; Verhoeven, J.; Wackenier, P.; Engelborghs, S.; De Deyn, P. P. (2009). "Foreign accent syndrome as a developmental motor speech disorder" (PDF). Cortex. 45 (7): 870–878. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2008.10.010. PMID 19121521. S2CID 25400136.
  4. ^ Moreno-Torres, Ignacio; Mariën, Peter; Dávila, Guadalupe; Berthier, Marcelo L. (20 December 2016). "Editorial: Language beyond Words: The Neuroscience of Accent". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 10: 639. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00639. ISSN 1662-5161. PMC 5169099. PMID 28066210.
  5. ^ 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.