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Head Injury Induces Foreign Accent Syndrome
An anonymous reader writes "Researchers have identified a rare disorder in which people, usually who have suffered a brain injury, find themselves speaking with a foreign accent. As reported by Science Blog, a Florida woman found herself speaking with a British accident after a stroke left her partially paralyzed. Fewer than 20 cases have been reported since 1919."
Good day, old sport! Mind if I play through your auto accident? Don't mind the tea on your bonnet; I've invited me mum to watch.
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
"I had a stroke and all I got was this bloody accent"
I played lots of American football when I was younger. That must be why I am 'fluent in prick' as my boss likes to say.
1 b4n63d my h34d 0n 4 c0mpu73r 4nd n0w 4|| my 4cc3n7 4r3 Pwn3d |1k3 7h15.
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
No, never "not on purpose" but I have noticed it. I've spoken with many people who've had an accent and found that communication sped up tremendously when either of us did a little bit of "adopting" the other's terminology and pronounciation. In fact, I see this happen between people who have the same accent; they will both shift into a common subset of words when talking, so communication speeds up a bit. One person will say "bike" and another will say "motorcycle" and soon they will refer to the object as "motorcycle." It's just sort of something people do when speaking to others.
What a politically incorrect premise:
;-)
Woman Suffers Brain Injury, Now Speaks With British Accent
But who are we to argue with science?
Use Ctrl-C instead of ESC in Vim!
It just seems like an example of phrenology at work. Now maybe those naysayers, who have cast dispersions at this science, will see the error of their ways.
I wonder if Madonna had this, when she married her British husband and all of a sudden thought she was English as well.
-Vic
Am I the only who thinks the only reason this story is Slashdot-worthy is because this was central to the plot of a Neal Stephenson book?
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
It is explained here:
'Foreign accent syndrome' explained
Understanding 'Foreign Accent Syndrome'
Download a sample of a patient's speech before (1.3MB) and after (1.1MB) acquiring the syndrome.
Copy and paste of the entire text in case of
Understanding 'Foreign Accent Syndrome'
News
3 October 2002
Oxford neuropsychologists have located some very small lesions in the brain which can lead to a rare speech disorder known as Foreign Accent Syndrome. This condition, which is usually the result of a stroke or head injury, makes patients change their pronunciation to sound like non-native speakers.
The finding is a further piece in the puzzle which Oxford scientists are trying to solve. Teamwork between Dr Jennifer Gurd at Oxford University's Department of Clinical Neurology and phonetician Dr John Coleman has already led to more precise analyses of the rare symptom which has been a mystery to physicians for a long time.
Cases of Foreign Accent Syndrome differ with respect to both the cause and the nature of the new accent, which could for example be like Spanish or Dutch in a native speaker of English. The syndrome can arise after a stroke or other brain injury, including closed head injury as might happen in a road traffic accident. The kind of accent a patient develops is not dependent on any knowledge of a particular foreign language. It is rather the combination of certain changed features such as lengthening of syllables, altered pitch, or mispronouned sounds, which make a patient's pronunciation sound similar to a particular foreign accent.
Dr Gurd said: 'The way we speak is an important part of our personality and influences the way people interact with us. It is understandably quite traumatic for patients to find that their accent has changed. We are keen to help patients on their road to recovery..
'Patients derive some comfort from knowing more about the causes of their rare condition and many are happy to help scientists to understand better the nature of the brain and its role in human accents.'
Patients who suffer from Foreign Accent Syndrome often get better as the brain heals or other parts of the brain take over the work of the damaged areas. However patients normally need speech therapy to help speed up the healing process and to make sure that any residual speech defects are kept to a minimum.
Dr Gurd added: 'The time-course and pattern of recovery varies depending on the cause of the brain damage. As we investigate new cases, a clearer picture of the syndrome will emerge. This will enable us to help more people in the future. We would welcome further referrals of patients with Foreign Accent Syndrome.'
Download a sample of a patient's speech before (1.3MB) and after (1.1MB) acquiring the syndrome.
For further information please contact the press office on 01865 280528.
Notes to editors:
The first case of Foreign Accent Syndrome was reported in 1941 from Norway, where a young Norwegian woman suffered shrapnel injuries to the brain during an air raid. Initially she had severe language problems from which she eventually recovered but she was left with what sounded like a strong German accent, and was ostracized by her community.
The Neuropsychology Centre is part of the department of Clinical Neurology at the University of Oxford. Its cross-disciplinary research seeks to understand the normal cognitive functions of the brain and mind and investigates how these processes break down, change and recover following brain damage.
The Phonetics Laboratory, established in 1980, conducts research in speech physiology and acoustics, as well as performing psycholinguistic experiments on speech and phonological competence. Its resources are used by linguists, psychologists and neurologists.
A Stroke Prevention Research Unit, led by Dr Pete
Heya moe... why you no talka wit-a you accent-a no more? And now we know; it's because of a whack to the head. Mamma Mia!
By "had a stroke" you mean of course "invaded by the Normans." ;)
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
She-a cuoold hefe-a heet her heed und be-a telkeeng veet a svedeesh eccent. Bork bork bork!
Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage
She was FLIRTING with you, you moroon.
Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage
Honestly, I'm not being a pedant here (well, maybe a bit), but there is no such thing as a British accent.
There are, however, a great variety of English, Welsh, and Scottish Accents.
The variation between them is at least as great as between the "Standard" (ie Southern Middle-Class) English accent and many American Accents.
As a Londoner, when I went to Glasgow, I couldn't understand a bloody word that anyone was saying, but we were both speaking with "British" accents.
evil math within Nature's Cubic Creation!
I once had a british accent for about a day when I had fallen asleep listing to the radio broadcasts of "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" on tape. The player had auto side switching, so I just kept listening to the same two sides over and over for about 9 hours of sleep.
I actually tried very hard that day to NOT speak with the accent, but found I couldn't. By that evening it was over nd I was normal again (well, as much as I was before).
I don't think there is any mystery in it. It's likely the same as moving to an area with a different local accent and eventually you start speaking with one. I just happen to have the accelerated course.
Take it for what it's worth.
Sig
Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars
I think that all british - derived peoples of the world are actually born with the default british accent and as they grow up they pick up the local accent. When she banged her head she defaulted back to british. It won't be long, maybe a few reboots before her prefs go back American.
Cute, but a more informative rejoinder would have included a link to the great vowel shift.
-I like my women like I like my tea: green-
From what i gathered from a thread yesterday, he's doing it on purpose to gain false-Karma, and then Troll at higher-visibility.
If this is indeed true, perhaps anyone with Mod-points who sees a post by this guy(?) should auto-mod him as "Redundant". As he's merely copying existing opinions, yet isn't precisely Trolling, and certinaly isn't off-topic.
Perhaps there should be a "-1 Copy/Paste" mod score available.
Tiggs
"120 chars should be enough for everyone..."