Patients that suffer from this disorder develop what appears to be a foreign accent, one that completely replaces the way that they used to speak. It is usually the result of a stroke, but can also be caused by head trauma, migraines, or developmental issues in the brain. It was first seen in 1907, and by 2009, sixty-two cases had been recorded.
To the general public, people who suffer from this syndrome sound as though they speak their native language, just with a foreign accent. For example, an American native English speaker would still speak English, they would simply sound as though they were speaking with an English accent. And, although it sounds like they are effortlessly speaking with that accent, patients describe feeling as though they are suffering from a speech disorder. This is most likely a result of the fact that the patient is moving their jaw and tongue differently, which is what causes the changes in sound.
Although there are definite changes in the sufferer’s patterns of speech, the perception of an actual foreign accent is most likely the result of pareidolia on the part of the listener (pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon that involves a stimulus – an image or a sound – wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern of something where none actually exists). This means that the listener, in an attempt to process the changes in rhythm and pronunciation the speaker’s voice has undergone, perceives a foreign accent.
The first reported case in 1907 was described by the French neurologist Pierre Marie, and then again in 1919 in a Czech study. The most well-known case, however, was one that occurred in Norway in 1941, after a young woman suffered a head injury from shrapnel during an air raid. After her recovery, she was left with a strong German accent, which resulted in her being shunned by her fellow Norwegians.
Since this is such a rare occurrence, several specialists must consult in order to make a positive diagnosis, such as speech-language pathologists, neurologists, neuropsychologists, and psychologists. Psychiatric conditions must be ruled out as the cause of the changes in speech patterns, and tests must be run to evaluate reading, writing, and language comprehension. MRI, CT, SPECT, or PET scans are taken to see if damage has been done to the areas of the brain that have to do with the rhythm and melody of speech , and EEGs are taken to evaluate the activity in those parts of the brain.
People who suffer from this disorder acquire neither a specific foreign accent nor any additional fluency in a foreign language; it has no correlation to the closest regional accent, and, despite an unconfirmed new report in 2010 that a Croatian speaker gained the ability to speak fluent German after he emerged from a coma, there are no verified cases in which foreign language skills have improved after a brain injury.
Significant media coverage is often dedicated to sufferers of this disorder, since it is such a rare condition. One woman was featured oon both Inside Edition and Discovery Health Channel’s Mystery ER. The BBC has published two hour-long documentaries about Sarah Colwill, a woman from Devon who developed a Chinese accent as a result of the severe migraines that she suffered from.
Jessica Reyer says
This is one of the weirdest disorders that I have heard of in terms of the symptoms. I wish that I could understand the brain better, so that these disorders would make more sense. It is also crazy how rare this syndrome is, with only 62 cases being reported in the last 100 years.
Alison Paige Kuznitz says
I find it very interesting that this disorder not only affects the person who is suffering, but also those around them. Since people perceive the change in speech as a foreign accent, I wonder how much that perception varies – as in would people potentially argue about classifying the accent? On a different note and in all seriousness, the story about the Norwegian woman was so sad!
Abby says
This is interesting and a little confusing due to the fact that it is how the audience perceives the change in a patient’s talking that makes it an accent. I wonder if the patient’s feel they have picked up a certain accent or, as you said, just feel like they have developed a speech impediment.
Sylvia Joy says
So people don’t actually happen to acquire something really close to a foreign accent; the other people around them just perceive it as some nationality’s accent, for example, German if they are Norwegians concerned about Germans…
So there is quite a cultural influence on these things, like the people who believe they are certain animals?