Foreign accent syndrome !!!

Blonde Baji · Jun 28th, 2009, 12:08 am

Quote:

Foreign accent syndrome' explained

Tiny areas of damage were found in the brain

Some patients who suffer brain injuries occasionally lose the ability to talk in their native accent - but now scientists may know why. The condition, called "foreign accent syndrome", affects only a tiny number of patients.
It can mean that a native English speaker can end up sounding more like Spanish or French.

The way we speak is an important part of our personality and influences the way people interact with us

Dr Jennifer Gurd, neurologist
It can follow a stroke - or another kind of head injury, and while the problem often clears up on its own, it can be another highly upsetting blow for patients often struggling with other disabilities.
To add insult to injury, some doctors dismissed the problem as more likely to be psychiatric in origin than physical.
Now researchers at Oxford University have found that patients with "foreign accent syndrome" seem to share certain characteristics which might explain the problem.
A small number of them all had tiny areas of damage in various parts of the brain.
This might explain the combination of subtle changes to vocal features such as lengthening of syllables, altered pitch or mispronounced sounds which make a patient's pronunciation sound similar to a foreign accent.
Trauma
Dr Jennfier Gurd, who led the research with phonetician Dr John Coleman, 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.
"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."
Dr Coleman told BBC News Online: "There is a good likelihood in time you are going to improve and become more like you used to be."

Quote:

Stroke gives woman British accent

Tiffany Roberts suffered a stroke four years ago

An American woman has been left with a British accent after having a stroke. This is despite the fact that Tiffany Roberts, 61, has never been to Britain. Her accent is a mixture of English cockney and West Country.
Doctors say Mrs Roberts, who was born and bred in Indiana, has a condition called foreign accent syndrome.
This rare condition occurs when part of the brain becomes damaged. This can follow a stroke or head injury. There have only been a few documented cases.
British accent
Mrs Roberts discovered she had a British accent after recovering her voice following a stroke in 1999.
"When people first started asking me where in England I was from and a family member asked why am I talking that way, that is when I became very conscious that a part of me had died during the stroke," she said.

Four years on, she still struggles to convince people that she is a born and bred American.
"People in America accuse me of lying when I say I was born in Indiana.
"They would say 'What are you saying that for? Where in England are you from?'
"I would insist that I am not."
A tape recording of her voice before the stroke shows Mrs Roberts used to speak with a broad and relatively deep accent. She now speaks in a much higher pitch.
Doctors are still trying to find out exactly why foreign accent syndrome occurs.
But Dr Jack Ryalls of the University of Central Florida, said it is a real medical condition, which can occur after a patient has a brain injury.
"They recover to various degrees. When they don't recover or when they only have very, very residual effects left its heard as an accent. Its a real phenomenon. It just hasn't been documented very often."
Scientists at Oxford University are among those trying to get to the bottom of the syndrome.
Last year, they confirmed that patients can develop a foreign accent without ever having been exposed to the accent.
This is because they haven't really picked up the accent. Their speech patterns have changed. Injury to their brain causes them to lengthen syllables, alter their pitch or mispronounce sounds. These changes make it sound like they have picked up an accent. They may lengthen syllables.
The first case of foreign accent syndrome was reported in 1941 in Norway, after a young Norwegian woman suffered shrapnel injury to the brain during an air raid.
Initially, she had severe language problems from which she eventually recovered. However, she was left with what sounded like a strong German accent and was ostracized by her community.

This is Awesome !!!
Learning another accent without putting in any effort !!!

dhobi_bhai · Jun 29th, 2009, 02:45 am

If you put in a little effort, you can learn accents too.

Blonde Baji · Jun 29th, 2009, 04:58 am

;smack;
Little sey kaam nahi chaleyga !!!

I really want to learn ;sigh;

Amabel · Jun 30th, 2009, 04:12 pm

Does this process help with new languages

that'll be really cool

dhobi_bhai · Jun 30th, 2009, 06:58 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amabel

Does this process help with new languages

that'll be really cool

The prerequisite for the "process" is to first get a brain tumor.

For something really cool, there is Rosetta Stone.

Blonde Baji · Jun 30th, 2009, 08:16 pm

Quote:

The prerequisite for the "process" is to first get a brain tumor.

;sigh;
in order to gain something you have to lose something too !!!

ChaiWala · Jun 30th, 2009, 08:48 pm

oooh.. but this means brain damage is rewquired to learn without any work..! ok.. i m ready to hit..

who wanna learn..! ?

Blonde Baji · Jun 30th, 2009, 09:00 pm

Meee !!!

mujhey british aur French aur chinese aur Italian aur german Accents chahiye !!!

Amabel · Jul 1st, 2009, 03:13 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhobi_bhai

For something really cool, there is Rosetta Stone.

How many did you sell in that Summerfest

Blonde Baji · Jul 1st, 2009, 05:46 am

ab kya baichna tha !!!

those dresses are free for us !!!

ChaiWala · Jul 2nd, 2009, 02:09 pm

aray yaar. may nay kabhi nahee socha tha keh aisee teaching bhi ho sakte hai..!!

**danda maring to BB**

haan French aaye abhi keh nahee..?

**SMACK**

batao what is number 5 in french..!

**SMACK**

the best part is getting paid for this..! :muhahahaa:

Blonde Baji · Jul 2nd, 2009, 08:10 pm

;smack; payment baad mei mileyge after I learn !!!

abhi toh aapkey maarney sey iranian accent aaye hai !!!
I did not ask for that !!!
ab you pay me for learning something I did not bargain for ;honh;