Posted on 11/19/2003 3:45:18 PM PST by RedBloodedAmerican
Roberts Diagnosed With Extremely Rare 'Foreign-Accent Syndrome'
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A University of Central Florida speech expert has diagnosed an extremely rare disorder in a Sarasota, Fla., woman that caused her to speak with a British accent after she suffered a stroke.
The case of foreign-accent syndrome is one of fewer than 20 reported worldwide since 1919, according to Jack Ryalls, professor of communicative disorders at UCF.
Judi Roberts was doing a crossword puzzle four years ago when her right hand went numb. She suffered a stroke, which left her paralyzed on her right side and unable to talk. But when her speech finally returned, her deep northern accent was gone.
Roberts now speaks with a higher-pitched British accent.
Ryalls has conducted a series of tests on Roberts and says the syndrome is the only explanation.
Roberts say she has been accused of faking the accent. She became a recluse and even contemplated moving to England until she read about the disorder last spring and contacted experts.
I'm not trying to slur British accents or anything. I'd consider it equally likely that someone with a British accent could get a stroke and end up with a speech impediment which makes her sound "American".
It's just that the idea that there's some kind of "accent-switching" syndrome which can mysteriously, spontaneously switch you from Cockney to Indian to Aussie (or whatever) accents strikes me as rather wacky and fantastical.
For the record, I once knew and worked with a woman who, I was certain, spoke with a British accent. Then one day I asked her where in England she was from (or somewhere along those lines) and it turned out, it was a speech impediment, she was from Texas or somewhere like that. And she wasn't offended (or claimed not to be), she said she heard the "you sound British" comment a lot.
That's why I see this as the most likely explanation, I have precedent.
LOL. Nothing explains Madonna...
My first wife swore I would talk Japanese and Russian in my sleep. I know how to count in Japanese (well, in a rudimentary fashion), but I don't speak the language. And I know maybe a half-dozen Russian words. It's unlikely I learned the languages without knowing about it, so perhaps I was speaking gibberish in those two accents.
My guess is that there is a part of the brain used to normalize different accents into recognizable speech, and this woman's stroke somehow linked this ability with her own speech.
By George, I think she's got it!
In reality, and all joking aside, that was my first thought.
OK, but what is the explanation for Julia Child?
That accent is from another dimension.
So9
Either that or she watched too many British shows in PBS.
I have a friend, raised in the South, who can impersonate a great British accent. He learned the accent watching PBS.
If he ever had a stroke that made the learned British accent the default accent in his brain, he might prefer to speak with the British accent.
My $0.02
I felt the same way when I couldn't hide my surprise that the "British" woman was from Texas. The ironic thing is, I always thought her accent was beautiful and melodious. Oh well. :)
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