Foreign accent syndrome

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 was first reported in 1907,^[4] and between 1941 and 2009 there were sixty-two 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 suffering from foreign accent syndrome acquire neither a specific foreign accent nor any additional fluency in a foreign language. Despite an unconfirmed news report in 2010 that a Croatian speaker had gained the ability to speak fluent German after emergence from a coma,^[5] there has been no verified case where a patient's foreign language skills have improved after a brain injury. There have been a few reported cases of children and siblings picking up the new accent from someone with foreign accent -wiki link