On September 6th of 1941, a 30 year old Norweigian woman named Astrid L suffered extensive damage
to the left side of her brain after she was hit by a bomb fragment/shell following an air raid at Oslo.
When she awoke several days later, she found herself paralyzed in the right side of her body and was unable to communicate.
After some months, her communication abilities began to return. However, it was not the same.
Strangers began telling her that she spoke with a German accent.
However, Astrid had grown up and lived in Norway all of her life, and had not interacted with foreigners.
In 1943, she was admitted to the Neurological University Clinic in Oslo
and was examined by neurology professor G.H. Monrad-Krohn, who studied her strange and unique condition.
The interesting change in Astrid’s speech was later given the name “Foreign Accent syndrome.”
Today, Foreign accent syndrome is understood to be a disorder where a person’s speech
sounds to the listener to be a different accent than their usual accent.
The first known case of foreign accent syndrome was reported in 1907 by a French neurologist named Pierre Marie.
He had a Parisian male patient who had suffered from a hemorrhage following a stroke in the left hemisphere of his brain.
The patient suffered from apraxia of speech where he was unable to say what he wanted correctly
and was later noted to sound as though they had an Alsatian accent.
Foreign accent syndrome is extremely rare.
Since Pierre Marie's report, there have been less than 200 cases FAS reported in scientific literature.
FAS overall has two main causes: neurological conditions or damage and mental health conditions
In this video, we will be focusing on the neurological conditions.
Most people with foreign accent syndrome have a neurological condition or a history of head and brain injuries.
The factors that can cause foreign accent syndrome include: stroke,
multiple sclerosis, which is a central nervous system condition,
any form of traumatic brain injury including a blow to the head or face,
surgery in the face or brain, brain tumors, or migraines.
Foreign accent syndrome is related to conditions that affect and damage the Broca’s area of the brain.
This area, which is on the left side of the brain, is linked to producing speech.
Brain injuries from falls, cancer, and other factors can change the way the brain controls speech and processes a language.
Some people with FAS also suffer from mental health conditions such as depression,
schizophrenia, or any history of severe trauma.
In some cases however, no clear cause has been identified
It is suggested that the “non-nativeness” perceived in the accent of an individual with FAS
is actually the result of changes in segmental and suprasegmental speech patterns of that individual.
Segmental speech refers to individual sounds in speech.
For example, a segmental speech change may look like pronouncing “ship” as “sheep” -
that “I” sound changes to sounding more like an “ee” sound.
On the other hand, suprasegmental speech refers to sounds that go beyond the level of segments.
For example, things such as the rhythm that one speaks with,
the placement of stress in words and sentences, as well as intonation patterns.
In most recorded cases of FAS, there are examples of both segmental and suprasegmental alterations.
These alterations in speech patterns may lead to the perception of an individual having a foreign or changed accent
to those listening, although all that really has changed are pronunciations and speech rhythms.
Foreign accent syndrome is rare disorder and a team consisting of multiple professionals such as a neurologist,
a neuropsychologist as well as a speech therapist is needed in the process of diagnosing the disorder.
The neurologist and the neuropsychologist are involved in the evaluation of cognitive function
and the speech therapist works on the patient’s communication and helps the patient cope with the disorder.
There are several methods and approaches proposed for foreign accent syndrome.
One common method among all cases is treating phonetic error awareness through speech therapy.
There is no definite treatment for this disorder but speech therapy will help the patient to regain their speech abilities.
Another recommended treatment for FAS is monitoring through feedback training in speech therapy and using cholinergic drugs
in order to regulate brain activities when it comes to speech abilities.
More research continues to be done on Foreign Accent Syndrome and every new case adds a new piece to the puzzle.
Astrid’s case was one of few cases that highlighted this unique phenomenon.
Although our understanding of FAS has increased significantly since then,
there is still so much to be understood about this mysterious disorder.