49-year-old from southwestern England has rare Foreign Accent Syndrome
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comSevere migraine gives English woman French accent
Seeded on Wed Sep 15, 2010 1:53 PM EDT (msnbc.com)
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There's got to be a wisea$$ comment about this but I got nothin. ;(
that's funny, when I get constipated, I talk like sara palin.
not funny...
c'mon, yes it is!!!!
cmon, that was hilarious! Thank you.
If you sound that bad, you really should see a doctor... :D
Imagine if this went beyond a frenchaccent and the person actually learned the language instantly?
Learning a language like that is called xenoglossy.
That is interesting! Tell me more about xenoglossy, if you can. Seems like a very handy and marketable condition/skill to have!
Something happens to the part of the brain that controls speech....although it may sound like a foreign accent, it is really "damage" that impairs the person's normal speech pattern's.
The mind is a very complex organ, it doesn't surprise me that this could occur. I actually watched a program on this syndrome. It is a very weird thing...
Not only is the mind complex - it's also the ugliest part of your body
RHR, you've never heard of a beautiful "mind"???
RHR, you're an idiot. The brain may be a physical entity, but the "mind" isn't. Perhaps you should invest in a dictionary before posting inanities.
Wren - quoting Frank Zappa - too bad you've never heard of him.
Makes sense to me. When I have a massive migraine everyone one sounds French. And when I'm drunk they sound French Canadian.
Jack, I agree. It is well known that the French speak as they do to intentionally cause massive migranes to anyone who is not French. And it follows also that the Quebecois are actually alcoholics.
Mais, en effet, le problème avec les Français, c'est qu'ils sont français et avec les Canadiens Français, c'est qu'ils sont Canadiens, ay?
I think there are more dramatic things happening in the world ... Losing your confidence because of a foreign accent seems ridiculous to me.
I would think it'd attract more attention, and more people wondering where you come from, whereas before, since you'd blend with the locals, you wouldn't be considered interesting and exotic.
Many years ago, I worked with a guy who was American, and spoke regular American dialect in the office, but after having a couple of beers during Friday night happy hour, he would start talking like a Brit! At first, everyone thought it was a put-on, and laughed at him, but it was the real deal. It happened everytime he had a few beers. Go figure!
Just a past life peeking through.
So it's true that the French language is the result of illness.
This is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE! I can't imagine being more like the French. If anyone confused me with a French person, that would be the end of me. ;) J/k
Oh, mon dieu!
i think this unfortunate. i hope Kay Russell and other like her get their natural voices back.
i hope this doesn't happen to me, i would most definitely freak out!
my best wishes to you Kay Russell and others.
It is a terrible thing, but you eventually get use to it. I did and then my natural voice came back - go figure. Some people are cruel, others ask you what country you're from, and those that know you think you're kidding with them. I was hesitant about going places alone, I would bring someone with me. It doesn't sound as bad as it feels when this happens, because the worst feeling in the world is thinking you're stuck like this the rest of your life. I'm so thankful my "real" voice came back.
it's not really terrible at all, your thankful you do not have a brain tumor, or cancer and you just try to continue living your life as you did before. It happened to me almost 4 year ago, shocked my socks off, but' it is REAL, and it DOES happen.
This is amazing and you'll see why I say that, no offense intended!! Following what was thought for me to be laryngitis and then a vocal cord problem I was sent to speach therapy. The next day I had not only a stutter, but also a foreign accent. The stutter went away after almost 2 weeks, but I was left with a foreign accent. I had no other symptoms besides a headache and was told I was completely healthy and normal, these were from doctors at Dartmouth. I went for a second opinion to a neurologist in Boston and he said his belief was that it was something called Foreign Accent Syndrome, brought out by my migraines. I've had to limit my caffiene intake and take advil or excedrin at the first sign of a headache. I had never heard of anything like this and was a little surprised. Needless to say that ended up being my diagnosis, Foreign Accent Syndrome.
I'm very happy to say though, that I no longer sound foreign, only when I have a severe headache or very bad cold with a fever present. I sound Eastern European, Brazilian, Swedish, etc. I'm from Vermont, born and raised, so I'm confident that these languages do not exist anywhere in my vocabulary, unless you count the 5 years of french I took in High School. People that knew me thought it was a joke and those that didn't know me asked me what country I was from, and those in stores asked if I should be there alone. It wasn't fun, I'm just thankful that mine is somewhat controlled, it's an awful thing to happen to anyone and the feeling when people speak to you can be even worse. I wish her the best of luck and like I said, I've been there and am still trying to find ways to avoid it, because it is scary. I'm so afraid I'll wake up sounding "foreign" for the rest of my life.
Oh my been there done that. You get asked are your studying for a plan. in ther super market where are you from, in Wal Mart oh you have a lovely accent where were you born. It has been 4 years almost for me, but I still lose my English all together and can't speak any ledible words at all. No warning just happens. I was born and rasied in NorthWest Washington State and my accent changes from French, to German, to Swedish, and it just does it all by itself.
I have bad migraines...woke up once with a problem speaking but luckily it went away. I think there may be something to that past lives thing. If it was just "Sounding French," that would be one thing but the others...Irish, Brit, German, etc., I am thinking the brain (An energy source), were around prior to this "Being," and it shorted out due to the migraine and reverted to an old program it had locked in super-long term memory.
Hey stranger things have happened! And for all you who hate the French... :^(
Please see my comment above, #7. I absolutely believe this is possible.
Funny, but I have the opposite problem...I get a migrane the minute I hear a French accent.
Maybe that's what happened to Madonna =)
It could have been worse, she could have a Texan drawl.
Fools, she obviously just wants attention and sympathy.
I would like to lose my "foreign" accent. How does one get a migraine?
Oh My God!!! My worst fear! I've been afflicted with migraines since about the age of 18 and I always harbored this irrational fear that one day I would wake up with a French accent. Now it's happened to someone. Who is next? Me? I am afraid - very, very afraid at this moment.
hmmm, this makes sense. listening to the French gives me a headache.
My kid has had numerous seizures. She had a heck of a time getting through her high school French class, she had quite a few powerful seizures while trying to study from her book. It gave us a clue as to where in the brain her seizures might be starting, possibly in the area of the brain that processes a language that is not one's native language. She had migraines, too--those went away when the seizures started up at age 11.
Jack, I agree. It is well known that the French speak as they do to intentionally cause massive migranes anyone who is not French. And it follows also that the Quebecois are actually alcoholics.
Mais, en effet, le problème avec les Français, c'est qu'ils sont français et avec les Canadiens Français, c'est qu'ils sont Canadiens, ay?
I have found that right after I smoke a big joint I sound just like Tommy Chong.
Terrible affliction. And if you are prone to migranes, don't go to Arizona. Otherwise you will be immediately rounded up and deported if you develop a Hispanic accent after a migrane.
No....really?????????? (heavy sarcasm).
Has to be one of the most stupid lines ever written.
For a minute I thought this was an Onion News story. Then it appears that it's legit. Then I read the line you quoted above and now I'm not so sure anymore. That statement sounds like a direct quote from Doyle Redland.