This Psychological Condition Makes a Person Speak Native Languages With a Foreign Accent

(Photo: Thomas Wolter on Pixabay)
Someone who has foreign accent syndrome may speak with the accent of another person from a different region or country.

Someone who has foreign accent syndrome may speak with the accent of another person from a different region or country.

With this condition, an individual who speaks his native language may also start sounding like another person speaking the language as his "second or third language.

In most circumstances, an injury to the central nervous system becomes the main reason for the occurrence of foreign accent syndrome.

Nonetheless, a variant of this finding, also known as "psychogenic foreign accent syndrome," leads to a person speaking using a foreign accent, not physiological, but psychological reasons.

This condition is different from when an individual spends a considerable amount of time in another country and acquires a particular accent.

According to medical experts, people who are suffering from "foreign accent syndrome" are not faking. Instead, changes in their nervous system or the occurrence of psychogenic foreign accent syndrome, their mental health lead them to speak differently.

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'Foreign Accent Syndrome'

This condition leads an individual to speak in his native language but with a foreign sound or accent. The accent stays comparatively consistent over time, and is not something which has the condition is faking.

Someone who has a foreign accent syndrome typically has "brain damage." He may also be someone with a neurological condition, although others may suffer from mental health conditions.

People with this condition may not perfectly imitate the accent their speech is copying. Nevertheless, their speech changes tend to stay fairly constant. People usually do not switch between accents, or have a pronunciation only at times.

A 2019 report on more than 45 people who have foreign accent syndrome showed that most participants reported having the condition for two months to 18 years, with a three-year mean length.

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Symptoms to Observe

As earlier mentioned, the primary symptoms of this condition are an accent linked to a country where the person who has never gone to or lived there; or a language he has never spoken.

For instance, a native English speaker who has never left his country may start speaking English with either a Chines, British, or even Spanish accent.

Moreover, most individuals who have foreign accent syndrome also exhibit symptoms of either a neurological or psychological symptom.

They might experience depression or schizophrenia, a recent injury, particularly in the brain, or a medical condition like multiple sclerosis or MS or dementia that impairs the brain.

How is Foreign Accent Syndrome Treated?

According to experts, the condition itself is not dangerous. Nevertheless, it may caution of a severe medical state like a lesion or tumor in the brain, MS, or dementia.

Therefore, treatment will focus on dealing with the cause of foreign accent syndrome. Relatively, a doctor might prescribe a drug for conditions like MS or surgery for specific brain growths.

There is a psychiatric source; there may be a doctor's recommendation for therapy, medicine intake, or both.

Most foreign accent syndrome occurrences can no longer be cured, although medication can help control or alleviate such symptoms.

In most incidents, a doctor is likely to recommend speech therapy to help a patient bring back his normal habits.

Finally, when the source of foreign accent syndrome is not clear, speech therapy may be the only treatment option.

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