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Reversion to a previously learned foreign accent after stroke.

Authors :
Roth EJ
Fink K
Cherney LR
Hall KD
Source :
Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation [Arch Phys Med Rehabil] 1997 May; Vol. 78 (5), pp. 550-2.
Publication Year :
1997

Abstract

Foreign accent syndrome occurs rarely after stroke. Most patients with this syndrome develop an aphasia characterized by a new accent. This report presents a 48-year-old man who sustained a left parietal hemorrhagic stroke resulting in right hemiparesis and the inability to speak. As spontaneous speech emerged several weeks later, he was noted to have a Broca's aphasia and a Dutch accent. Analysis of his speech demonstrated final consonant deletion, substitution of "d" for "th" sounds, vowel distortions, additional "uh" syllables added at the end of words, and errors in voicing. This speech pattern has persisted for more than 5 years after the stroke. Elicitation of additional history found that the patient was born in Holland and lived there until the age of 5 years, when he moved to the United States with his family. Before his stroke, he had no foreign accent. This report illustrates the importance of considering foreign accent syndrome during aphasia recovery and suggests several pathogenetic mechanisms that may contribute to the development of this syndrome.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0003-9993
Volume :
78
Issue :
5
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
9161381
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0003-9993(97)90176-3