Christoph D H, de Freitas G R, Dos Santos D P, Lima M A S D, Araújo A Q C, Carota A
Department of Neurology, Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Eur Neurol. 2004;52(4):198-201. doi: 10.1159/000082035. Epub 2004 Nov 10.
Foreign accent syndrome (FAS), a rare disorder characterized by the emergence of a new accent perceived as foreign by listeners, is usually reported with left brain damage. We here report the case of a 28-year-old native Brazilian who appeared, to the examiner, to show a North American accent during recovery from Broca's aphasia. The lesion was due to a frontal hematoma. Without referring specifically to speech, we asked 10 independent observers to comment on a videotape of the patient's interview. Seven reported that the patient had a foreign accent, while 3 simply noted a 'strange' accent. The observers did not agree on the origin of the accent, 5 identifying it as Spanish, 1 as German, and 1 as south Brazilian. These findings suggest that FAS is not due to the acquisition of a specific foreign accent, but to impairment of the suprasegmental linguistic abilities (tone, accent, pauses, rhythm, and vocal stress) that make it possible to distinguish native language.
外国口音综合征（FAS）是一种罕见的病症，其特征是出现一种被听众认为是外国口音的新口音，通常与左脑损伤有关。我们在此报告一例28岁的巴西本地人病例，在从布罗卡失语症恢复过程中，检查者听上去该患者带有北美口音。损伤是由额叶血肿所致。在未特别提及言语的情况下，我们让10名独立观察者对患者访谈的录像带发表评论。7人报告患者有外国口音，3人只是指出有“奇怪”的口音。观察者们对于口音的来源没有达成一致，5人认为是西班牙语口音，1人认为是德语口音，1人认为是巴西南部口音。这些发现表明，外国口音综合征并非由于习得特定的外国口音，而是由于超音段语言能力（语调、口音、停顿、节奏和语音重音）受损，而这些能力是区分母语所必需的。
