An American man diagnosed with cancer surprised doctors, after his accent changed completely and turned into an Irish accent, despite the fact that he had no connection to Ireland.
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) reported that the man, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer, “developed an uncontrollable Irish accent”.
“Although the patient had no Irish background, the researchers said the accent was consistent with Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS),” she explained.
Doctors found that despite the chemotherapy he received, the cancer had reached an advanced stage, which would lead to his death.
They added that the man’s progression was “consistent with an underlying neoplastic neurological disorder (PND).”
What is foreign accent syndrome?
- A rare speech disorder that causes sufferers to start speaking with different accents.
- In a report, the British Medical Journal described this as an “unusual” result of structural neurological damage.
- It may also represent a functional neurological disorder, which often affects the ‘function’ of the body, according to the NHS.
- The report studied 49 self-reported patients with foreign accent syndrome, who were from the United Kingdom, North America and Australia.
The most prominent motivators
The researchers found that after studying the disorder and its participants, these were some common triggers for the foreign accent:
- Migraine or severe headache
- Apoplexy
- Oral or facial surgery or injury
- Seizures
Another exampleIn 2016, a woman in Texas underwent jaw surgery and ended up with a British accent, after being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder.