Brain injury turns Italian man into Frenchman with poor language skills
Washington Post and Postmedia Network
First posted: Friday, June 03, 2016 01:34 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, June 03, 2016 01:54 PM EDT
A brain injury has turned an Italian man French, even though he doesn't speak the language very well.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh and the Somma Lombardo Hospital in Italy, detailed the man's odd condition in the medical journal Cortex.
The man, who is 50 and described only by his initials, JC, had a brain injury stemming from an arterial anomaly four years ago. Abruptly afterwards, he began to talk in French. He only reads French magazines, enjoys French movies and eats French food.
The researchers said JC's previous history with French amounted to high school language classes and a "fling" with a French woman while the man was in his 20s. This was the first time he had used the language in 30 years.
Despite his newfound desire to speak French -- what the scientists call a "compulsive foreign language syndrome" -- JC still can't speak it very well.
But what he lacks in accuracy, he makes up for in "exaggerated intonation," the scientists say.
And he doesn't let it get him down: "unjustified euphoria," they call it -- even offering to teach his neighbours how to speak French.
"When a trauma to the brain occurs -- due to a car accident or a stroke, tumour, or other causes -- some parts of the network may be spared while some others temporarily or irreversibly damaged," Regina Jokel, a speech-language pathologist told ABC News in 2010, after studying a Croatian teen who began speaking German.
Brain injury turns Italian man into Frenchman with poor language skills | Weird
Washington Post and Postmedia Network
First posted: Friday, June 03, 2016 01:34 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, June 03, 2016 01:54 PM EDT
A brain injury has turned an Italian man French, even though he doesn't speak the language very well.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh and the Somma Lombardo Hospital in Italy, detailed the man's odd condition in the medical journal Cortex.
The man, who is 50 and described only by his initials, JC, had a brain injury stemming from an arterial anomaly four years ago. Abruptly afterwards, he began to talk in French. He only reads French magazines, enjoys French movies and eats French food.
The researchers said JC's previous history with French amounted to high school language classes and a "fling" with a French woman while the man was in his 20s. This was the first time he had used the language in 30 years.
Despite his newfound desire to speak French -- what the scientists call a "compulsive foreign language syndrome" -- JC still can't speak it very well.
But what he lacks in accuracy, he makes up for in "exaggerated intonation," the scientists say.
And he doesn't let it get him down: "unjustified euphoria," they call it -- even offering to teach his neighbours how to speak French.
"When a trauma to the brain occurs -- due to a car accident or a stroke, tumour, or other causes -- some parts of the network may be spared while some others temporarily or irreversibly damaged," Regina Jokel, a speech-language pathologist told ABC News in 2010, after studying a Croatian teen who began speaking German.
Brain injury turns Italian man into Frenchman with poor language skills | Weird
