Head injury results in French accent in Australia

SYDNEY - Agence France-Presse

An Australian woman who now speaks with a French-sounding accent after a head injury eight years ago has revealed the experience has left her feeling frustrated and reclusive.

Leanne Rowe, born and raised on the southern Australian island of Tasmania, was in a serious car crash which left her with a broken back and jaw.

“Slowly, as my jaw started to heal, they said that I was slurring my words because I was on very powerful tablets,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation late June 16.

As she regained her health, Rowe found that she had what sounded like a strong French accent. “It makes me so angry because I am Australian,” she said. “I am not French (though) I do not have anything against the French people.” The condition has had a deep impact on Rowe’s life, and her daughter usually speaks for her in public.

“I prefer night time because it is very peaceful, not many people about,” she said.
 
Rowe has not had a definitive diagnosis but her family doctor Robert Newton believes she is Australia’s second ever case of the rare condition Foreign Accent Syndrome.