Accent attribution in speakers with Foreign Accent Syndrome

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Neurology
• Speech Pathology

Background:

• Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) is a rare motor speech disorder.
• Distinguishing FAS from authentic foreign accents is crucial for diagnosis and understanding.
• Listener perception plays a key role in accent attribution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how listeners perceive speech from individuals with Foreign Accent Syndrome compared to those with genuine foreign accents.
• To analyze the differences in accent attribution between native speakers, speakers with authentic foreign accents, and speakers with FAS.
• To explore the underlying reasons for perceptual differences in accent evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Three listener groups evaluated speech samples from 5 FAS speakers, 5 authentic foreign accent speakers, and 5 native Dutch speakers.
• Listeners' familiarity with foreign-accented speech and speech pathology varied across groups.
• Accent attribution was analyzed across different levels of linguistic and phonetic analysis.

Main Results:

• Native speakers were clearly identified as native.
• Speakers with authentic foreign accents were reliably identified as non-native.
• Speakers with FAS were perceived as a mix of native and foreign, distinct from both native and authentic foreign accent speakers.
• Perceptual differences were attributed to listeners misinterpreting speech pathology markers as regional affiliation markers.

Conclusions:

• The nature of the accent in FAS differs fundamentally from an authentic foreign accent.
• Listener perception suggests a distinct perceptual profile for Foreign Accent Syndrome.
• While distinct, the degree of foreignness in FAS may be a continuum rather than a binary distinction.