Boy Wakes Up From Coma Speaking A Language He Was Never Fluent In

For Reuben Nsemoh, life’s been full of ambiguities lately.

Following a concussion he suffered in a soccer game, the suburban Atlanta teen was troubled about his difficulty in concentrating. He was worried over whether he’ll ever get to play his favorite sport.

But the million dollar question is: how is it that he’s suddenly speaking fluent Spanish?

Another player accidentally kicked the 16-year old in the head during a game that put him in a coma.

When Nsemoh woke up, he did something he’d never done before: speak Spanish like a native.

Although he could already speak some Spanish, his parents said that he was never fluent in the language until his concussion.

But he’s starting to lose his fluency in Spanish as his English is coming back slowly.

Brain injuries can change a person’s speech pattern and give them a different accent. This extremely rare condition is called foreign accent syndrome. The first known case was documented in 1941. It involved a Norwegian woman who began speaking with a German accent after she suffered injuries to the brain during a German bombing run.

Since then there have been a few dozen reported cases.

In Australia, a former bus driver got in a car accident that left her with a broken jaw and back. When she regained consciousness, she was left with something absolutely surprising: a French accent.

Three years ago, police found a Navy veteran passed out in a Southern California motel. He had no memory of his previous life when he woke up and spoke only Swedish.

And early this year, a Texas woman has been speaking with a British accent ever since a jaw surgery.

Dr. Karen Croot, one of the few specialists in foreign accent syndrome, said a few years ago that the condition is an impairment of motor control. “Speech is one of the most complicated things we do, and there are a lot of brain centers involved in coordinating a lot of moving parts. If one or more of them are damaged, that can affect the timing, melody and tension of their speech,” she added.

 

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