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Unbelievable but reality Italians speak after brain damage only French
The idea of awakening one morning and suddenly speaking another language sounds bizarre and implausible at first. But a 50-year-old Italian now experienced exactly this situation. The reason for the seemingly sudden learning of the new foreign language is brain damage. The person concerned now speaks only French.
Imagine getting out of bed in the morning and suddenly not being able to speak German anymore. But you speak Spanish or any other language. Sounds very strange at first, but is quite possible. A 50-year-old Italian man has just happened to a situation like this. The Italian does not speak Italian any more, so he speaks French. This is due to brain damage. Physicians report on this strange process in the journal "Cortex".
Is it possible to suddenly speak a foreign language from one day to the next and to unlearn your mother tongue? Apparently, such a strange behavior can be triggered in very rare cases by a brain damage or a stroke. (Image: hayo / fotolia.com) Italian had last spoken French 30 years ago
Extraordinary cases, such as the present one, occur only very rarely. The person concerned first presented all treating physicians with a big puzzle. The man no longer speaks in his mother tongue, he now speaks only a foreign language, which he had learned more than 30 years ago at school, the researchers say. The 50-year-old Italian suffered brain damage and now insists on only speaking French. Most recently, the man spoke the language about 30 years ago. For this reason, his vocabulary and style of formulation is also on the stand, which was taught at school, explain the Italian scientists Nicoletta Beschin, Angela de Bruin and Sergio Della Sala in the journal "Cortex".
A water accumulation in the brain triggered the peculiar consequences?
The person concerned speaks with every French, it does not even irritate him when people do not understand his statements. The cause seems to be purely physical, explain the authors. Unfortunately, the 50-year-old man has suffered from a brain disease for some time. In this case, a blood vessel of the person in the brainstem of the man had expanded, explain the experts. This caused a buildup of water in the brain of the Italian. Of course, this has already been treated medically, the researchers add.
Affected behaves like the typical caricature of a Frenchman
No cognitive impairment was found in the person affected, say the authors. Except for the linguistic change everything seems to be in the best order. The treating researchers and physicians now suspect that the disease of the brain has led to a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder with manic and delusional features. There is no other explanation for the peculiar behavior of the patient at the present time. But not only the language of the Italian has changed. The person concerned now behaves like the typical caricature of a Frenchman, the scientists explain in the article. The man greets other people now with a loud "Bonjour" and looks at tons of French films. In addition, he cooks only French and his wife complained several times about the fact that he bake tons of bread since the incident, the doctors add.
Subject is still able to speak Italian
One thing makes the whole situation particularly bizarre: The Italian man still speaks his mother tongue, he seems only to refuse to use them in everyday life, explain the researchers. If the subject is asked, he can still speak Italian perfectly without any problem. In fact, he usually uses his mother tongue only for his written communication. The patient really seems to think in French as well, explain the scientists.
In 2015, there was a similar case in the People's Republic of China
Of course, such effects after brain diseases are really rare. A similar story happened in 2015 in the People's Republic of China. There, a 94-year-old Chinese woman made headlines, as she suddenly began to use only a foreign language for communication, say the experts. The woman then suffered a stroke and then spoke only fluent English. However, the old lady could barely speak Chinese for that, add the physicians. The sufferer really brought only a few words in their native language. The ill pensioner named Liu Jaiyu, who had previously worked as a teacher of English for several years in her professional life, explain the authors. (As)