Last year, Josefin Swan from Skåne woke up with a German dialect.
Now she is one of the few who has been diagnosed with “Foreign accent syndrome”.
– I can say that the ones who have had the most fun with this have been the healthcare, and it is a great sadness, says Josefin in Efter fem.
It was last year that Josefin Swan woke up one morning unable to speak. She was admitted to a stroke ward, but the doctors found nothing.
But once she started to get her speech back a couple of weeks later, she noticed that she was suddenly speaking with a German dialect.
– It was very strange and from one day to another. It was like I came from Germany and spoke Swedish. Neither my friends nor my family believed me. I have no connection whatsoever to Germany, says Josefin in Efter fem.
“Became a comic strip”
She is from Skåne, but has now completely lost her dialect.
Instead, it has gone from a German break, via the whining belt, to a Norwegian variant that reminds a little of how people from Bergen sound.
– The doctors had no explanation and there was, unfortunately, a bit of lytescomic. They made fun of me. I can say this that the people who have had the most fun with this have been the health care, and that is a great sadness.
“Hope healthcare takes this to heart”
Now Josefin has been diagnosed with “foreign accent syndrome” – a diagnosis she was not told about by the doctors, but by a stranger who contacted her on social media.
But despite the diagnosis, there are still many who think she’s just pretending, and she’s received a lot of hate.
– I have always been very positive as a person, and have been stable and calm in this whole thing, so I have been able to handle it. Accepting it has been incredibly important, but it becomes difficult to deal with it when someone might make fun of it or say it doesn’t exist.
She has stayed away from the media for just over a year but has now chosen to tell her story with the hope that more people will learn about the diagnosis.
– Above all, I hope that healthcare takes this to heart, that they take it seriously if someone comes in with an unusual symptom and that they absolutely do not diminish or manipulate people. We probably need to think a little more with our hearts in such situations.
Facts: Foreign accent syndrome
“Foreign accent syndrome (loosely translated to foreign accent syndrome) is a brain-related condition that affects the ability to make certain sounds. Despite the name, it is not about a dialect change. FAS is a medical condition, and although it is rare, experts have managed to confirm over 100 cases. Some of the reasons can be traced. It is often treatable and can even be cured.”
Source: Cleveland Clinic
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