Saturday, September 15, 2007
Annals of neurology: Learning a language the painful way
So, I'm sitting in the back of a room filled with neurosurgeons discussing scientific matters, and I desperately want to stand up and ask them if this story can possibly be true. Only my famous reticence stands in the way.
8 Comments:
By 
, at
Sat Sep 15, 06:30:00 PM:
By 
Assistant Village Idiot, at
Sat Sep 15, 07:05:00 PM:
I have personally witnessed a less-remarkable but still quite amazing similar case. A woman born in Germany in 1941 who had come to the US in 1947 was in a car accident and brought to our hospital in 1980 or so. She could speak only German. From items in her purse - all in English - we located one of her children and I called him. When I told him his mother was speaking only German he stopped dead, telling me I must have the wrong person. "She can't speak German anymore. When her aunt came over a few years ago, she was embarrassed that she couldn't speak German with her. I took German in highschool and she was never the least help. Couldn't understand a word." 48-72 hours later she was speaking only English.
As I said, not quite so amazing, but still quite dramatic. And anyone who has read the neurologist Oliver Sack would find nearly any oddity credible.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Sat Sep 15, 07:41:00 PM:
This comment has been removed by the author.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Sat Sep 15, 07:47:00 PM:
Here's a case in India:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/UP_boy_suddenly_acquires_US_accent/articleshow/2202364.cms
By Papa Ray, at
Sat Sep 15, 08:54:00 PM:
Well, don't that beat all.
I have a Texas tale to tell. Back long ago and far away, I was in a bad jam and needed to communicate to someone who was vietnamese and only spoke a little english.
Previous to this bad time, I had only heard it spoken and never, ever tried to speak it. But in that stressful moment, I told him what I needed and what to do in vietnamese. He later asked me in vietnamese "I didn't know you knew our language".
I understood enought to reply (in english), that I didn't and didn't know how I had been able to speak it, that one time.
Stress and necessity.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
By , at
Sat Sep 15, 11:36:00 PM:
For the definitive scientifically proven answer, ask Al Gore first, Dear Abby 2nd and Dr. Phil third.
SEW
By , at
Sun Sep 16, 12:37:00 AM:
And will that include SWAHILI,PIDJIN ENGLISH,and KLINGONISE?
By , at
Sun Sep 16, 10:51:00 PM:
According to family lore, a similar incident happened to my grandfather, a German immigrant whose English was unintelligible. One morning, while attempting to ask Grandma to pass the sugar, please, he uttered, “You b____, you ruined my life!” Immediately thereafter, he had absolutely no idea what he had said, and never again spoke a word of English.
