What is foreign accent syndrome? After a stroke, one man’s southern drawl turned British

By Jessica Severin de Martinez,

Khaleel Rahman, Meg Dalton, Catie Talarski, Chion Wolf

Published June 9, 2023 at 9:05 AM EDT

1 of 2 — Kenley Byrd developed Foreign Accent Syndrome after having a mini-stroke in 2010. He runs a Facebook support group for people who have this condition.

Kenley Byrd developed Foreign Accent Syndrome after having a mini-stroke in 2010. He runs a Facebook support group for people who have this condition.

2 of 2 — Professor Jack Ryalls is Professor Emeritus at the University of Central Florida in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and co-author of "Foreign Accent Syndromes: The stories people have to tell".

Professor Jack Ryalls is Professor Emeritus at the University of Central Florida in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and co-author of "Foreign Accent Syndromes: The stories people have to tell".

What makes a man who grew up in the American south suddenly sound like he has a British accent?

Hear from Kenley Byrd, who’s had this accent since he had a mini-stroke thirteen years ago. He is one of fewer than 100 known people in history to have Foreign Accent Syndrome.

And find out what we know - and what we don’t know - about this extremely rare condition.

GUESTS:

Professor Jack Ryalls: Professor Emeritus at the University of Central Florida in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and co-author of Foreign Accent Syndromes: The stories people have to tell
Kenley Byrd: Developed Foreign Accent Syndrome after having a mini-stroke in 2010. He runs a Facebook support group for people who have this condition

Jessica Severin de Martinez, Khaleel Rahman, Meg Fitzgerald, Meg Dalton, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.

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