Acoustic Analysis of Foreign Accent Syndrome: An Examination of Three Explanatory Models

Acoustic analyses of the speech of an adult female with foreign accent syndrome (FAS) are reported. The acoustic features were examined to address three explanatory models of the speech behavior characterizing FAS. Results of the study indicated that prominent aspects of this individual's speech included greater than normal tongue retraction during vowel production, acoustic variability, and poor coarticulation. Similar to previous reports, vocal F_o and vowel formant frequencies were higher compared to same-aged females. Collectively, the present findings suggest that the perceived "accent" in FAS represents a disorder encompassing several parameters of speech production. It is concluded that FAS is reasonably considered as an apraxic condition.