Croatian teenager wakes from coma speaking fluent German.

April 16, 2010 6:33 AM

A 13-year-old Croatian girl who fell into a coma woke up speaking fluent German. The girl, from the southern town of Knin, had only just started studying German at school and had been reading German books and watching German TV to become better, but was by no means fluent, according to her parents.
posted by Fizz (22 comments total)

You know who else spoke fluent German?
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 6:37 AM on April 16, 2010

mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey: "You know who else spoke fluent German?"

Sigmund Freud?
posted by bwg at 6:38 AM on April 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

And the twist that interests me: "Since waking up from her 24 hour coma, however, she has been unable to speak Croatian." That's some Lost stuff right there!
posted by sharkfu at 6:38 AM on April 16, 2010

Did I miss the part that explained why she fell into the coma? Did she suffer any head trauma?
posted by Dr-Baa at 6:39 AM on April 16, 2010

You are so lucky, mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey.
I was just about to post: First person to make the "You know who else:" joke gets a plate of beans thrown at their head.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 6:40 AM on April 16, 2010

Since waking up from her 24 hour coma however, she has been unable to speak Croatian, but is able to communicate perfectly in German.

Maybe the reports are overstated? German is a difficult language to speak "perfectly." How could she subconsciously master the grammar in such a short period of time?
posted by three blind mice at 6:41 AM on April 16, 2010

The girl, who cannot be named, lost consciousness for 24 hours after being hospitalised for blood poisoning, Croatian media report. Doctors at Split's KB Hospital have been left baffled by her bizarre condition, all failing to make a diagnosis.
posted by Fizz at 6:41 AM on April 16, 2010

Brings to mind instances of others with brain injuries or coming out of comas speaking with an accent.

Man awoke from coma to find he had a foreign accent.

Geordie stroke victim wakes up with Jamaican accent.

Brain op Englishman wakes up with Irish accent.

Foreign Accent Syndrome.

Foreign Accent Syndrome Gives Sufferers an International Sound.
posted by ericb at 6:44 AM on April 16, 2010

I passed out drinking once and woke up speaking fluent Gibberish. Where's my FPP?
posted by Bathtub Bobsled at 6:44 AM on April 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

Sounds like a hoax.
posted by Edgewise at 6:45 AM on April 16, 2010 [4 favorites]

Who made the determination that she is speaking German at all, let alone "perfect"?

Obviously we have some theories although at the moment we are limited in what we can say because we have to respect the privacy of the patient.

I.e. it's a hoax, but I'm not about to call a kid a liar in the paper.
posted by DU at 6:49 AM on April 16, 2010

Edgewise I doubt that doctors would make up a story about this and why would she choose to not speak with her parents or her family.
posted by Fizz at 6:50 AM on April 16, 2010

Yeah, she might have switched to german, but how could she speak it 'perfectly'?
posted by delmoi at 6:51 AM on April 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

This, and the other cases listed by ericb, have convinced me that there is a wide-ranging Illuminati changeling conspiracy afoot. People around the world are replaced with body doubles, or perhaps have their brains swapped out with pre-programmed brains, awaiting the subliminal orders of their masters. However brain trauma removes some of this programming and reverts their brains to their pre-programmed state, hence the new accents or languages.
posted by charred husk at 6:54 AM on April 16, 2010

<> >

I can think of lots of reasons, and they'd be the first place I'd look.
posted by texorama at 7:02 AM on April 16, 2010

Yeah, she might have switched to german, but how could she speak it 'perfectly'?

Precisely... who said it was perfect? Native Croatian speakers?
posted by fleetmouse at 7:05 AM on April 16, 2010

No fair! I took a German course in university, and while I fell into many short-lived comas after suffering from alcohol poisoning, not once did I wake up speaking it fluently.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:05 AM on April 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wenn ist das Nunstruck git und Slotermeyer? Ja!... Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.
posted by isopraxis at 7:06 AM on April 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

*dies*
posted by Dr-Baa at 7:14 AM on April 16, 2010

I can just imagine the NPD wishing this on more Croatians.
posted by edguardo at 7:19 AM on April 16, 2010

This, and the other cases listed by ericb, have convinced me that there is a wide-ranging Chomskyan conspiracy afoot. People around the world are born with pre-programmed brains, awaiting the subliminal orders of their linguistic environment. However brain trauma removes some of the learned programming and reverts their brains to their pre-programmed state, hence the ability to gain new accents or languages as L1.
posted by Free word order! at 7:20 AM on April 16, 2010

It would be pretty cool if there was a way around the learning bottleneck: read something once and you've grokked it for life. I'd kill to have a Matrix "I know Kung Fu" moment every day. As for this story though, pencil my name on the "skeptical" list.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 7:22 AM on April 16, 2010