He Woke Up Speaking Spanish After Anesthesia... A Rare Disorder With Only 100 Cases Reported

"Foreign Language Syndrome" First Reported in 1907
Surgery and Anesthesia Lead to Improved Foreign Language Skills

The story of an American man whose foreign language skills noticeably improve every time he wakes up from anesthesia after surgery has attracted attention. This condition, known as "Foreign Language Syndrome," is extremely rare, with only about 100 reported cases worldwide.

According to international media outlets such as The Economic Times and Daily Star on January 19, Stephen Chase, a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah, underwent surgery on his right knee at the age of 19 after being injured during an American football game. When he awoke from general anesthesia, he suddenly began speaking fluently in Spanish to the nurses.

An American man suddenly began speaking Spanish after waking up from anesthesia surgery. Photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Pixabay

When the nurses asked him to speak in English, Chase was confused, unable to understand why they could not comprehend him. He later realized that he had been speaking a foreign language instead of English.

He continued speaking in Spanish for about 20 minutes before switching back to English. Chase recalled, "I don't even remember speaking in Spanish. I just remember feeling confused because everyone around me was telling me to speak in English."

He said that his only exposure to Spanish was taking classes for about a year in elementary school, and he had never studied a foreign language in earnest. However, over the next ten years, the same phenomenon occurred each time he underwent surgery and woke up from anesthesia, and each time his proficiency in Spanish improved even further.

Medical staff diagnosed him with "Foreign Language Syndrome." This rare neurological and psychiatric disorder was first reported in 1907 and can occur after brain damage, tumors, extreme stress, or general anesthesia. Its hallmark is the sudden ability to speak a foreign language or a specific accent instead of one's native tongue.

Although Chase never formally studied Spanish, it is presumed that he was influenced by growing up in an area with a high Hispanic population. Chase explained, "When I was young, I used to spend time at a close friend's house, and his parents always spoke Spanish. I didn't understand what they were saying, but it felt familiar to me."