They say you can tell a lot about a person from their accent.
But for some, they go to sleep with one accent and wake up with another.
This is what happens to someone who has a rare medical condition known as foreign accent syndrome (FAS) – an ailment that changes how people speak.
It affects just around 100 people worldwide, but the differences are almost too bizarre to believe.
Now, MailOnline has collated six fascinating tales from people who were stripped of their homeland vocals overnight.
She is appealing for help to find an expert or neurologist who can help her deal with the sudden change
Zoe Coles
Zoe Coles, who lives in Lincolnshire, lost her northern accent six weeks ago and now fears she is ‘stuck’ with a distinctive Welsh one.
The pub worker, who originally developed a German accent before it morphed into Welsh, has taken to TikTok to chronicle her struggles accessing medical help for FAS.
Ms Coles, who was last year diagnosed with a functional neurological disorder (FND) that affects motor control and speech, has never been to Wales.
She says she is unable to go to work and is worried something has ‘gone wrong up in my brain’.
In videos shared on her TikTok account @zoecoles1, she revealed that FND leaves her in chronic pain and sometimes makes it impossible to talk and walk.
But this latest development has left her even more frustrated, saying in one video: ‘I’ve just got this accent and it won’t go away, I think it’s stuck. I hoped it would just be a blip and I would get over it.’
It is widely understood that FAS is an ‘unusual consequence’ of structural neurological damage, but some studies suggest it may be a sign of FND.
Ms Coles claims she failed to get a referral to see a specialist, so she has resorted to social media begging for an expert to help her.
Emily Egan
An Essex woman who went mute for two months after a mystery brain injury woke up one day speaking with four different Europeans accents.
Ms Egan, 33, lost the ability to speak in 2020, forcing her to rely on an app that read her texts in a computerised voice for two months before she got her voice back.
Emily Egan’s extremely rare condition has sent her body into shut down, leaving her exhausted
When she got her voice back two months later, Ms Egan was left intermittently sounding either French, Polish, Russian and Italian.
Medics thought she had a stroke, but later ruled that out, and concluded that she suffered from some form of brain damage.
Ms Egan said the accents interchange depending on how tired she is.
‘This whole experience has been exhausting and totally overwhelming’, she added.
‘It’s not just my accent that has changed – I don’t speak or think in the same way as before this, and I can’t construct sentences like I used to.’
Kath Locket
A mother-of-two proud of her Staffordshire accent was shocked when she woke up sounding Italian.
Kath Locket went to bed one night as normal in 2006 but was later rushed to the hospital unable to speak or swallow.
Initially baffled, doctors diagnosed her with a rare brain condition called severe cerebral vasculitis — damage to part of the brain that controls language.
As she got her voice back, she noticed that her accent had changed.
Despite being born and bred in Staffordshire, she was left with a strong Italian accent.
Kath Locket went to bed one night as normal in 2006 but was later rushed to the hospital unable to speak or swallow
Ms Lockett said she no longer sounded like her family and friends — and locals assume she isn’t from the West Midlands.
In an interview with ITV, she said: ‘I started off with just a lisp and I was a bit concerned.
‘With ill health, I got over-fatigued, so I thought it was that and went to bed.
‘But when I woke up, it was still there and this lisp was getting a little bit strange.
‘On the Tuesday, I was fine and went to work. At that time, I could speak.
‘By Wednesday morning, it was starting to go like an alien.
‘And by Thursday, it had gone completely and I lost my swallow as well.’
Ashley Bosma
An American woman woke with a ‘posh’ English accent after suffering a head injury during a break-in.
Ashley Bosma, 33, from Hollywood, Florida, was left unconscious after an intruder broke into her home and allegedly hit her over the head in October 2017.
Ashley Bosma, 33, from Hollywood, Florida, was left unconscious after an intruder broke into her home and allegedly hit her over the head in October 2017
After being treated in hospital, she returned to her normal life but was left suffering from memory problems and brain fog.
A month later, her thick American accent had disappeared and instead, she began speaking with an English, Australian or South African twang.
The mother-of-one said: ‘I have never been to the UK or even anywhere near it, so it is a real mystery how this has happened.
‘I was a fan of Harry Potter when I was young but not really anything linked to Britain other than that. If anything, I was more impressed by the French accent growing up.
‘The only exposure I have had was a former work colleague who was a Brit and I loved his accent, but I haven’t spoken to him for about three years.
‘My friends and family think it is really funny. They quote lines from Monty Python and even Mrs Doubtfire at me and finish off conversations with ‘Cheerio’ or some other British mannerisms.’
Michelle Myers
A former beauty queen from Arizona was left sounding ‘like a Spice Girl’ after waking with an English accent.
Michelle Myers, 50, from Phoenix, had suffered from ‘splitting headaches’ for four years before losing vision in her right eye one night in 2015 and struggling to speak.
She was rushed to hospital overnight and woke up with an English accent.
Michelle Myers, 50, from Phoenix, had suffered from ‘splitting headaches’ for four years before losing vision in her right eye one night in 2015 and struggling to speak
The single mother of seven was diagnosed with FAS and had no idea why it happened.
She said: ‘I felt like I lost a person. I named my son Tyler, but I pronounce his name completely differently now.
‘I am an author and public speaker, so when my voice changed, I lost the person that did all those things.
‘I was Miss Black Austin, Texas, when I was younger, but I feel like I’m not that person anymore.
‘I fell into a deep depression about that when this first happened and for about three or four months, I would only leave my house to go to the doctor.’
Ms Myers has now come to terms with sounding English and realises it is just her voice, not her personality, or achievements, that has changed.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Health & Fitness News Click Here
