Woman wakes up with 'British' accent after operation on her jaw....... ........

A Texan woman who has never left the US aside from a mission trip to Mexico has woken up with a “British” accent after an operation on her jaw.

According to The Independent Lisa Alamia, from Rosenberg, Texas, had surgery to correct an overbite six months ago, and found her speech was drastically changed after the operation. Despite virtually never having left the US, she now speaks with an accent similar to someone from the south of England, who perhaps has spent time in Australia.

She was diagnosed with foreign accent syndrome, an extremely rare disorder thought to be neurological, in which a person’s accent suddenly changes without explanation.  Ms Alamia said she noticed herself saying “mum” rather than “mom” straight away, and that certain words such as “just kidding” sound different, and people don’t always understand what she means. Her new accent is also making it harder to connect with her Hispanic roots.

“My daughter laughs at the way I say ‘tamales’. I used to say it like a real Hispanic girl. Now, I cannot.”

She added: “People who don’t know me, they’re like ‘Hey, where are you from’. [I say] ‘I’m from Rosenberg’. There’re like ‘where’s that?’ I’m like ‘Right here in Rosenberg’. ‘Oh, you’re from here? How do you talk like that?’ So that’s how the whole story comes up.”

Ms Alamia is receiving speech therapy, and hopes to one day reclaim her original accent. Until then, she has agreed to help doctors conduct more research into what causes the condition, and raise awareness.

Source: The Independent