A woman from England woke up one day to find herself speaking with a Welsh accent, despite never having set foot in Wales. She suspects that she may have a rare syndrome causing this unexpected change in her speech pattern.
In June 2023, on a typical morning in England, 36-year-old Zoe Coles from Lincolnshire woke up to discover that her world had taken on a bit of a Welsh twist. The mother of two, who had never been to Wales, suddenly started speaking in a Welsh accent she had never learned, turning her daily life into what felt like a scene from a fantasy movie.
Initially, she thought it would be a temporary phenomenon. However, the accent persisted, and Coles found herself being asked if she was from Cardiff, Wales, even though her home was in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England.
Coles said she had never spoken with a Welsh accent or rolled her Rs before, but now she had to. Her new accent felt like an unwelcome guest that had unexpectedly taken over the spotlight in her life. Every time she went out, she felt “anxious” because her new accent made her feel out of place. She longed to reclaim her original voice.
In January 2022, Coles was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition where the brain has problems transmitting and receiving signals. Now, she suspects she may also have Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) – a rare condition where patients involuntarily develop a speech pattern that sounds like a foreign accent.
Nine months later, Coles expressed her desire to regain her former accent and wished for her life to return to normalcy.
Coles, a former bartender, shared, “The impact on me is huge because your voice is part of you from birth and as you grow, we develop the way we speak. But that has been taken away from me. While it’s fascinating, I just want everything back to normal, life back on track. I really want my old voice back, but I fear if it comes back, my FND might worsen.”
Due to FND, Coles often experiences memory lapses, unclear speech, and leg pains. She mentioned that she used to be a full-time working mother who could clean the house, shower, do makeup, shop, go to work, and come back within two hours. However, now, she needs assistance to shower to prevent her legs from giving out. Chores that used to take two hours now take two days. She quickly becomes exhausted and feels powerless.
Coles noted that when her FND flares up, her old accent returns, but she stutters and speaks unclearly.
“I’ve learned how to adapt, but when I’m particularly bad and can’t walk, my old accent comes back. I don’t get why that happens, as it’s such a rare scenario, and there’s minimal understanding about it,” she said.
“I’ve encountered some Welsh people who ask me where I’m from. It puts me in an awkward position because I don’t want to lie about coming from a certain place in Wales. I know nothing about Wales. I’ve never been there.”
Coles sought help from neurologists, but they said there was nothing they could do. “I want to raise awareness about this issue to let people know that this is happening to me for real,” she said. “I’ve chosen to speak out to make people understand that such things can really occur.”
“It’s something I’ve had to accept. While I don’t like it, I’ve grown to love this accent and have learned to adapt.”
“However, it still troubles my life; I have frequent headaches, and my face sometimes feels sore. It’s not just a simple accent change; for me, it’s a big challenge.”