Ashley Bosma, 28, used to have an American accent, but after a head injury, she found herself speaking entirely differently. Known as 'foreign accent syndrome', this rare disorder has only around 100 diagnosed cases in the last century.
Ashley was home alone in October 2017 when someone broke in and attacked her. She was immediately rushed to hospital with an injury to the head, but she was sent home soon after. After leaving the hospital, she lost consciousness and was re-admitted. She was again sent home, at which point she slept "all day and all night"... before waking to her new British accent.
"I have never been to the UK or even anywhere near it so it is a real mystery how this has happened," she explained.
"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."
It's not just the British accent that she finds herself unexpectedly speaking in - as she reportedly also finds her accent switching between British, Australian and South African. Ashley, who is currently training to be a paramedic, now feels intense social anxiety as many believe her to be a fraud.
Ashley explained:
"At first I couldn't understand what was happening and my lips and jaw were hurting and I spoke with the same dialect but didn't sound like my normal self.
"My husband was there to see it as I had a meeting at home with a Russian fitness trainer and overheard me and he actually thought I was trying to mock the person I was with.
"People think it's fake, that it's something not real - I don't like to record myself much because I sound funny.
"Whenever me and my husband go out, someone will always ask about where I'm from and then we have to explain it all - my husband has perfected his explanation."
When some question whether she had contact with people with these accents and has copied them, she explains that it's simply not the case. "You don't have to be exposed to the accent for you to develop it and people with an American accent often sound like they're a cross between American and British English," she said. "It's actually called a Transatlantic accent."
While there are plenty of people out there who find this all a little unbelievable, you've got to wonder why she would make it all up. Seems like it would be pretty awkward to have to explain this condition every time you meet someone.
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