Despite our understanding of
medical conditions having progressed in leaps and bounds over the last century or so, there are just some things that we still can't entirely understand. Alien hand syndrome, for instance, is something for which there is no cure, as is Morgellons disease, a condition that makes people think they have insects crawling under their skin.
One of the most bizarre afflictions that remains unexplained, however, is Foreign Accent Syndrome. As strange as it may sound, this condition literally changes the way a person's
brain is wired, and causes them to speak with an accent which is completely different to the one they have developed over the course of their lifetime. It's usually caused by brain damage, such as a stroke or a head injury, but has been known to be triggered by
surgery before.
Over the last century, there have only been 100 confirmed cases, making it one of the rarest conditions known to the medical community. Lisa Alamia is one of the very few to have been diagnosed with the condition, as she suddenly developed an English accent after undergoing a routine jaw surgery to correct her overbite.
Two years ago, Alamia woke up from surgery to find that her Texan accent had disappeared, and in its place was a strange London twang. It's not as perfect as the authentic English patter, but it's certainly close enough to fool non-Brits into thinking that Alamia is originally from across the pond.
Understandably, this causes a bit of confusion for people who ask where she's from.
She tells them: "I'm from Rosenberg, [Texas]. They're like, 'Where is that?' I'm like, 'Right here in Rosenberg.' 'Oh, you're from here? How do you talk like that?'"
Even her own daughters didn't believe her at first, and thought that their mom was joking around. It wasn't until a doctor formally diagnosed her with the condition that people realized she was being serious.
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One of the first known instances of this condition occurred in a Norweigan woman during WWII. She was hit by shrapnel during an air raid and subsequently developed a German accent. Unfortunately for the woman, this led to many people believing that she was an enemy spy, and she was shunned by her friends and neighbors.
Many others have had unpleasant experiences after developing the condition, with some sufferers being accused of faking it, and others being snubbed or shamed because their accents are perceived as racist.
Alamia's case was quite special even amongst such a small number of others, though. As she had not suffered any head wounds or undergone brain surgery, it was unusual for her to develop the condition.
But, according to an article in The Conversation, this does not eliminate the possibility of developing Foreign Accent Syndrome. As they explain:
"Speaking requires very precise control of the muscles of lips, tongue and jaw (the speech articulators) and the larynx (voicebox). If the placement of the articulators, speed or coordination of movements are slightly out of sync, then speech sounds will be altered."
As Alamia's jaw was altered during the procedure to correct her overbite, her speech articulators were rearranged, and therefore so was her accent.
It's weird, fascinating, and - to some - completely unbelievable. But it's totally true.
