Health and Me

Ishita Roy

Two British Women Who Suffered Strokes, Suddenly Woke Up With A Thai And A Chinese Accent; Is There A Science Behind It?

Heard of bizarre diseases? There is another one, where a person wakes up and starts speaking in a different accent.

The first story is of a 29-year-old British woman, Cathy Warren. She had experienced a stroke, and what followed next turned her life upside down. She was in Turkey for her holiday, and she woke up speaking in Thai accent, even though she never lived in Thailand. 

It was in September 2024, when she was about to go out with her friends for a dinner, and her right leg became paralyzed. The symptoms worsened and led to an emergency hospital visit. Due to a stroke, she experienced a temporary paralysis at the right side of her body. After she woke up, her British accent had vanished, and was replaced by a strong Thai accent. Doctors diagnosed her with a rare neurological syndrome that could occur after a brain damage. 

Cathy spent nearly a month in a hospital in Turkey, and then returned to UK and continued her rehabilitation. She felt lost because her voice did not belong to herself, though she had regained her mobility after 10 months. 

<h2>Called A Freak, Asked To Get An Exorcism</h2>

Another UK woman named Sarah Colwill suffered a stroke and woke up with a Chinese accent. She has been tormented because of the same for 15 years. Daily Mail reported that she was only 35, when her Devon accent vanished overnight in 2010 and her new accent led her to facing racial abuses. 

She is now 50 years old, and still speaks in Chinese accent, though she has never visited Asia. 

She has lived in Plymouth her entire life, however, due to this rare neurological condition, she had to face embarrassment, and her own family called her a "freak". Those who have met her accused her of being "possessed by the devil" and told her to get "exorcism". 

"I can't describe how it feels when your society, your country turns against you and doesn't recognise you as a resident anymore - and tells you to go back to where you came from. I haven't got anywhere to go. If you don't want me, where am I meant to go? If you don't believe me and you think this is all a fake, that's fine. Get on with your life. Don't feel the need to send me messages about how ugly I am or what a faker I am," she said.

<h2>What Is This Rare Neurological Condition?</h2>

<span>Foreign accent syndrome</span> (FAS) is a condition where the way you talk shifts and changes in a way that is sudden and very noticeable. As the name suggests, it sounds to others like you have suddenly started talking with a foreign accent. This condition could indicate something is disrupting your brain function. 

<h2>Types of Foreign Accent Syndrome</h2>

Foreign accent syndrome generally falls into two main categories:

This type happens when there’s actual damage to the parts of the brain that control the muscles used for speech.

Here, there’s no identifiable physical cause. It can appear after seizures or migraines, or be linked to mental health conditions that involve disrupted or overactive brain activity. Healthcare providers often call this “psychogenic” FAS, meaning the cause isn’t structural.

There are also two additional possible subtypes:

A person has functional FAS but also has a structural brain change that doesn’t seem directly connected to the accent shift.

Seen in some neurodivergent individuals, this type may be related to differences in brain development or activity patterns.

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Heard of bizarre diseases? There is another one, where a person wakes up and starts speaking in a different accent.The first story is of a 29-year-old British woman, Cathy Warren. She had experienced a stroke, and what followed next turned her life upside down. She was in Turkey for her holiday, and she woke up speaking in Thai accent, even though she never lived in Thailand. Woke Up With A Thai AccentIt was in September 2024, when she was about to go out with her friends for a dinner, and her right leg became paralyzed. The symptoms worsened and led to an emergency hospital visit. Due to a stroke, she experienced a temporary paralysis at the right side of her body. After she woke up, her British accent had vanished, and was replaced by a strong Thai accent. Doctors diagnosed her with a rare neurological syndrome that could occur after a brain damage. Cathy spent nearly a month in a hospital in Turkey, and then returned to UK and continued her rehabilitation. She felt lost because her voice did not belong to herself, though she had regained her mobility after 10 months. Called A Freak, Asked To Get An ExorcismAnother UK woman named Sarah Colwill suffered a stroke and woke up with a Chinese accent. She has been tormented because of the same for 15 years. Daily Mail reported that she was only 35, when her Devon accent vanished overnight in 2010 and her new accent led her to facing racial abuses. She is now 50 years old, and still speaks in Chinese accent, though she has never visited Asia. She has lived in Plymouth her entire life, however, due to this rare neurological condition, she had to face embarrassment, and her own family called her a "freak". Those who have met her accused her of being "possessed by the devil" and told her to get "exorcism". "I can't describe how it feels when your society, your country turns against you and doesn't recognise you as a resident anymore - and tells you to go back to where you came from. I haven't got anywhere to go. If you don't want me, where am I meant to go? If you don't believe me and you think this is all a fake, that's fine. Get on with your life. Don't feel the need to send me messages about how ugly I am or what a faker I am," she said.What Is This Rare Neurological Condition?Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is a condition where the way you talk shifts and changes in a way that is sudden and very noticeable. As the name suggests, it sounds to others like you have suddenly started talking with a foreign accent. This condition could indicate something is disrupting your brain function. Types of Foreign Accent SyndromeForeign accent syndrome generally falls into two main categories:StructuralThis type happens when there’s actual damage to the parts of the brain that control the muscles used for speech.FunctionalHere, there’s no identifiable physical cause. It can appear after seizures or migraines, or be linked to mental health conditions that involve disrupted or overactive brain activity. Healthcare providers often call this “psychogenic” FAS, meaning the cause isn’t structural.There are also two additional possible subtypes:MixedA person has functional FAS but also has a structural brain change that doesn’t seem directly connected to the accent shift.DevelopmentalSeen in some neurodivergent individuals, this type may be related to differences in brain development or activity patterns.

two british women who suffered strokes, suddenly woke up with a thai and a chinese accent; is there a science behind it?

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