I went to bed English… and woke up sounding WELSH: Woman’s five-month battle with ‘Foreign Accent Syndrome’
- Zoe Coles from Lincolnshire woke up five months ago with a Welsh accent
- She has updated viewers on her daily battle with foreign accent syndrome
Whether we like our accent or not, most of us are stuck with it for life.
That is, unless you’re one of the hundred or so people in the world who have been diagnosed with Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS).
These people can wake up with an American accent one week and switch to sounding Scottish the next.
Zoe Coles, who lives in Lincolnshire, is one of the people suffering from the rare syndrome.
She made headlines earlier this year for seeking medical attention after waking up with a Welsh accent – last week she took to TikTok where she went by @zoecoles1 to give viewers an update.
The Englishwoman revealed that she has been stuck with the Welsh accent for almost five months and shared her daily struggles.
Zoe Coles, who lives in Lincolnshire, is one of the people suffering from the bizarre and rare syndrome
Her latest video has already been viewed by more than 18,000 people in a week.
From being forced to have embarrassing conversations to people not believing her syndrome is real, Zoe explained how it affects her daily life.
The pub worker originally developed a German accent before changing to Welsh, despite never having been to Wales.
Last year she was diagnosed with a functional neurological disorder (FND) that affects motor control and speech.
She told viewers: “So I was in a clothing store this weekend and a lady said to me, ‘Oh my god, I love your accent, where are you from?’ and I said, ‘I’m from here, I woke up with this accent’ and she didn’t believe me.
‘She literally didn’t believe me and I felt completely ashamed and I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.
“I understand very well – many people stop me and many people who serve me ask me where I come from and I try to explain that I woke up like this, I have foreign accent syndrome.
Adding: ‘It’s embarrassing, you know, you’ve got all the people behind you, you’ve got all the people by your side paying for their stuff and everyone’s looking at you like ‘we’re all waiting.’
The Englishwoman revealed that she has been stuck with the Welsh accent for almost five months and shares the daily problems it causes her
“They’re all listening because my accent doesn’t fit here, because no one else speaks like that, so obviously I’m attracting attention and I have to talk, I have to talk to my daughter or my fiancée or my son.
“I need to speak to the cashier to make an exchange or something. I mean, how else am I supposed to tell you guys? How do I convey that I woke up speaking with a Welsh accent?
“I don’t know what to say other than ‘it’s called foreign accent syndrome, look it up.’
“You end up coming into this with ‘no’ ‘yes’ no, you’re on me ‘no, I’m not on you’ and you end up lying for a good five minutes and I don’t want to be in that situation.
The TikToker ended the video by asking for advice: “So that was my weekend anyway, if you have any suggestions on how to explain to people what happened please respond.”
Shocked viewers sympathized in the comments, with one writing: I’m Welsh and it’s crazy how much you actually look like us. it must be terrible for you’.
Zoe replied: ‘No offense at all, but yes, it’s terrible for me.’
Another wrote: ‘I can imagine the disbelief at what we sound like where we come from! Keep destroying it while remaining strong enough to deal with it all.”
A curious person asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, what happens when you try to speak with your original accent?” Does it sound like you’re forcing it?’ to which the TikToker replied, “Yes, it causes tics and I can’t speak properly.”
Other victims of the condition include an American woman who woke up with a ‘posh’ English accent after suffering a head injury, and an Essex woman who woke up one day speaking with four different European accents.