Some language learners go through a lot to acquire a semi-native accent. This American woman’s accent however, changed from Texan to British literally in a blink of an eye.
Lisa Alamia, a normal Texan soccer mom changed accent overnight from a Southern American one to what resembles a Londoner’s enunciation.
It may sound like a hoax but Alamia who had gone through the surgery to fix an overbite, was later diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called foreign accent syndrome.
Her accent has made her own husband and children, among others, question her integrity; but after several tests, her doctors came to realize that her case was not a tongue swelling but an incurable tongue change.
The syndrome may diminish through time, but acquiring her previous Texan and Hispanic accent for Lisa would be no easier than for a Briton.
The number of other reported cases of foreign accent syndrome barely reaches 100.