Woman reveals the reason she woke up speaking in a new accent
A 60-year-old well-spoken English woman has been left shocked after she discovered she was talking differently while on Facetime to her sister.
Health
Don't miss out on the headlines from Health. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A mum woke up speaking like a member of ABBA.
Georgina Gailey, 60, noticed her Swedish twang while chatting to her sister on FaceTime.
Hospital medics suspected a stroke, but two weeks later she was diagnosed with Foreign Accent Syndrome, The Sun reported
The mum-of-two from the UK, said: “I had a heart attack a few months earlier. I was getting better.
“I was very well spoken and now I say Ja rather than Yes.
“People ask where I come from and when I tell them they laugh. I smile but underneath it makes me sad.
“I’m English born and bred. I’ve never even been to Sweden.”
Georgina went on: “I went to the hospital and they thought I had a stroke.
“They kept me in for two weeks and then I was finally diagnosed.”
Foreign Accent Syndrome is a rare disorder which can occur after trauma to the brain.
Georgina said: “I don’t know if I’ll have the accent forever. I want to raise awareness because the more people know about it the more research will be done.”
In 2022, Brisbane dentist Angie Wen – who moved to Australia from Taiwan when she was eight – has been living with foreign accent syndrome since April 2021, when her voice began to sound different 10 days after a tonsillectomy.
Speaking to 7 News, the 29-year-old said more than a year later, her accent “hasn’t completely reverted back” to her Australian twang.
Ms Yen said that while the “speech issues were temporary struggles that got better with time”, the greatest challenge has been “accepting my new accent, voice and identity”.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and reproduced with permission
Originally published as Woman reveals the reason she woke up speaking in a new accent
State’s big move on cutting-edge vaccines
One Aussie state has revealed its next move on a major vaccine development project – which promises to change the way it responds to future health challenges.
Grim detail in bombshell defence report
A landmark report into suicides among current and former defence personnel will be handed down today – with the Royal Commission chair calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to save lives.
Push to give every worker 12 extra leave days
All Australian workers could get an extra 12 days of leave a year for severe period pain, hormone therapy and vasectomies, under a new push by a powerful union.
Push to give every worker 12 extra leave days
All Australian workers could get an extra 12 days of leave a year for severe period pain, hormone therapy and vasectomies, under a new push by a powerful union.
Cancer question Elle won’t answer
Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson has made a bombshell claim on 60 Minutes about her cancer diagnosis, which prompted outrage when she revealed she refused conventional treatments.
‘Obligation’: Vow to act on defence report
The final report from the royal commission into veteran and defence force suicides will be handed over to the Albanese government on Monday.