Why some people wake up with foreign accent: Rare brain condition explained

It sounds like fiction, but it's real: Foreign Accent Syndrome can make people sound foreign overnight, without travel or language learning, due to subtle changes in brain function

Imagine waking up one morning and being told you suddenly sound “foreign”. Not because you travelled, migrated, or picked up a new language, but because something changed inside your brain.

 

It sounds like fiction, but this is a real neurological condition called Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS), and it has puzzled doctors, linguists and patients alike.

 

“It’s rare, complex, and often misunderstood,” says Dr Rakesh Lalla, Consultant (Associate Director) – Neurology at Fortis Hospital, Kalyan. And no, contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with suddenly learning a new language.

 

“Foreign Accent Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder in which listeners perceive the patient as speaking in a foreign accent, despite no exposure to a foreign language,” explains Dr Lalla.

 

 

In October 2025, a 29-year-old woman from Hampshire, UK, was diagnosed with Foreign Accent Syndrome after suffering a stroke during a holiday. She reportedly woke up speaking with a Thai-sounding accent. In December, there were reports that a teenage boy in the Netherlands spoke only in English, a language he normally used only at school, after waking from routine knee surgery, and could not initially communicate in his native Dutch.

 

In India, a 70-year-old Telugu-speaking woman from Hyderabad suddenly began speaking in what was perceived as an American-accented form of Telugu. She had no history of travel to the United States, no relatives there, and no exposure that would explain such a shift in speech pattern. Initial investigations with MRI showed a small acute infarct in the left frontal area of her brain, the region responsible for speech production. After about six months of speech therapy, her accent gradually returned to normal.

 

Dr Lalla adds that the condition is not about vocabulary or grammar, but about how speech is produced. “It is a very complex and rare disorder, and treatment largely relies on treating the underlying cause along with rehabilitation using speech therapy, where emphasis is placed on changes in phonetics and prosody.”

 

Which parts of the brain control accent and speech rhythm

 

“Foreign Accent Syndrome is usually seen in disorders of the left hemisphere of the brain,” says Dr Lalla. “It is commonly associated with conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and demyelinating disorders like multiple sclerosis.”

 

The left hemisphere plays a central role in speech planning and execution. When these circuits are disrupted, speech may remain intelligible, but rhythm, stress and pronunciation subtly shift, creating the illusion of a foreign accent.

 

Is the accent truly foreign, or only perceived that way

 

According to Dr Lalla, the accent often does not match any real accent perfectly. Instead, listeners interpret altered speech patterns through familiar cultural filters.

 

“Typical features include changes in how long vowels are held, with vowels being lengthened or shortened,” he explains. “Consonants may be replaced, like ‘t’ sounding like ‘d’, consonant clusters may be simplified, and word stress can sound different.”

 

He adds, “Speech may become flat or sing-song in tone, and the accent remains consistent in all situations.”

 

The brain has not learned French or Russian. It has simply changed how it times and shapes sounds.

 

How Foreign Accent Syndrome is diagnosed

 

There is no single blood test or scan that confirms Foreign Accent Syndrome. Diagnosis relies on careful clinical evaluation and detailed speech analysis.

 

Doctors and speech therapists look for consistent changes in:

 

• vowel length
• consonant articulation
• stress and intonation
• overall speech rhythm

 

“These features remain consistent across situations,” says Dr Lalla, helping clinicians distinguish the syndrome from voluntary or situational accent changes.

 

Advanced acoustic analysis and AI-based speech tools may help in the future, but clinical expertise remains central today.

 

Can Foreign Accent Syndrome be treated

 

According to Dr Lalla, treatment depends on the underlying cause. Because FAS is often linked to stroke or neurological injury, managing the primary condition is the first step. Speech therapy plays a central role in recovery.

 

Therapy focuses on retraining phonetics and speech rhythm rather than “removing” an accent, because the goal is effective, confident communication rather than cosmetic correction.   

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This report is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.