Local News

Foreign Accent Syndrome Actually Exists & This Texas Mom Has It

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Sounding more like she’s from England than from Texas, Lisa Alamia underwent standard surgery for an overbite, and when she came out of recovery, she had a mysterious accent. Now 34, this Rosenburg, Texas woman was featured on Inside Edition in 2016 for her bizarre medical condition known as Foreign Accent Syndrome.

With only 100 cases reported in the last 100 years, the syndrome is rare indeed, yet proven. Alamia isn’t the only recorded case in the U.S. that was featured on the popular television series, which also interviewed Karen Butler from Oregon who, after undergoing dental surgery, spoke with an Irish accent. Both families for both women have a sense of humor about the whole thing, however, Alamia has noted going for speech therapy in order to lose the newfound British accent. Born and raised in Texas, she has reportedly been given grief locally due to the near-unheard of medical condition resulting in her speech issue.

Shared by Inside Edition on their YouTube Channel, this segment has been viewed online more than 800,000 times, however many of you may have first seen it as it aired on national television last year. Despite having never traveled to England, Alamia’s accent is a result of this rare syndrome, which was also proven in a woman in Washington. CindyLou Romberg sustained injuries from a car accident, and when she recovered, she spoke with a Russian accent! According to the University of Texas at Dallas, Foreign Accent Syndrome is a disorder of speech most often linked to damage to the brain, which can be caused by traumatic brain injury or stroke. It causes the native speaker to be perceived as having a foreign accent, although in some cases, no cause has been found, and the speaker simply legitimately has the disorder. Alamia has been working to lose the accent which has clearly caused her emotional stress, as many in her area believed her issue to be a put-on.

References:

UTDallas

Inside Edition