ENGLAND -- A British woman is now speaking with a bizarre Chinese accent after suffering a severe migraine that apparently affected the speech function of her brain.
Doctors have diagnosed 35-year-old Sarah Colwill with Foreign Accent Syndrome, or FAS.
FAS is caused by a stroke or brain injury that affects "the speech area itself where you are actually forming words with your mouth," Dr. Sanjay Gupta told CNN.
Colwill says she suffered an extreme migraine last month and called an ambulance. A week later, she says her voice changed.
"On the day that my voice changed I found it difficult to speak and when I did speak it sounded Chinese," Colwill said.
Colwill says her family members don't recognize her over the phone and usually hang up thinking the call is a hoax.
She is undergoing therapy in hopes of regaining her normal accent.
FAS is a rare disorder.
According to Wikipedia.com, there have been only 60 recorded cases between 1941 and 2009.
The condition does not cause someone to suddenly gain a foreign language, however, it makes them pronounce their native language with a foreign or dialectical accent.
Doctors have diagnosed 35-year-old Sarah Colwill with Foreign Accent Syndrome, or FAS.
FAS is caused by a stroke or brain injury that affects "the speech area itself where you are actually forming words with your mouth," Dr. Sanjay Gupta told CNN.
Colwill says she suffered an extreme migraine last month and called an ambulance. A week later, she says her voice changed.
"On the day that my voice changed I found it difficult to speak and when I did speak it sounded Chinese," Colwill said.
Colwill says her family members don't recognize her over the phone and usually hang up thinking the call is a hoax.
She is undergoing therapy in hopes of regaining her normal accent.
FAS is a rare disorder.
According to Wikipedia.com, there have been only 60 recorded cases between 1941 and 2009.
The condition does not cause someone to suddenly gain a foreign language, however, it makes them pronounce their native language with a foreign or dialectical accent.
