A 47-year-old woman from western France has baffled doctors after waking up from routine tonsil surgery speaking with a pronounced English accent—despite having little knowledge of the language.
Laetitia, a cashier from the town of Montval-sur-Loir, underwent the procedure 14 years ago. Following the surgery, she noticed her voice had changed dramatically, adopting what sounded like a native English accent. Initially, she thought it was a temporary side effect, similar to what her children had experienced after the same surgery.
“At first, I wasn’t alarmed,” she told Le Petit Courrier. “My kids had nasal voices for a few days after their surgeries, so I expected it to fade. But mine didn’t.”
As time passed, the new accent remained, prompting her to consult her surgeon again. He was surprised and even asked if she was originally from an English-speaking country. “He thought I was Anglo-Saxon. He was shocked to learn I wasn’t,” Laetitia recounted.
After seeking opinions from several specialists, including ear, nose, and throat doctors, Laetitia was eventually diagnosed with Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS). This rare neurological condition can alter a person’s speech patterns, making them sound as if they speak with a foreign accent. FAS is most often triggered by brain trauma, stroke, or, as suspected in Laetitia’s case, a disruption in cerebral blood flow during surgery.
Though the exact cause of her condition remains uncertain, Laetitia has had to adapt to life with a voice that often confuses others. Some friends and family still believe she is pretending, but she maintains the accent is genuine.
“I do miss my original voice,” she said. “But after all these years, I’ve had to accept that this is who I am now.”
Her story adds to the small number of documented FAS cases worldwide, each one highlighting how little is understood about the neurological pathways that shape our speech.
