A Woman Who Wawoke Up Sounding Like a Chinese Woman

One of the first things you need to understand about Chinese pronunciation is that there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” accent. It is very regional, much like the country itself.

Among the few known cases of Foreign Accent Syndrome, Sarah Colwill has struggled to adapt to her new voice. This documentary follows her struggle with the condition and explores medical theories surrounding it.

Sarah Colwill’s strong Devon drawl disappeared overnight.

A WOMAN who suffered a severe headache and woke up sounding like a Chinese woman is devastated after being told her unusual side effect is permanent. Sarah Colwill, 38, from Plymouth, used to have a strong Devon accent which her friends and family recognized instantly. But after a severe migraine attack, she was left with Foreign Accent Syndrome which changes the way you speak and can be caused by neurological damage.

The condition has been described as a ‘drawing out’ or a ‘clipping’ of the vowels which mimics an accent even though the sufferer may have no connection to that country. It is believed to be caused by damage to the area of the brain which controls speech and can cause a shift in your accent to another language, usually English but also French, German and Spanish.

But for Sarah, a married IT project co-ordinator, the change has been devastating. She said: ‘It’s ruined my life completely. I’ve been ostracised by my community because of my voice and my whole personality has changed. I’m so depressed and sad.’

It is thought that the condition can be caused by a number of things including neurological damage, stroke, traumatic brain injury, degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, or drugs and alcohol. But experts are unsure why some people develop the condition while others don’t.

Sarah’s doctors have now exhausted all options and have told her that she will need to accept her Far East accent is here to stay. But for now, the IT worker is trying to focus on the positives of her situation. ‘I’m still in a better position than so many other people. My husband’s so supportive, and I’ve got my family. It could be so much worse,’ she said.

There are around 20 known cases of Foreign Accent Syndrome worldwide, with victims experiencing an accent shift from British English to French, German or Chinese, despite never having visited those countries. Some people who experience FAS claim that it has lasted for years, but others have had their symptoms clear up after a few months.

Documentary following Sarah.

The case of Sarah Everard, the 33-year-old woman who was raped and killed by police officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021, struck a chord with women across the UK. Her death prompted high profile conversations about improving women’s safety and the culture within police forces.

This BBC documentary, made with the blessing of her parents, seeks to put the myriad facets of the investigation and response to this tragedy into one hour-long documentary. We hear from those directly involved in the case, including the Senior Investigating Officer and the Prosecuting Barrister, who speak on camera for the first time.

We’re given a glimpse into the day of her murder and what happened in the immediate aftermath. Footage from CCTV shows her entering a shop in the last moments of her life; doorbell cameras record her walking down a residential street. We are then shown the harrowing police interviews with Couzens, conducted at his home and then in custody.

It is heart-wrenching to watch. But, in doing so, we are also reminded why this case resonated with so many people. It is not just a story about a terrible crime, it’s about an elemental fear that all women share: it could happen to me.

The film concludes with the conclusion of an Independent Inquiry into how this tragedy could have happened, which is expected to highlight some “unimaginable failures” in policing. The BBC has released this documentary in the hope that it will prompt more conversations about women’s safety, misogynistic violence and a re-examination of the culture within police forces.

Documentaries are a powerful and unique way to tell stories that cannot be told otherwise. They have the ability to spark conversations and change attitudes, which is why they are so important. This is a great example of how documentary can be used to change the world for good. If you have a documentary project you would like to fund in the US, we invite you to apply to IDA’s fiscal sponsorship program. Find out more here. If you have any questions about this application process please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our team.

What happens when you wake up sounding like a foreigner in your own country.

For many people, waking up sounding like a foreigner in their own country is the stuff of horror movies and nightmares. But in actual fact, it is a real thing called “Foreign Accent Syndrome.” This happens when your brain damage alters the way you speak – usually as a result of a stroke or other severe head trauma. There are a number of examples of this happening, most famously when George Michael woke up speaking with an East Devon accent after his coma. Another example is an Australian woman who woke up sounding French, even though she had never been to the country.

Sarah Colwill was suffering from an extreme migraine when she went to hospital, but the treatment wasn’t the only thing that changed when she woke up. She had also woken up with a strong Chinese accent, despite never having visited the country. Her doctors initially suspected she had suffered a stroke, but after numerous tests they were baffled as to what caused the change in her voice.

The change wasn’t just a matter of slurring her words; her pitch was off, and she sounded uncannily German. This wasn’t just annoying; it was a major cause of distress. She was unable to understand her friends, and they couldn’t understand her. She felt as if her old self had died. Even her pets shied away from her.

Thankfully, Helen did recover her English accent – but the damage had been done. It has left her with a fear of speaking, as she worries that the same thing will happen again. As a result, she has withdrawn from public life and is barely seen by her family.

What is Foreign Accent Syndrome?

When a person’s speech suddenly sounds different from their native accent, it can be disorienting and distressing. But that change in accent is not the same as moving to a new country and adopting their local dialect. It’s a very rare condition called Foreign Accent Syndrome, and it can be caused by neurological conditions or damage, like strokes or head trauma, or mental health issues, such as schizophrenia or depression.

The change in language is caused by disruptions in the part of the brain that controls the motor speech functions, usually affecting the Broca’s area on the left side of the brain. People with FAS do not learn a new accent, but they do start sounding like someone from the region or country that their foreign accent resembles. Most cases of FAS are associated with stroke or other brain injuries, but some occur for other reasons, including surgery, dementia and multiple sclerosis.

Often, the onset of FAS occurs soon after an injury, such as a car accident or surgery. But it can also happen after a long period of time, such as in the case of the woman who woke up with a Chinese accent. It can take up to 18 years for a person with FAS to return to their original speech.

While the symptoms of FAS are distressing, it’s important to understand that these patients are not faking their accent changes. They have a medical or neurological condition, and in some cases, they are suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

The cause of the condition is not always known, but it seems to be linked to damage or impairment in the middle precentral gyrus. This area of the brain is involved in planning and coordinating the movements that cause speech. Some of the other causes of FAS are also related to the same area of the brain, but in different ways, such as having a slurred speech or a difficulty saying consonants or multisyllable words.

Lowenkopf says that Butler’s MRI scans are normal, but she won’t know for sure what caused her change in accent until she gets a new brain scan and is able to compare it with the old one. Despite the stress of her situation, she is happy with her new accent and doesn’t want to go back to her original one.