An English woman who woke up with a Welsh accent despite never having visited the country has regained her old accent, a year later.
Zoe Coles, 36, from Stamford in Lincolnshire, developed the new accent overnight in June 2023, but thought it would eventually wear off.
However, when that didn’t happen, the mother-of-two was diagnosed with foreign accent syndrome (FAS). The Welsh inflection remained for more than a year until Zoe woke up on July 2 with her old voice back.
Zoe said she is “disoriented” and does not know if her English accent, which Zoe describes as “Kentish”, will remain or if her Welsh accent will return.
She said: ‘It’s been four days. I’m not sure what’s going to happen in the future. (I don’t know) whether the English accent will remain or the Welsh accent will come back.
Zoe Coles, 36, from Stamford in Lincolnshire, who woke up with a Welsh accent despite never having visited the country, has regained her old accent, a year on.
“I feel like the best word to describe how I feel is disoriented. I don’t really know what to think about it.
‘Watching videos of myself speaking in this new accent is really difficult, and it’s hard to watch myself in a Welsh accent now.
“It’s very strange for me. I thought that since it’s been a year since I changed my accent, the Welsh accent would be permanent. Who knows what will happen.”
Zoe was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition where there is a problem with the way the brain sends and receives signals in January 2022.
This is thought to be behind the subsequent change in her accent and Zoe often experiences tics, memory problems, difficulty speaking and leg pain.
Speaking previously, before her accent returned, she said: ‘I was a full-time working mum, I could get up and clean the house in two hours, shower, get ready, go shopping, go to work and come home.
‘Now I have to get help to shower in case my legs hurt, I can’t do housework in two hours, it’s more like two days.
“I get tired very quickly. I can do the shopping because I can hold the cart, but I can’t do much else. It exhausts me completely.”
Zoe developed the new accent overnight in June 2023, but thought it would eventually wear off.
Zoe said she is “disoriented” and does not know if her English accent, which Zoe describes as “Kentish”, will remain or if her Welsh accent will return.
The mother of two was diagnosed with foreign accent syndrome (pictured with daughter Brooke and son Zak)
Zoe was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition where there is a problem with the way the brain sends and receives signals in January 2022 (Zoe pictured with her fiancé Lee)
She said: “I want to raise awareness and show that this is real life. I speak out because I want people to see that these things really happen.
‘This is a reality for me, as much as I don’t like it, I love the accent and I have adapted to it.
“But it still causes me problems, I still get headaches and tingling in my face. It’s not just because of the accent, it’s very difficult for me.”
In videos shared on his TikTok account @zoecoles1He revealed that he sometimes suffers from chronic pain that can prevent him from speaking or walking.
Fetal alcohol syndrome is usually caused by a head or brain injury, with stroke being the most common cause. It can also occur after a brain trauma, brain hemorrhage, or brain tumor.
Other causes reported in medical journals include multiple sclerosis and conversion disorder.
Zoe, who originally developed a German accent before changing to Welsh, has previously spoken openly about her struggle with the disorder.
The Welsh accent remained for over a year until Zoe woke up on July 2 with her old voice again.
In videos shared on his TikTok account @zoecoles1, he revealed that FND causes him chronic pain and sometimes prevents him from speaking and walking.
Zoe, who has been struggling with accent changes, has seen a neurologist and has been told there is nothing they can do.
In March, she said: “I’m struggling a lot, you’re born with a voice, you grow up and develop a way of speaking. That’s been taken away from me.”
‘Although it has given me a boost of confidence, I would love for it all to go away and life to go back to normal.’
Zoe has seen a neurologist and has been told there is nothing they can do.
She said: “I want to raise awareness and show that this is real life. I speak out because I want people to see that these things really happen.
‘This is a reality for me, as much as I don’t like it, I love the accent and I have adapted to it.
“But it still causes me problems, I still get headaches and tingling in my face. It’s not just because of the accent, it’s very difficult for me.”
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