Foreign Accent Syndrome How would you feel if you woke up speaking with a different accent? That's what happened with an American woman, who went to bed and woke up with an Australian, Irish and, finally, a British accent, the latter enduring for about two years. She was diagnosed with a rare condition called Foreign Accent Syndrome, a disorder that is often caused by a brain damage. When I first read this news, I thought it was a joke, but that's actually real. About 60 people were diagnosed with this syndrome over the past century. The woman in question described her situation as "really difficult" because people make fun of her and think she's pretending. Meanwhile, I believe many language learners would feel very lucky for waking up with an accent from a language they are trying to master. I know I would. However, this condition can be permanent, and you might never speak your mother tongue as a native speaker anymore.