An Australian woman has woken up from tonsil surgery with an Irish accent
Angie Yen posted videos of her transformation over two weeks on Tiktok
She believes she has extremely rare condition called Foreign Accent Syndrome
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki said condition may be caused by brain or immune disorder
He recommended speech pathology or acting classes for the Brisbane dentist
By Jason Dahlstedt
May 12, 2021
An Australian woman named Angie Mcyen who underwent general anesthesia to have her tonsils removed claims she has completely lost her Australian accent, and now speaks with an Irish accent.
She met with doctors who told her she has Foreign Accent Syndrome , which usually occurs in traumatic brain injury patients. Angie claims she has never been to Ireland, and she s not faking. Foreign Accent Syndrome has only about 100 documented cases since it s discovery in 1907
An Australian woman who went into hospital to have her tonsils removed woke up eight days later to find she now had an Irish accent.
Angie Mcyen was in the shower singing when she first noticed the change. She has since been documenting her experience of the strange condition she believes she has: Foreign Accent Syndrome.
- I woke up this morning. I didn t do anything different, I had breakfast. I didn t really talk to my housemates because [they d already left.] I took a shower and I usually sing when I m showering listening to songs, and all of a sudden I was talking in an Irish accent, she said in her first video, sounding much more alarmed than she does Irish (for a good reason). I can t shake it. I just did a job interview in an Irish accent when I ve never been to Ireland.
Published May 10, 2021
Could you imagine waking up one day and speaking in an entirely different accent, despite never even visiting that country in your life? Well, for some people, this is wild idea is a reality. Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) is a very real and very mysterious neurological response to some surgeries, and this TikToker is showing us what it’s like to live with.
Introducing TikTok user @angie.mcyen (spelt
An Gie on Instagram), who claims that one day after her tonsillectomy, she woke up with a full-blown Irish accent. An Gie isn’t Irish, has never been to Ireland, and has no Irish relatives whatsoever. In fact, she’s just a regular Aussie, who is going through symptoms of FAS.
Australian woman wakes up after major surgery with Irish accent and she is extremely confused
“Today I tried as hard as I can to talk normally, and no, it’s full Irish.”
An Gie McYen woke up with her whole world sounding a bit more Irish (Image: TikTok)
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