Lisa Alamia has never visited the UK in her life – and doesn’t even watch British TV shows.

The 33-year-old woman was born and bred in Texas but now she sounds like she’s from England, despite never having travelled there.

“I have never been to England. I have never been to any European country.” – she said.

The mom of three underwent jaw surgery to fix an overbite, and when she woke up, she sounded as if she was from across the pond as a result of an unusual side effect.

She was diagnosed with a bizarre medical condition known as “Foreign Accent Syndrome.”

She has only left the US once her life, she visited Mexico on a missionary tour but has never been to the UK.

The Rosenburg, Texas resident woke up after surgery only to discover that she was now speaking in what seemed to be a British accent.

Speaking to ITV’s This Morning , Lisa – who revealed she still ‘thinks’ in her old accent – admitted it has been difficult, especially because some people still think she is faking her condition.

Explaining reaction to Foreign Accent Syndrome – which has only had around 100 diagnoses in the past 100 years – Lisa said: “For people who do say it’s fake, I’d just tell them to be open minded and accept something that’s so rare it might not be understandable but it’s still there.”

She added that it was difficult to “go public” after speaking to her doctor, and revealed she was “scared” over talking to her friends and family.

“A lot of people think I’m faking it, which is why I didn’t want to go public,” she admitted. “It’s not the accent I wasn’t ok with, I just felt I wasn’t myself.”

Lisa’s daughter Kayla spoke about her mum’s new accent – which also had a hint of Australian as she spoke to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield – and gave her honest opinion.

“At first I thought she was joking with me, I didn’t think it was serious,” she said. “Now I’m used to her accent and I kind of like it now.”

Can you fill in the gaps in the sentences with one of the given words?

understandable, rare, admitted, side effects, despite, intrigued

1. This medicine has no known ……… .

2. It’s ……… that you are afraid of spiders after having spent a summer in the jungle.

3. …….. studying very hard, he still didn’t pass the exam.

4. The table was decorated with beautiful …… plants and flowers.

5. …….. by his words, she obeyed but had her doubts anyway.

6. I was wrong and I …… it at last.

Key

1. side effects

2. understandable

3. Despite

4. rare

5. Intrigued

6. admitted

1. “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” – Anne Shirley did love fall, didn’t she?

a) American

b) British

2. I need to call the surgery and get an appointment.

a) American

b) British

3. My phone doubles as a flashlight.

a) American

b) British

4. The milk is smelly. I’m sure it’s gone off.

a) American

b) British

5. The mailman always rings twice.

a) American

b) British

6. The dustman is so friendly, we have a chat every week.

a) American

b) British

7. I’d love to have a walk-in closet for all my stuff.

a) American

b) British

8. It’s so nice that your new house has a garden in the back too.

a) American

b) British

9. If I were a rich man, I’d have gold faucets in my bathroom.

a) American

b) British

10. The main storage compartment in a vehicle is called the boot.

a) American

b) British

11. Can I put all your groceries in the trunk?

a) American

b) British

12. It’s so hot today, can I have a popsicle?

a) American

b) British

13. My grandmother made the most delicious jam.

a) American

b) British

14. All I could find is some green jello, would you like to have that?

a) American

b) British

15. Put courgettes on your shopping list too.

a) American

b) British

16. This was a good Halloween, I have lots and lots of sweets.

a) American

b) British

17. Can I find a phone box somewhere close?

a) American

b) British

18. My son likes Thomas, the Tank Engine, but Finley, the Fire Engine is his absolute favourite.

a) American

b) British

19. The crossing guard in front of the school is a nice older lady. She helps us cross the street.

a) American

b) British

20. I put the baby in the crib when she fell asleep.

a) American

b) British

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answers:

1-a, 2-b, 3-a, 4-b, 5-a, 6-b, 7-a, 8-b, 9-a, 10-b, 11-a, 12-a, 13-b, 14-a, 15-b, 16-b, 17-b, 18-b, 19-a, 20-a

Now the first sound we’ll look at is the sound you get with the letters “th” for together. Normally you pronounce “thh” with the tongue sticking out. But for the cockney accent we’ll do it slightly differently. Listen to this sentence: “this maths thing is a lot of bother”. “This maths thing is a lot of bother”. Notice the “th” at the beginning of the of the word “this” has changed to a “d”. “Dis maths thing” and then in the word “maths” and “thing” it’s become “thhh”. “Dis maths thing”. And finally in the word “bother” it’s become like a “v” sound: “bover”; “dis maths thing is a lot bover”. Notice also at the end of that phrase we’ve got the word “bother”. Now normally we end that with a very small mouth “bother” but now we’re going to make much bigger “bover” much wider with the same with “mother” “bu’er” “bu’er” “butter” is a good word to show you another feature of the cockney accent. Something called the “glottalstop” now we need a “t” sound especially at the ends of words or in the middle between two vowels and we’re going to replace it with something called a “glottalstop”. This is the same sound you get in the word “uh-oh”. So if you want to learn how to do your glottalstop give me a few “uh-oh” and get that sound in the middle “uh-oh”. That is where you put in “bu’er” “bu’er” “be’er” “le’er”. Try this little sentence “that is wha’a lo’a bother”, “wha’a lo’a bother”. “Wha’a” “lo’a”. Notice that it’s very wide. “Mother” “bother”. Very good. Now another vowel that we’re going to work on is the “i” vowel. Now when I say “like” or “fine” i’ve got a wide mouth but we’re going to go much deeper now: “like”. It’s almost like the “oi” in “oil” “like” “like”. So we get “i like nice tights”, that’s “i like nice tights” becomes “i like nice tigh’s”. Notice again that glottalstop at the end of tights. Finally the “hour” sound if you’ve ever seen my fair lady this is the typical allies to do sound we say “how” “now” “brown” “cow” but the cockney accent is “ah” “ah” “nah” “bran” “cah”. To get this really right you need to drop off those “h” sounds from the beginning as well so you don’t say “hah” you say “ah” “nah” “bran” “cah” you’ll be fitting into these in no time.

Unlike general Americans, an ‘R’ sound in New York is only pronounced when it’s before a vowel. So listen to the phrase. Are green cards brighter, are green cards brighter. Listen to are and cards. Even though there’s a letter ‘R’ in those words, you don’t hear it. So it’s not cards, it’s cards. Are green cards brighter. Our next feature is the vowel ‘er’ as in verse and ‘oi’ as in voice. They become almost the same.

Don’t go too far where you sound silly. So don’t say, thirty third with an ‘oy’. It’s almost there, thirty third. Verse, that’s verse, verse. He sang the first verse with his beautiful voice. He sang the first first with his beautiful voice. So they’re very similar, but not exactly the same. He sang the first verse with his beautiful voice. There’s another one there as well in, the first verse and his beautiful voice.

We’ve got ‘da’, he’s saying ‘da’ first verse. It’s fairly common for ‘th’ sounds to be replaced with T’s or D’s, so that you hear, ‘da’ first verse. The next feature is the caught and ‘caught’ vowels. They’re different in British, English, in New York they’re the same, and they’re very long, drawn out sounds. So we hear, don’t let the dog walk across there. Don’t let the dog walk across there. There’s another example of that ‘th’, across there. Don’t let the dog walk across there. Now if we take that T H, t t t, instead of, th th th, and mix it with an earlier sound, the first verse, we get the stereotypical New York.

So that instead of thirty third, you get thirty third. The corner of thirty third and third. Now of coarse that’s going too far, that;s a little stereotypical, but if you’re doing this for a play or you’re in a show, then why not go that extra mile and you can bring it back if you need to.

That introduces another feature as well, the “th”, “I will be fine with all this oil”. The “th” is usually removed from Irish speakers, especially with more casual speakers so that you get more d’s and t’s instead. So have a listen to this. “What do you think of this, what do you think of this?” That is “think” and “this”. Our next feature is the letter “r”. Now for most Irish speakers the “r” is always pronounced. So, instead of saying words like “park”, we will have “paark”, with a “err”. It is right at the front of the mouth, unless you are from Dublin where your right at the back of your mouth. You are right at the front, “park” and “garden”.

Right at the front like that. Now we move onto a “l” sound. Now, for British English speakers we have two versions for the “l” sound. We have one at the back of the mouth, like in “kettle”, “bottle” and “pull”, and one at the front in “lovely”, “lemon” and “limned”. For an Irish speaker, they are all at the front. In fact, it is quite helpful I like to think of the whole accent coming from the front of the mouth. This phrase might help, “a little bubble at the front of your mouth, a little bubble at the front of your mouth”. Finally, that introduces the “ou” sound in mouth. It becomes “ouw”, like if starting on a “ou”, if you start on “ou”, “ouw”, “mouth”. So try “how now brown cow, brown cow” with an “our” in it. “How now brown cow, a little bubble at the front of your mouth”. Now we have not got time for more features today.

I am Gareth Jameson, thanks very much.