Friend and her accent

[ByKindLilacFinch]

Not an AIBU, just interested if anyone else has experienced this.

my friend has never had any kind of accent (well spoken, sounds like a news reader). Over the last few months has started pronouncing words differently. She sounds a bit like she’s from Russia but has been in the UK a very long time and the accent is subtle but it’s there.

I’ve asked her why she is speaking with an accent and she just looks at me blankly. I know I’m not imagining it as we both met someone new last week and they asked where she was from as she didn’t sound British.

I’m curious as to whether anyone can shed any light, just really curious.

Is she Hilaria Baldwin?

Do you have any mutual friends?

Has she possibly potentially had a TIA or stroke and not noticed?

no we don’t have mutual friends. Hopefully she hasn’t had a stroke but presumably there would be other symptoms

Is there another friend or colleague she could be picking it up from?

No she works alone and doesn’t socialise much

She’s really not someone who I’d imagine copying an accent. Highly intelligent, successful, confident person who does not feel the need to impress anyone

It sounds as though it’s some sort of neurological disorder I would try to get her to go to see her GP.

No helpful advice but my sister changed accent as an adult and it's so annoying because it's clearly fake. It's just a weird thing to do

We are all born and bred in Manchester and about 4 years ago she developed a really thick Yorkshire accent. She's almost 30 too... weirdo 🤣

That’s funny, but I don’t understand why. Surely everyone just thinks it’s strange!

This would be my first thought.

She’s either putting it on, she’s spending time listening to someone with that accent and has picked it up without realising, or there is something going on in her brain. I can’t think of any other options.

This is from Web MD.
You’re more likely to develop FAS if you hurt the part of your brain, usually Broca’s area, that controls the melody of your speech and rhythm of the words when you speak. FAS also affects the way in which you place your tongue in your mouth as you talk, which can alter your accent.
Causes include:

• Severe head injury such as from a car crash
• Stroke
• A tumor or growth in your brain
• Multiple sclerosis
• Bleeding in your brain (brain hemorrhage)
• Conversion disorder (when an emotional stress causes physical symptoms)

Foreign accent syndrome? No really, it's a recognised medical condition.

www.bbc.com/future/article/20150513-the-weird-effects-of-foreign-accent-syndrome

Something in her head or larynx is not right. Get her to get checked out since she has no idea herself why she is speaking in a Russian accent. Maybe she's trying to hit on Zelensky or something.

1. Everyone has an accent.

1. Some people's accent wanders for one reason or another - even if they're intelligent, successful and confident.

People do! She's always been an attention seeker so I just assume it's an attention thing, but it really really grates on me 😅 there's just no need for it

Is she learning a language? She might have picked up the accent there

How long have you known her? Do you know her background? What does she do for work? Any chance she's actually Russian and slipping up a bit? I might have been watching too many spy movies.

I really don’t believe she’s putting it on. The alternative sounds serious. I don’t think she’ll listen to me telling her to see a doctor as she thinks she sounds the same as she always has

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_accent_syndrome

Foreign accent syndrome?

Does she live in Yorkshire?

I couldn't imitate a Northern Irish accent and then I moved here and pretty much instantly developed one.

Oops multiple suggestions of this already!

What about recording her, then playing it back to her? All kinds of unethical though.

I once worked 8 weeks helping out a branch in Nottingham . When I came home my friends were all saying I was talking differently, I didn't even notice . Is she studying anything with those accents / love interest online ? Does she have any family overseas ? Xx

It depends on how pronounced it is. Most people’s speech patterns shift gradually over time. It’s entire a totally natural phenomenon, no matter how much people like to imply it’s fake (usually with some level of superiority).

I know you say and works alone and doesn’t socialise much, but that’s unusual in itself. Most people have at least a few people that they come in regular contact with. If she genuinely is a recluse, maybe she’s picking it up from a TV show.

My ds picks up accents really quickly, 3 days when we were at MILs in Northern Ireland when he was a kid had him talking like he'd always lived there.

More recently he was working with a bunch of guys from Aberdeen (we live in Glasgow) and we had to tell him to knock it off, the accent was ridiculous! Luckily now he sounds like a born and bred weegie again!