My own family didn’t recognise me when I phoned them
I’ve always been conscious of my accent. In 1996, when I was eight, my family relocated from Kent to Stamford, Lincolnshire, and my estuary accent stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone sounded so northern to me and I was teased for my “EastEnders voice”. I also struggled to copy accents. When I was 14, we went to Lanzarote, and I made friends with two girls from Liverpool and Birmingham. My attempts to emulate their accents left my family in hysterics. “You sound ridiculous,” my dad laughed.
I kept my Kent accent through my adult life. Then in 2022, I developed functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition that disrupts how the brain communicates with the body. It caused mobility issues and seizures, but I would also sometimes develop a temporary vocal tic or slurred speech. So it didn’t come as a huge surprise when, one day in June 2023, I woke up and my voice sounded different. I assumed it would pass, but two days later I still sounded strange. My neighbour said to me: “You sound just like my aunt. She’s from south Wales.”
Continue reading… My own family didn’t recognise me when I phoned themI’ve always been conscious of my accent. In 1996, when I was eight, my family relocated from Kent to Stamford, Lincolnshire, and my estuary accent stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone sounded so northern to me and I was teased for my “EastEnders voice”. I also struggled to copy accents. When I was 14, we went to Lanzarote, and I made friends with two girls from Liverpool and Birmingham. My attempts to emulate their accents left my family in hysterics. “You sound ridiculous,” my dad laughed.I kept my Kent accent through my adult life. Then in 2022, I developed functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition that disrupts how the brain communicates with the body. It caused mobility issues and seizures, but I would also sometimes develop a temporary vocal tic or slurred speech. So it didn’t come as a huge surprise when, one day in June 2023, I woke up and my voice sounded different. I assumed it would pass, but two days later I still sounded strange. My neighbour said to me: “You sound just like my aunt. She’s from south Wales.” Continue reading… Life and style, Health
