Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006

The original accent is of no relevance. Foreign Accent Syndrome is rare and
the end product has no relationship to the original. I saw an interview with
a British man who had developed an "Italian" accent - very strange. Even he
was laughing at himself.
Although, strictly, the interpretation that the accent relates to a
particular nationality or dialect is incorrect - speech is altered and
listeners put their own interpretation on what they hear. In some cases, a
sufferer may be described by different people as having different accents
even though their speech is uniform.
More information at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_accent_syndrome

They link to an interview with the "Italian" guy:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hometruths/20050411_italian_accent.shtml