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Can a person who is over 18 years stay in a foreign country and develop the accent there while speaking English or another language?

Like a 20year old girl born and raised in Africa developing an American accent after living in America For 2 years. 
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Yes this can happen because of the environment and the people that the person communicate with. The accent will be part of the person because of what he or she hears from others. 

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It is possible and it can happen. There are people who work very hard at speaking another language so they sound like a native speaker. If you live in the US for a few years you will become proficient in the language, but it isn't always possible to get the accent down correctly. Furthermore, this will also depend on the native language you spoke before arriving in the US. You can try a few techniques to help you to speak more like the locals do when you arrive in a foreign country.

  • You will need to practice the works over and over again. One way to see how you sound is by recording your voice. Play the tape back and see how you sound. 
  • You can also get some tapes of people teaching the language. Isolate a few words at a time and record them. Now play them back and start to repeat them while you listen to the tape. At the same time record yourself and play the two back together. Make sure that you perfect the words before moving on to other words. This will take time but it is very possible you can master the accent if you really want to. 
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Well said! Do you think that this is something that can happen naturally due to environmental interactions only. No practice attached? 
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Yes it's very possible but a period of two years is really less. Have seen people go for masters in the States for upto fours years but  they come back with the same accent.  A period of around five to seven years is good for a grown up. For a kid, two years can change the accent.

Besides I don't see the essence of wanting to adapt a foreign accent. We're Africans and we need to cherish whatever we have.Adapting foreign accent won't add anything or any value in our lives. But then for those people who are born in the States, they will definitely have this accent and we can't complain but rather understand. There are also some weird people who go to the States for one year and try forcing the accent in them forcefully so that they can brag when they come back.
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Yes, I think so. I have a classmate and she had been staying in London for 15 years. When we talked via Video call, I realized that she develop an British Accent. There are also some people who have been staying in different country and they develop the accent. I think they been on that country for so long that they are used to the accent or the intonation on how to speak it. If they continue to speak their original language or dialect, for sure they will remember on how to speak both of the language. Some really are into the new language or their second language they know the language by heart and it is sounded really that way. I think it depends on how you needed to learn the new language and how many times you have to use it that you develop an accent.
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I can say this happens naturally and is never forced. The person communicates with others and also the environment, custom and people can influence this. 
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Yeah it is super possible even in my country there are alot of us who have never traveled abroad but they speak american english, they develop this accent through studying.
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Yes, a person can develop a foreign accent. It is possible for someone who is over 18 years old to stay in a foreign country and develop the accent there while speaking English or another language. Depending on the length of time spent in the foreign country, the amount of exposure to the language, and the individual's own aptitude and willingness to learn, the degree of foreign accent acquired can vary greatly.
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Absolutely, a person can develop a foreign accent while living in a foreign country. They can speak English or another language while developing the accent.
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Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is speech disorder that causes a sudden change to speech so that a native speaker is perceived to speak with a “foreign” accent. FAS is most often caused by damage to the brain caused by a stroke or traumatic brain injury.
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Foreign accent syndrome  is speech disorder that causes a sudden change to speech so that a native speaker is perceived to speak with a “foreign” accent. FAS is most often caused by damage to the brain caused by a stroke or traumatic brain injury.
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