Alalia

/eɪˈleɪliə/ noun

Definition

A medical condition of inability or difficulty in speaking, often caused by brain injury or neurological disease.

Etymology

From Greek a- (without) + lalia (speech). First used in medical terminology in the 19th century to describe speech loss conditions.

Kelly Says

Alalia is different from aphasia—someone with alalia literally cannot produce speech sounds, even though their brain knows what to say, showing how complex language pathways are!

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