alalia

9.9

A condition where the vocal cords cannot move and a person cannot speak

noun
/əˈleɪliə/

Specialized

: alalia

Doctors ruled out other causes for his inability to speak before confirming alalia.

Examples

The patient was diagnosed with alalia after the accident.
The patient was diagnosed with alalia following a stroke that affected her vocal cords.
Children with alalia require specialized therapy to help them communicate.
Children with alalia often struggle to communicate.
The child diagnosed with alalia requires specialized therapy to aid in developing speech.
After the accident, he experienced alalia, making communication very difficult.
Her condition of alalia meant she could not express her thoughts verbally.

Synonyms

aphonia

vsalalia

Specialized

1 9.9

Not being able to speak because the throat cannot make sounds

is caused specifically by paralysis of the vocal cords

voicelessness

vsalalia

Specialized

1 8.3

When a person cannot speak because of a problem with the throat or vocal cords

is a specific case caused by vocal cord paralysis

aphemia

vsalalia

Specialized

1 9.9

A condition in which a person cannot speak but can still understand language

is caused by paralysis of the vocal cords rather than by language processing loss

anarthria

vsalalia

Specialized

9.9

Complete or almost complete loss of ability to move the mouth and tongue to speak after brain damage

is caused by vocal cord paralysis rather than central articulation failure

How Severe

alalia

Specialized

9.9

hoarseness

1 4.8

natural tone

4.2

Surface Forms

alalia singular

alalias plural

Morphology

alalia = lalia (opaque) = a + lalia

'Lalia' is not a standalone English word, so the base is not recognizable to most learners.

Etymology

The word alalia comes from Greek parts a- meaning 'without' and lalia meaning 'speech' or 'talk', so alalia literally means 'without speech' and is used for the medical condition when a person cannot speak.