Definition

Noun: A type of aphasia, a language disorder caused by brain damage, characterized by a severe impairment in the ability to produce speech or writing. Speech output is typically effortful, halting, and limited to short phrases or single words, while comprehension of language often remains relatively preserved.

Usage

This is a clinical, medical term used primarily in neurology, speech-language pathology, and related healthcare fields to diagnose and describe a specific language impairment.

Examples

• The patient's stroke resulted in nonfluent aphasia, making it very difficult for her to form complete sentences.
• In cases of nonfluent aphasia, individuals may understand what is said to them but struggle to verbally respond.
• Therapy for nonfluent aphasia often focuses on improving the fluency and ease of speech production.

Advanced Usage and Notes

• Nonfluent aphasia is often associated with damage to Broca's area in the frontal lobe of the brain's left hemisphere, and is therefore also historically called Broca's aphasia.
• The key feature is a disruption in the "motor programming" for language production, not a loss of language knowledge.
• It is contrasted with fluent aphasia (e.g., Wernicke's aphasia), where speech is produced easily but is often nonsensical and comprehension is poor.

Variants and Related Words

• Broca's aphasia: The most common synonym for nonfluent aphasia.
• Expressive aphasia: Another term sometimes used, emphasizing the difficulty in language expression.
• Motor aphasia: An older term highlighting the motor speech planning deficit.
• Agrammatism: A common feature of nonfluent aphasia where grammar (especially function words and verb endings) is omitted.

Synonyms

• Broca's aphasia
• Expressive aphasia (though this term can be less precise)

Antonyms / Contrasting Terms

• Fluent aphasia: A category of aphasia where speech is produced with normal rhythm and grammar but is often meaningless.
• Wernicke's aphasia: The most common type of fluent aphasia.
• Anomic aphasia: Aphasia primarily characterized by difficulty finding words, with fluent speech.

Noun

1. aphasia in which expression by speech or writing is severely impaired