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Englishman wakes from stroke speaking Welsh

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12 messages over 2 pages: 1 2  Next >>
rolf
Senior Member
United Kingdom
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 Message 1 of 12
28 December 2012 at 3:08am | IP Logged 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9767 789/Englishman-wakes-from-
stroke-speaking-fluent-Welsh.html

Very interesting! I don't know if he really is fluent in Welsh but, if he is, this
supports the idea that even though he never actively learned the language, it was still
stored in his brain somehow!

What do you all think?

Edited by rolf on 28 December 2012 at 3:09am
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ling
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 Message 2 of 12
28 December 2012 at 6:54am | IP Logged 
He must have had some background or exposure to it. No way you can suddenly speak a wildly
different language with zero exposure to it.
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Teango
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 Message 3 of 12
28 December 2012 at 7:08am | IP Logged 
This is a fascinating account of aphasia, but we should be careful when reading anything by The Telegraph:

'Englishman Alun Morgan bemused doctors after he woke up speaking fluent Welsh and no English following a severe stroke. He was soon diagnosed with aphasia. Alun Morgan, 81, was evacuated to Wales during the Second World War but left 70 years ago. During his time there he was surrounded by Welsh speakers but never learned the language himself...It is thought that the Welsh Mr Morgan heard as a boy had sunk in without him knowing and was unlocked after he suffered the stroke.'

Here's an extract now from a more detailed and referenced account of the same story given by BBC news:

'An 81-year-old man from Somerset who had a stroke woke up speaking Welsh. Alun Morgan was taken ill while he was at his home in Bath. A few days later, he was speaking the language he had not spoken since childhood. Mr Morgan was diagnosed with aphasia, a condition which affects a person's ability to communicate...Mr Morgan said he had spoken "a bit of both" languages as a child. "We were London Welsh and I learned a bit of Welsh when I was in London. Then, when I was evacuated to Wales during the war, we spoke it virtually all the time because my aunt didn't speak much English, so I had to pick it up very quickly." He lived in Aberaeron, in mid Wales, for four years from the age of nine.'

I love sensational stories like these, but it's always good to shop around to find out more of the facts. :)

Edited by Teango on 28 December 2012 at 8:51am
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Jeffers
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 Message 4 of 12
28 December 2012 at 11:52am | IP Logged 
As Mark Twain said, "Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story."
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Darklight1216
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 Message 5 of 12
28 December 2012 at 2:05pm | IP Logged 
The devil's in the details...


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blas blas
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 Message 6 of 12
28 December 2012 at 2:18pm | IP Logged 
Teango wrote:
This is a fascinating account of aphasia, but we should be careful when reading anything by The Telegraph:

'Englishman Alun Morgan bemused doctors after he woke up speaking fluent Welsh and no English following a severe stroke. He was soon diagnosed with aphasia. Alun Morgan, 81, was evacuated to Wales during the Second World War but left 70 years ago. During his time there he was surrounded by Welsh speakers but never learned the language himself...It is thought that the Welsh Mr Morgan heard as a boy had sunk in without him knowing and was unlocked after he suffered the stroke.'

Here's an extract now from a more detailed and referenced account of the same story given by BBC news:

'An 81-year-old man from Somerset who had a stroke woke up speaking Welsh. Alun Morgan was taken ill while he was at his home in Bath. A few days later, he was speaking the language he had not spoken since childhood. Mr Morgan was diagnosed with aphasia, a condition which affects a person's ability to communicate...Mr Morgan said he had spoken "a bit of both" languages as a child. "We were London Welsh and I learned a bit of Welsh when I was in London. Then, when I was evacuated to Wales during the war, we spoke it virtually all the time because my aunt didn't speak much English, so I had to pick it up very quickly." He lived in Aberaeron, in mid Wales, for four years from the age of nine.'

I love sensational stories like these, but it's always good to shop around to find out more of the facts. :)


Okay, let's put aside The Telegraph, but this doesn't mean that the news isn't interesting anyway.
Mr Morgan's brain suffered a hard blow but it still managed to cope with it so that Mr Morgan could still speak: not English anymore, yes, but better speak Welsh than complete aphasia, no?
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Presidio
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 Message 7 of 12
29 December 2012 at 7:39am | IP Logged 
Hmmmm...

Reminds me of the story of the drunk American tourist in London.

He heard two rather large women speaking in a heavy accent so he went over to them and said, "I love your accent! Are you two ladies from Scotland?"

This prompted one of the women to angrily reply, "Wales, you idiot. Wales!"

To that the drunk American replied, "Okay, are you two whales from Scotland?"



Must be true. I read it on the Internet.




.

Edited by Presidio on 29 December 2012 at 7:41am
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Serpent
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 Message 8 of 12
29 December 2012 at 2:07pm | IP Logged 
reminds me on Melnikov...


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