Semistereotypic speech

Abstract

In this paper we describe ‘semistereotypic speech’ (SSS) observed in the speech production of a Japanese patient, Mrs Kichikichi, with global aphasia caused by cerebral infarction. The SSS consisted of two parts: a stereotypic part /kit∫ikit∫i/ and a variable part of a single (or a few) grammatical function word(s) agglutinated to the former. We consider this abnormal speech phenomenon as a variant of recurring utterance (speech automatism). We suggest the possibility that the grammatical structure of Japanese as an agglutinative language may facilitate the occurrence of the SSS and that, interpreted on the basis of the language production model utilized by Blanken and his coauthors, the deficit underlying the generation of the stereotypic part of the SSS in this patient can originate in the lexicalization component.