agrammatism

AGRAMMATISM (from Greek a - negative particle and gramma - letter), a symptom frequently occurring in aphasia and characterized by the loss of ability to give words correct etymological forms or to construct phrases according to the rules of syntax (see Akataphasia). The formal structure of a phrase characterizes not so much the content itself as the speaker's attitude toward the content of speech and toward the listener. In addition to the general construction of the phrase, moods, etc., this is served by a series of interjections, introductory words, punctuation marks, rhythm, etc. According to modern views, the verbal reaction is the final stage of the path by which the act of thinking is transformed into a phrase. Agrammatism is caused by a break in this path at the moment immediately preceding expressive speech, due to anatomical changes in the speech area of the brain. That form of A. which is distinguished by gross syntactic defects, incorrect verb endings, errors in prefixes and suffixes, and accelerated speech tempo is caused, according to Pick, by a focus near the speech sensory center in the first temporal convolution. The form of A. with slowed articulation, with prolonged pauses, and with a telegraphic style of phrase construction indicates a focus in the frontal lobe. Due to the loss of a phylogenetically younger function, agrammatism gives the patient's speech the character of the speech of children or primitive peoples (see Aphasia).