Mind & EmotionGreek → English
Alogia
/əˈloʊdʒiə/noun
Poverty of speech, a marked reduction in the amount a person says spontaneously.
The Greek roots
ἀ-
a-
without, not
λόγος
lógos
word, speech, reason
Literally: “without speech”
The story of the word
Ancient ἀλογία covered anything lacking λόγος: unreason, absurdity, or simply having nothing to say. Psychiatry narrowed it to one symptom of schizophrenia, where answers shrink to a word or two and unprompted talk dries up altogether. It is counted among the negative symptoms, the ones defined by what is missing rather than what intrudes.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → English
Same family
logicdialogueapologyamnesia
In a sentence
The notes describe flat affect and alogia over three interviews.
Alogia is easy to mistake for reluctance.