Speaking more than a language can add layers to stroke recovery

You might not put a lot of thought into what it takes to speak, but speaking keeps your brain busy. In every conversation, multiple regions activate to process sounds, give words meaning and control the muscles that move your mouth.

- Michael Merschel, Tribune News Service

If someone knows more than one language, the process has even more layers - as do the challenges when such a person has a stroke that limits their ability to speak. Difficulty speaking clearly or understanding language is called aphasia. Its most common cause is stroke, but aphasia also can result from brain injuries or other diseases.

And it can be “devastating,” said Dr. Mira Goral, a professor of speech-language-hearing sciences at Lehman College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. An estimated 2 million people in the US live with aphasia, commonly as a result of stroke, according to the American Stroke Association. It's not clear how many people have what is often called bilingual or multilingual aphasia. But in the US alone, about 20% of the population speaks a language besides English at home, according to the Census Bureau.