Which term refers to inability to express oneself through speech?

• A. Aphasia
• B. Dysarthria
• C. Hemiparesis
• D. Fecal incontinence

Answer: (A)

Inability to express oneself through speech is aphasia. Aphasia is a language disorder caused by damage to language-dominant areas of the brain (often after a stroke or brain injury) and can affect speaking, understanding, reading, or writing. When the issue is primarily trouble articulating or forming words and sentences, it reflects expressive aphasia, where language processing is intact but production is impaired. This is different from dysarthria, a motor speech problem where the muscles used for speaking are weak or poorly coordinated, leading to slurred or garbled speech even if language ability is intact. Hemiparesis is weakness on one side of the body, not a language issue, and fecal incontinence concerns bowel control, unrelated to speech.