Coprolalia is a neurological symptom involving involuntary, obscene vocalizations or swearing. It is most commonly associated with Tourette syndrome and certain other tic disorders. The term denotes noisome utterances that the speaker cannot control, often contrasted with voluntary speech. Frequency and content vary across individuals and contexts.
"Some patients with Tourette syndrome exhibit coprolalia, which can be socially challenging."
"In clinical discussions, coprolalia is described as a rare but highly stigmatizing tic."
"The campaign for better awareness addresses the impact of coprolalia on communication."
"Therapeutic strategies may help reduce the disruptive impact of coprolalia on daily life."
Coprolalia derives from the Greek words kopros, meaning dung or feces, and lalia, meaning speech or talk. The term entered medical discourse in the 19th and 20th centuries as clinicians sought to classify tic phenomena. Kopros contributed the sense of obscene, offensive content, aligning with copros (feces) that historically framed taboo speech. Lalia is a common suffix in neurology (e.g., palilalia, echolalia), indicating speech abnormality. The combination signals involuntary vocalization with obscene or scatological content. First known use in medical literature around the late 1800s to early 1900s, with increasing usage for discrete syndromic descriptions as neurology advanced. Over time, coprolalia has become a focal point in discussing Tourette syndrome, though it is not universally present in all cases and may vary in frequency and content across populations and cultural contexts.
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Words that rhyme with "Coprolalia"
-lia sounds
-me) sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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You say it as ko-PRO-la-lia, with primary stress on the second syllable. IPA: US /ˌkoʊ proʊˈleɪ.li.ə/, UK /ˌkɒprəʊˈleɪ.li.ə/; AU is similar to UK. Start with /k/ + /oʊ/ or /ɒ/ depending on accent, then /prə/ or /pro/, then /ˈleɪ/ then /liə/. Emphasize the second syllable and maintain even tempo across syllables.
Two frequent errors: misplacing stress by saying ko-PRO-la-lia with wrong emphasis on the second or third syllable; and slurring the /r/ or mispronouncing the /ɔ/ as /ɒ/ in non-rhotic accents. Correction: place primary stress on the second syllable: /koʊ-pro-ˈleɪ-ljə/ (US) and /ˌkɒ-prəʊ-ˈleɪ-lɪə/ (UK). Practice with deliberate isolation of /pro/ and /leɪ/ to stabilize the vowel sounds and keep the rhythm even.
US tends to pronounce as /ˌkoʊ proʊˈleɪl.jə/ with a clear /r/ and a diphthong in /oʊ/ and /pro/. UK often reduces to /ˌkɒ.prəˈleɪ.li.ə/ with non-rhotic /r/ and shorter vowels; AU mirrors UK but with more rounded /o/ and a slightly flatter /ɪə/. Maintain the syllable rhythm; rhotic accents show /r/ only before vowels. IPA references help you target subtle rhoticity and vowel quality differences across regions.
The difficulty arises from multi-syllabic length, three distinct vowel phonemes in succession, and a stressed second syllable that can feel unstable if tied to fast speech. There's also a subtle /r/ coloring in American English and a diphthong in the /oʊ/ or /ɒ/ that requires precise mouth shaping. Focusing on steady, even tempo and isolating /pro/ helps manage the heavy second syllable.
Coprolalia has no silent letters; every letter contributes to the syllables: co-pro-la-li-a. The primary stress sits on the third syllable in many descriptions (co-PRO-la-lia) or second in some variants, depending on speaker. Focus on the /ˈleɪ/ vowel; ensure the second syllable carries a strong but not overpowering emphasis. For clarity, practice saying it in isolation, then in phrases, to stabilize the natural word stress pattern.
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