Englishman Speaks Only Welsh After Suffering a Stroke [VIDEO]

An 81-year-old Englishman has recovered from a stroke that left him speaking fluently in Welsh but unable to speak his native language.

Alun Morgan, a retired Royal Air Force officer, suffered a stroke in 2010.  He spent three weeks in the hospital being evaluated.  When he started speaking again, no one could understand him.   It was Morgan’s wife, Yvonne, who realized he was speaking in Welsh.

As a boy during World War II, Morgan was evacuated to his grandparents’ house in Wales for a year but did not retain the bits of  the Welsh language he’d picked up.  Or so he thought.

Medical experts say a stroke will often leave the victim unable to speak or struggling to recall words they once knew, a condition called aphasia. But a few people uncover hidden abilities.

Joe Korner of the Stroke Association in the UK said, "We believe the damaged brain finds new pathways, which unlock memories or knowledge that is latent but not expressed."

Mr. Morgan required lessons to learn to speak English again.  He said he has managed to remember English but has almost forgotten Welsh.