An 81-year-old Englishman woke after a serious stroke to discover he could speak Welsh ? despite spending only a few months there as an evacuee during the Second World War.
Morgan grew up speaking English, but after his stroke, lost the ability to communicate in any language but Welsh, even though he was last there 70 years ago.
Mr Morgan, whose sudden competence in Welsh is caused by a brain disorder called aphasia, is now re-learning English.
Apart from the single, short spell, the retiree has spent his life in England, although his grandmother ? with whom he lived during the war ? was a Welsh speaker, as is his wife.
Speaking in Welsh from his home in from Bath, Somerset, yesterday, he said: ?I was born in 1931 and when the war came I was sent down to Wales as an evacuee. It gave my wife the shock of her life when I started speaking Welsh. After the stroke it was hard going. I?ve managed to remember English but I?ve almost forgotten Welsh again.?
Joe Korner of the Stroke Association, which runs the Communication Support Service Mr Morgan used to recover some of his English, said that aphasia is one of the language issues which can arise after a stroke. He said sufferers can also begin speaking their own language in a different accent.
?We believe the damaged brain finds new pathways, which unlock memories or knowledge that is latent but not expressed,? said Mr Korner.
Morgan grew up speaking English, but after his stroke, lost the ability to communicate in any language but Welsh, even though he was last there 70 years ago.
Mr Morgan, whose sudden competence in Welsh is caused by a brain disorder called aphasia, is now re-learning English.
Apart from the single, short spell, the retiree has spent his life in England, although his grandmother ? with whom he lived during the war ? was a Welsh speaker, as is his wife.
Speaking in Welsh from his home in from Bath, Somerset, yesterday, he said: ?I was born in 1931 and when the war came I was sent down to Wales as an evacuee. It gave my wife the shock of her life when I started speaking Welsh. After the stroke it was hard going. I?ve managed to remember English but I?ve almost forgotten Welsh again.?
Joe Korner of the Stroke Association, which runs the Communication Support Service Mr Morgan used to recover some of his English, said that aphasia is one of the language issues which can arise after a stroke. He said sufferers can also begin speaking their own language in a different accent.
?We believe the damaged brain finds new pathways, which unlock memories or knowledge that is latent but not expressed,? said Mr Korner.
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