What does echolalia mean?
Echolalia is the repetition of words, phrases, or vocal sounds made by another person. The term is most familiar from two contexts: first, as a normal feature of early childhood, when toddlers echo adult speech as they learn to talk; and second, as a recognised clinical sign in autism spectrum disorder, Tourette syndrome, catatonia, dementia, and various neurological conditions. Clinicians distinguish immediate echolalia, in which speech is repeated straight away, from delayed echolalia, in which phrases heard earlier — sometimes days before, such as film dialogue or advertising slogans — are reproduced later. Although echolalia has traditionally been viewed as a symptom to be reduced, contemporary research increasingly recognises that repeated phrases can serve meaningful communicative purposes, helping some autistic people process language, request things, or take conversational turns. Related terms include palilalia, the repetition of one's own words, and echopraxia, the imitation of another person's movements. The word derives from Greek roots meaning "echo" and "speech".
nounThe involuntary or automatic repetition of words, phrases, or sounds made by another person. It occurs as a normal stage of language development in infants and, when it persists beyond that stage, is associated with conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, Tourette syndrome, and certain neurological disorders.
- The immediate or delayed repetition of another person's words or phrases, seen in typical infant language development and in conditions such as autism spectrum disorder.
- In psychiatry and neurology, a symptom characterized by such compulsive echoing of speech, occurring in Tourette syndrome, catatonia, dementia, and other disorders.
"The therapist noted that the child's echolalia often echoed the last few words of a question rather than answering it."
"Delayed echolalia can involve repeating lines from films or conversations heard hours or even days earlier."
"In advanced Parkinson's disease, echolalia may emerge alongside other disturbances of speech."
Echolalia is usually treated as an uncountable noun in general and clinical writing. A plural exists for referring to individual instances or episodes of echoing, but this usage is comparatively rare.
"The clinician recorded several brief echolalias during the assessment session."
When a toddler repeats your question back at you instead of answering it, they're doing exactly what the word 'echolalia' describes — and so were the ancient Greeks who named 'echo' after a nymph doomed to repeat only the last words spoken to her.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of echolalia
Echolalia was coined in the 19th century from two Greek elements: ekhō, meaning "echo" or "reverberating sound" (the same root that gave us the word "echo", itself drawn from Greek mythological Echo, the nymph condemned to repeat others' words), and laliā, meaning "talk" or "chattering". The combining form -lalia appears in several related coinages, including palilalia (repeating one's own words), coprolalia (compulsive use of obscene language), and lallation (infantile babbling). The adjective form is echolalic.
Related word forms
How echolalia is actually used
Echolalia is a clinical and technical term used chiefly in psychology, linguistics, medicine, and discussions of child development; it is not part of everyday informal vocabulary. It is a countable noun (an echolalia, echolalias) though more commonly uncountable in general use. It carries no inherent moral judgment — describing someone's speech as echolalia is a neutral clinical observation — but outside professional contexts it can sound pathologising if applied carelessly to people who communicate by repeating phrases, including many autistic speakers for whom echolalia serves genuine communicative functions (sometimes called gestalt language processing).
Easily confused with echolalia
Palilalia is the repetition of one's own words or phrases, whereas echolalia is the repetition of another person's speech.
Echopraxia is the involuntary imitation of another person's movements or gestures, while echolalia concerns the imitation of speech.