verbaalisia

Verbaalisia is a neologism used in some contemporary discussions of language cognition to describe a putative property wherein individuals encode, maintain, and reproduce spoken language with unusually high verbatim fidelity. In this usage, verbaalisia encompasses enhanced phonological processing and a memory system that favors exact repetition over semantic interpretation, though it does not necessarily imply a deficit or surplus in overall language ability.

Origin and usage of the term are limited and debated. Verbaalisia is not an established category in mainstream linguistics; it appears in a small body of articles and speculative discussions as a conceptual framework for examining precise echoic memory, rapid speech repetition, and the boundaries between memory for form and memory for meaning. The term is often proposed as part of a spectrum rather than a binary condition, with features ranging from near-verbatim recall of spoken examples to selective reproduction under specific task demands.

Core features commonly discussed include strong recall of spoken input in exact phonetic form, occasional dissociations between form and meaning, and variable engagement of semantic processing during reproduction. Critics note that the term lacks standardized diagnostic criteria and may overlap with existing concepts such as echolalia, high auditory working memory, or phonological loop capacity found in cognitive psychology and clinical contexts.

See also: Echolalia, Verbatim memory, Phonological loop, Echoic memory, Working memory.