Man wakes up speaking only Welsh

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BATH, England, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A British woman whose 81-year-old English-speaking husband suddenly began speaking Welsh after a stroke said he had known the language in his youth.

Yvonne Morgan of Bath, England, said her husband, Alun, left doctors scratching their heads when he woke up speaking Welsh after his stroke, WalesOnline reported Tuesday.

Morgan said both she and her husband were born to Welsh-speaking parents in London and only spoke English in public. She said he stayed with Welsh-speaking relatives in Cardigan when he was evacuated during World War II.

She said the couple sometimes spoke Welsh to one another, but primarily spoke English, so doctors initially did not realize he was a Welsh speaker when he came out of his coma and was unable to remember any English words.

"I don't remember anything from the time of my stroke. But gradually I started speaking a few words in Welsh. Only my wife could understand what I was saying, and doctors were confused. Gradually the English words came back but it wasn't easy," Alun Morgan said.