The irrational fear of speaking or of trying to speak is called lalophobia, from the Greek lalein, to speak. Unlike the fear of public speaking, glossophobia, lalophobics always suffer from their condition to varying degrees. Some develop speech disorders or even selective mutism or total mutism. Psychological treatment, as opposed to speech therapy, can usually alleviate these symptoms, since they are not linked to any physical condition, like logoplegia or aphasia. In many cases, lalophobia leads to other conditions, such as social phobia. Historically, some lalophobics have been drawn to a cloistered or hermetic life.

Compare to: logophobia, logorrhea