Which term describes word choice based on sound rather than meaning?

• A. Clanging
• B. Echolalia
• C. Flight of ideas
• D. Neologisms

Answer: (A)

Word choice based on sound rather than meaning is clanging. In clanging, speech flows by sound patterns—rhymes, rhythm, or similar-sounding words—so ideas are linked by how words sound rather than what they mean. This reflects a thought-disorder where linguistic form overrides content and is often seen in mania or schizophrenia. Echolalia is the automatic repetition of others’ words, not a pattern of linking ideas by sound. Flight of ideas involves rapid, loosely connected topics with semantic or associative connections, not phonetic ties. Neologisms are new, invented words with idiosyncratic meanings, indicating disorganized thinking rather than phonetic chaining.