We report the case of a 16-year-old right-handed Chinese/English bilin
gual patient who developed herpes simplex encephalitis involving the l
eft temporal lobe, with resultant aphasia. His nature language was Man
darin, but he had received extensive training in English for 6 years a
fter moving to the United States and was fluent in English. One week a
fter admission, he could not speak, comprehend, repeat, name, read, or
write in English, but he had relative preservation of most of these f
acilities in Mandarin. He could not write in Mandarin, and his syntax
was simplified. Two months later, along with intensive bilingual speec
h therapy, his reading, writing, and naming in English had almost reco
vered.