Pub Date : 2025-08-05DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100052
Olivia Knapton
Animal phobias are a relatively common type of phobia yet are often overlooked in qualitative research into mental health and illness. This study uses discourse analysis informed by cognitive linguistics to investigate people’s experiences of a specific kind of animal phobia, that of insects and other bugs. Through an analysis of proximisation and metaphor in interviews with 27 women with these phobias, this study shows how the feared bugs are conceptualised as an outsider threat that continually encroaches upon the deictic centre of the self or the home. The narrowing of the space between the bug and the deictic centre is at once literal (i.e. the bug moves towards the self) and metaphorical, that is, the bug is conceptualised as an agent with the wilful intent to perform deliberate acts of harm on the deictic centre. The findings are discussed in relation to several socially-situated issues, namely: the nature of disgust, women’s experiences of vulnerability and violence, and the meanings created for insects and bugs through anthropomorphic discursive representations.
{"title":"Proximisation, metaphor and threat in experiences of insect and bug phobias","authors":"Olivia Knapton","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100052","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100052","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Animal phobias are a relatively common type of phobia yet are often overlooked in qualitative research into mental health and illness. This study uses discourse analysis informed by cognitive linguistics to investigate people’s experiences of a specific kind of animal phobia, that of insects and other bugs. Through an analysis of proximisation and metaphor in interviews with 27 women with these phobias, this study shows how the feared bugs are conceptualised as an outsider threat that continually encroaches upon the deictic centre of the self or the home. The narrowing of the space between the bug and the deictic centre is at once literal (i.e. the bug moves towards the self) and metaphorical, that is, the bug is conceptualised as an agent with the wilful intent to perform deliberate acts of harm on the deictic centre. The findings are discussed in relation to several socially-situated issues, namely: the nature of disgust, women’s experiences of vulnerability and violence, and the meanings created for insects and bugs through anthropomorphic discursive representations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 2","pages":"Article 100052"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144772800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-28DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100053
Theng Theng Ong
There has been an increased use of the term ‘mental health’ to refer to more negative states or ‘mental illness’. This study examines the language and meanings associated with ‘mental health’ in English-language newspapers across five Asian countries: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and China. The aim is to identify the common words used to discuss mental health and to assess the extent to which these words reflect their common definitional meanings across different cultural contexts. Methodologically, the study integrates language convergence and meaning divergence approaches with corpus linguistics to analyse the newspapers. The findings reveal that ‘mental health’ is frequently collocated with words such as ‘issues’, ‘problems’, ‘services’, ‘support’, ‘physical’, and ‘people’ across the Asian news corpora. It is found that these collocates often diverge from their definitional meanings and are often used in reference to more negative mental states across the Asian news corpora.
{"title":"A corpus-assisted analysis of language convergence and meaning divergence of ‘mental health’ in Asian countries","authors":"Theng Theng Ong","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100053","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100053","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There has been an increased use of the term ‘<em>mental health’</em> to refer to more negative states or <em>‘mental illness’</em>. This study examines the language and meanings associated with ‘<em>mental health’</em> in English-language newspapers across five Asian countries: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and China. The aim is to identify the common words used to discuss mental health and to assess the extent to which these words reflect their common definitional meanings across different cultural contexts. Methodologically, the study integrates language convergence and meaning divergence approaches with corpus linguistics to analyse the newspapers. The findings reveal that ‘<em>mental health’</em> is frequently collocated with words such as ‘<em>issues’</em>, ‘<em>problems’</em>, ‘<em>services’</em>, ‘<em>support’</em>, ‘<em>physical’</em>, and ‘<em>people’</em> across the Asian news corpora. It is found that these collocates often diverge from their definitional meanings and are often used in reference to more negative mental states across the Asian news corpora.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 2","pages":"Article 100053"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144713168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-18DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100056
Alessandro Tagliavia , Edward Khokhlovich , Andrey Vyshedskiy
Could grammatical variations between languages influence early language acquisition? This question has been largely overlooked, likely due to the challenges of studying it in typically developing children. By around four years of age, most typically developing children naturally acquire advanced syntactic abilities. In contrast, autistic children often face significant difficulties with language acquisition, with approximately 40 % of those diagnosed with autism never achieving full syntactic language comprehension. If grammatical differences between languages impact syntactic acquisition, autistic individuals speaking different languages could potentially display distinct syntactic development trajectories. To explore this, a longitudinal study was conducted involving children aged 2–5 years diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who utilized a language therapy app that also gathered parent-reported language assessments. Participants were divided into groups based on their native languages: English (N = 5557), Spanish (N = 1763), Portuguese (N = 830), Italian (N = 417), and Russian (N = 313). A linear mixed-effects model with repeated measures was employed to compare each pair of language groups. The analysis revealed no significant differences in the 3-year trajectories of receptive and expressive language development between the groups. These findings suggest that all studied languages are equally effective in supporting language development.
{"title":"Do grammatical variations between languages influence early language acquisition in autistic individuals?","authors":"Alessandro Tagliavia , Edward Khokhlovich , Andrey Vyshedskiy","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100056","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100056","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Could grammatical variations between languages influence early language acquisition? This question has been largely overlooked, likely due to the challenges of studying it in typically developing children. By around four years of age, most typically developing children naturally acquire advanced syntactic abilities. In contrast, autistic children often face significant difficulties with language acquisition, with approximately 40 % of those diagnosed with autism never achieving full syntactic language comprehension. If grammatical differences between languages impact syntactic acquisition, autistic individuals speaking different languages could potentially display distinct syntactic development trajectories. To explore this, a longitudinal study was conducted involving children aged 2–5 years diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who utilized a language therapy app that also gathered parent-reported language assessments. Participants were divided into groups based on their native languages: English (N = 5557), Spanish (N = 1763), Portuguese (N = 830), Italian (N = 417), and Russian (N = 313). A linear mixed-effects model with repeated measures was employed to compare each pair of language groups. The analysis revealed no significant differences in the 3-year trajectories of receptive and expressive language development between the groups. These findings suggest that all studied languages are equally effective in supporting language development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 2","pages":"Article 100056"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144307057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-01DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100055
Adrià Rofes , Marta Almeria , Barbara Sampedro , Roel Jonkers , Joan Deus , Jerzy Krupinski
{"title":"Corrigendum to “What drives task performance in fluency tasks in people who had COVID-19?” [Language and Health 2 (2024) 100031]","authors":"Adrià Rofes , Marta Almeria , Barbara Sampedro , Roel Jonkers , Joan Deus , Jerzy Krupinski","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100055","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100055","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100055"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144307474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-01DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100051
Yueguo GU , Yongwei ZHANG
This paper presents a case study of a supercentenarian MST who died at the age of 110. A brief review of the literature on centenarians and their longevity is made that shows the mainstream focus on demography, mortality, heritability, cognition and parameters of longevity. Centenarians’ language performance is generally overlooked except for mentions in MMSE tests. This paper fills the gap by detailed anatomies of MST’s video-taped interview together with data from his life history and many volumes of writing. The interview sample is also looked at as part of a bigger picture of daily living activities. A comparison is also made between MST and a 93-year-old nonagenarian using the 3-welt model of umwelt, innenwelt and lebenswelt. The paper concludes with a bold proposal of conceptualizing language as lived experiences independently from aging and disease.
{"title":"Aging and language: A case study of a supercentenarian","authors":"Yueguo GU , Yongwei ZHANG","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100051","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100051","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents a case study of a supercentenarian MST who died at the age of 110. A brief review of the literature on centenarians and their longevity is made that shows the mainstream focus on demography, mortality, heritability, cognition and parameters of longevity. Centenarians’ language performance is generally overlooked except for mentions in MMSE tests. This paper fills the gap by detailed anatomies of MST’s video-taped interview together with data from his life history and many volumes of writing. The interview sample is also looked at as part of a bigger picture of daily living activities. A comparison is also made between MST and a 93-year-old nonagenarian using the 3-welt model of umwelt, innenwelt and lebenswelt. The paper concludes with a bold proposal of conceptualizing language as lived experiences independently from aging and disease.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100051"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144279197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-01DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100054
Satu Johanna Siiskonen
This linguistic study examines the usage and semantics of the Finnish lexemes potilas 'patient' and asiakas 'customer, client' in journalistic texts discussing matters relevant to the pharmacy profession. The theoretical framework of the analysis is cognitive linguistics, particularly frame semantics. The data were collected from articles published in a Finnish pharmacy magazine, Apteekkari, which represents the interests of proprietary pharmacists. The situational and functional semantic frames of a total of 137 occurrences of potilas ‘patient’ or asiakas ‘customer, client’ are compared. The analysis shows that the semantic frames of potilas ‘patient’ and asiakas ‘customer, client’ in Apteekkari are quite distinct. The magazine primarily uses the term potilas ‘patient’ for individuals interacting in the situational frame of a healthcare setting other than a pharmacy, or in the context of healthcare in general. However, although Finnish pharmacies also offer healthcare services, individuals interacting with pharmacies are generally referred to as asiakas ‘customer, client’, irrespective of their health status. Asiakas ‘customer, client’ is more common than potilas ‘patient’ in all functional frames of pharmacy services, including medical treatment and care. The terms customer and client may to some language users suggest a commercial and transactional rather than a caring relationship, and using the term patient in certain care-related contexts could support the recognition of pharmacists as healthcare providers. To better understand this aspect, future research should investigate perceptions of these terms among pharmacy service users and healthcare stakeholders, particularly in the context of pharmaceutical care.
{"title":"‘Many of our customers are discharged patients’: A linguistic study of references to healthcare users in a Finnish pharmacy magazine","authors":"Satu Johanna Siiskonen","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100054","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100054","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This linguistic study examines the usage and semantics of the Finnish lexemes <em>potilas</em> 'patient' and <em>asiakas</em> 'customer, client' in journalistic texts discussing matters relevant to the pharmacy profession. The theoretical framework of the analysis is cognitive linguistics, particularly frame semantics. The data were collected from articles published in a Finnish pharmacy magazine, <em>Apteekkari</em>, which represents the interests of proprietary pharmacists. The situational and functional semantic frames of a total of 137 occurrences of <em>potilas</em> ‘patient’ or <em>asiakas</em> ‘customer, client’ are compared. The analysis shows that the semantic frames of <em>potilas</em> ‘patient’ and <em>asiakas</em> ‘customer, client’ in <em>Apteekkari</em> are quite distinct. The magazine primarily uses the term <em>potilas</em> ‘patient’ for individuals interacting in the situational frame of a healthcare setting other than a pharmacy, or in the context of healthcare in general. However, although Finnish pharmacies also offer healthcare services, individuals interacting with pharmacies are generally referred to as <em>asiakas</em> ‘customer, client’, irrespective of their health status. <em>Asiakas</em> ‘customer, client’ is more common than <em>potilas</em> ‘patient’ in all functional frames of pharmacy services, including medical treatment and care. The terms <em>customer</em> and <em>client</em> may to some language users suggest a commercial and transactional rather than a caring relationship, and using the term <em>patient</em> in certain care-related contexts could support the recognition of pharmacists as healthcare providers. To better understand this aspect, future research should investigate perceptions of these terms among pharmacy service users and healthcare stakeholders, particularly in the context of pharmaceutical care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100054"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144298198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-20DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2024.100045
Maria Vilanova Cifre , Lluís Barceló Coblijn
This paper examines the difficulties dyslexic students encounter while learning English as a foreign language. It is not only about stating that dyslexic students have problems when learning a foreign and opaque language as English, but also about finding out where the difficulties rely on. According to some researchers, English spelling is an ‘opaque’ language that causes difficulties due to its consonant clusters and its complex syllabic structures. The main aim of this essay is to discover the difficulties Catalan speakers encounter when learning this language. Throughout this paper, there is an identification of the main characteristics of Catalan dyslexic students within English learning. This experimental proposal is aimed at analysing the effects of this reading disorder when learning a foreign language with the methodology of participants taking two tests: in English and in Catalan. Each test contains four different activities: a line rhyming exercise, choosing the right option, fill in the gap and dictation. By doing this, it seeks to demonstrate the most complicated groups of consonant clusters for dyslexic students: the ones representing more than one sound in the same letter, thus opaque clusters. Furthermore, due to this opacity, English activities were more significant in terms of results than Catalan exercises.
{"title":"Study of English as an additional language in students with dyslexia","authors":"Maria Vilanova Cifre , Lluís Barceló Coblijn","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.100045","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.100045","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the difficulties dyslexic students encounter while learning English as a foreign language. It is not only about stating that dyslexic students have problems when learning a foreign and opaque language as English, but also about finding out where the difficulties rely on. According to some researchers, English spelling is an ‘opaque’ language that causes difficulties due to its consonant clusters and its complex syllabic structures. The main aim of this essay is to discover the difficulties Catalan speakers encounter when learning this language. Throughout this paper, there is an identification of the main characteristics of Catalan dyslexic students within English learning. This experimental proposal is aimed at analysing the effects of this reading disorder when learning a foreign language with the methodology of participants taking two tests: in English and in Catalan. Each test contains four different activities: a line rhyming exercise, choosing the right option, fill in the gap and dictation. By doing this, it seeks to demonstrate the most complicated groups of consonant clusters for dyslexic students: the ones representing more than one sound in the same letter, thus opaque clusters. Furthermore, due to this opacity, English activities were more significant in terms of results than Catalan exercises.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100045"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144098890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-12DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100050
Roberto Graci, Alessandro Capone
This paper investigates referential acts in discourse, focusing on how individuals with aphasia use language within specific communicative contexts. We argue that reference is not merely a function of lexical or syntactic conventions, but a pragmatic act shaped by context, shared knowledge, and interactional dynamics. Through discourse analyses, we show that people with aphasia often maintain referential coherence when supported by collaborative interlocutors. In contrast to traditional assessments that rely on decontextualized testing, we advocate for assessment approaches grounded in the analysis of real communicative situations, which better capture the situated and collaboratively constructed nature of reference. By integrating contextual, perceptual, and social dimensions into assessment and intervention, we propose a shift toward more dynamic and effective models for understanding and supporting communicative abilities in aphasia.
{"title":"A pragmatic view on referential acts in aphasia","authors":"Roberto Graci, Alessandro Capone","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100050","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100050","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates referential acts in discourse, focusing on how individuals with aphasia use language within specific communicative contexts. We argue that reference is not merely a function of lexical or syntactic conventions, but a pragmatic act shaped by context, shared knowledge, and interactional dynamics. Through discourse analyses, we show that people with aphasia often maintain referential coherence when supported by collaborative interlocutors. In contrast to traditional assessments that rely on decontextualized testing, we advocate for assessment approaches grounded in the analysis of real communicative situations, which better capture the situated and collaboratively constructed nature of reference. By integrating contextual, perceptual, and social dimensions into assessment and intervention, we propose a shift toward more dynamic and effective models for understanding and supporting communicative abilities in aphasia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100050"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-21DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100048
Rachel G.A. Thompson , Jemima Asabea Anderson , Ebenezer Agbaglo , Jerry John Ouner , Julene K. Johnson
In recent times, Ghanaian midwives are adopting social media to engage in outreach, patient education, and health and wellbeing promotion services. This study explores the pragmatic acts used by Ghanaian midwives in their educational posts targeted at pregnant women and women who have newborns (new mothers) on Facebook. Using the directed content analysis method, the study identified five types of pragmatic acts in the midwives posts. They are the introductory acts, explanatory acts, prescriptive acts, psychological acts, and closing acts. The findings show that during online maternal and child healthcare services, Ghanaian midwives mainly perform explanatory acts, prescriptive acts, and psychological acts to inform, guide, and support pregnant women and new mothers on Facebook. The use of social media for promoting maternal and child health care, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is a relatively new phenomenon. However, it has the potential to provide immense help and support pregnant women and new mothers if used to complement in-person antenatal and postpartum care visits.
{"title":"Exploring pragmatic acts in Ghanaian midwives’ Facebook posts","authors":"Rachel G.A. Thompson , Jemima Asabea Anderson , Ebenezer Agbaglo , Jerry John Ouner , Julene K. Johnson","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100048","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100048","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent times, Ghanaian midwives are adopting social media to engage in outreach, patient education, and health and wellbeing promotion services. This study explores the pragmatic acts used by Ghanaian midwives in their educational posts targeted at pregnant women and women who have newborns (new mothers) on Facebook. Using the directed content analysis method, the study identified five types of pragmatic acts in the midwives posts. They are the introductory acts, explanatory acts, prescriptive acts, psychological acts, and closing acts. The findings show that during online maternal and child healthcare services, Ghanaian midwives mainly perform explanatory acts, prescriptive acts, and psychological acts to inform, guide, and support pregnant women and new mothers on Facebook. The use of social media for promoting maternal and child health care, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is a relatively new phenomenon. However, it has the potential to provide immense help and support pregnant women and new mothers if used to complement in-person antenatal and postpartum care visits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100048"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143852265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-17DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100047
Louise Harding , Ryan DeCaire , Ursula Ellis , Karleen Delaurier-Lyle , Julia Schillo , Mark Turin
Introduction
Indigenous languages in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States are endangered due to colonial policies which promote English language dominance. While Indigenous communities know the importance of language for their wellbeing, this topic has only recently received attention in scholarship and public policy. This scoping review synthesizes and assesses existing literature on the links between the vitality of Indigenous languages and health or wellness in four English-speaking settler colonial countries.
Methods
Our interdisciplinary research team followed JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Key databases searched included MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. Searches were restricted to English language literature. The last search was on February 8, 2021. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to categorize and elucidate the nature of the links reported.
Results
Over 10,000 records were reviewed and 262 met the inclusion criteria – 70 % academic and 30 % gray literature. The largest number of studies focus on Canadian contexts (40.1 %). 78 % of the original research studies report only supportive links between Indigenous languages and health, while 98 % of the literature reviews report supportive links. The most significant aspects of health reported to be positively related to language are outcomes from health care, education and promotion initiatives; overall health, wellness, resilience and healing; and mental, cognitive, and psychological health and development. The results of the remaining original research studies are mixed (10 %), statistically non-significant (6 %), adverse (5 %) and neutral (1 %).
Conclusions
The results of this scoping review suggest that a vast body of academic and gray literature exists to support that language is a determinant of health for Indigenous peoples in the contexts studied. Recommendations for harnessing the healing effects of language include increasing tangible support to language programs, delivering linguistically tailored health care, and advancing knowledge through community-engaged research and education.
{"title":"Language improves health and wellbeing in Indigenous communities: A scoping review","authors":"Louise Harding , Ryan DeCaire , Ursula Ellis , Karleen Delaurier-Lyle , Julia Schillo , Mark Turin","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100047","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100047","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Indigenous languages in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States are endangered due to colonial policies which promote English language dominance. While Indigenous communities know the importance of language for their wellbeing, this topic has only recently received attention in scholarship and public policy. This scoping review synthesizes and assesses existing literature on the links between the vitality of Indigenous languages and health or wellness in four English-speaking settler colonial countries.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Our interdisciplinary research team followed JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Key databases searched included MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. Searches were restricted to English language literature. The last search was on February 8, 2021. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to categorize and elucidate the nature of the links reported.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Over 10,000 records were reviewed and 262 met the inclusion criteria – 70 % academic and 30 % gray literature. The largest number of studies focus on Canadian contexts (40.1 %). 78 % of the original research studies report only supportive links between Indigenous languages and health, while 98 % of the literature reviews report supportive links. The most significant aspects of health reported to be positively related to language are outcomes from health care, education and promotion initiatives; overall health, wellness, resilience and healing; and mental, cognitive, and psychological health and development. The results of the remaining original research studies are mixed (10 %), statistically non-significant (6 %), adverse (5 %) and neutral (1 %).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The results of this scoping review suggest that a vast body of academic and gray literature exists to support that language is a determinant of health for Indigenous peoples in the contexts studied. Recommendations for harnessing the healing effects of language include increasing tangible support to language programs, delivering linguistically tailored health care, and advancing knowledge through community-engaged research and education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100047"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143838642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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