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}
Pub Date : 2025-04-15DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100049
Meng Jiang , Qi Luo , Xia Wang , Zhenling Tian
Previous studies have extensively found that language is embodied and language undergoes aging, yet little attention has been paid to correlate the two issues. To address this gap, the present study put forward the Embodiment Effect on Lexicosemantic Aging (EELA) Hypothesis, which posits that words with stronger magnitude of embodiment are less susceptible to aging, whereas words with weaker magnitude of embodiment exhibit greater aging effects. To test this hypothesis, the present study employed three categories of action verbs, namely, the limb action verb, the face action verb, and the natural-change action verb, which were graded in embodiment, and recruited three age groups of adults (i.e., young, middle-aged and elderly ones) to perform a semantic categorization task. The results revealed a systematic processing hierarchy, with action verbs with the largest embodiment magnitude (limb action verbs) underwent the least aging, action verbs with the second largest embodiment magnitude (face action verbs) underwent more aging, action verbs with the smallest embodiment magnitude (natural-change action verbs) underwent the largest aging. These findings provide support for the EELA Hypothesis.
{"title":"Study on the effect of embodiment on Lexicosemantic Aging: Evidence based on the processing of Chinese action verbs","authors":"Meng Jiang , Qi Luo , Xia Wang , Zhenling Tian","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100049","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100049","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Previous studies have extensively found that language is embodied and language undergoes aging, yet little attention has been paid to correlate the two issues. To address this gap, the present study put forward the Embodiment Effect on Lexicosemantic Aging (EELA) Hypothesis, which posits that words with stronger magnitude of embodiment are less susceptible to aging, whereas words with weaker magnitude of embodiment exhibit greater aging effects. To test this hypothesis, the present study employed three categories of action verbs, namely, the <em>limb</em> action verb, the <em>face</em> action verb, and the <em>natural-change</em> action verb, which were graded in embodiment, and recruited three age groups of adults (i.e., young, middle-aged and elderly ones) to perform a semantic categorization task. The results revealed a systematic processing hierarchy, with action verbs with the largest embodiment magnitude (<em>limb</em> action verbs) underwent the least aging, action verbs with the second largest embodiment magnitude (<em>face</em> action verbs) underwent more aging, action verbs with the smallest embodiment magnitude (<em>natural-change</em> action verbs) underwent the largest aging. These findings provide support for the EELA Hypothesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100049"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143834754","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 : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100046
Lin Lin , Rui Zhou , Jia-jia Wang
Despite volumes of research on depression-related conceptual metaphors and the therapeutic function of client-generated metaphors, seldom efforts have been made to unveil clients’ positive changes signified by metaphoric variation in the context of recovery. Based on depression recovery stories posted on Chinese Wechat subscription accounts, this study unpicks evolved metaphoric patterns indicative of positive changes regarding altered attitudes toward depression, social interaction and healthcare services during depressed patients’ recovery. It is found that these varying patterns can be mostly decoded based on correspondence and class inclusion metaphor types, developing from specific original source-target relations or original elements of the sources, while the rest of them can be realized by the introduction of new sources or targets for elaborating new experience and outcomes. They reflect depression survivors’ positive thinking patterns, self-empowerment and resilience, and convey their experience-licensed suggestions and encouragement to peers. Additionally, this study discusses how the Chinese socio-cultural values play a vital role in the understanding of depression-related metaphors and their variation, and provides implications for the application of metaphoric techniques in healthcare practice with socio-cultural sensitivity.
{"title":"A journey from darkness to dawn: Metaphoric variation in depression recovery stories posted on Chinese Wechat subscription accounts","authors":"Lin Lin , Rui Zhou , Jia-jia Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100046","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100046","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite volumes of research on depression-related conceptual metaphors and the therapeutic function of client-generated metaphors, seldom efforts have been made to unveil clients’ positive changes signified by metaphoric variation in the context of recovery. Based on depression recovery stories posted on Chinese Wechat subscription accounts, this study unpicks evolved metaphoric patterns indicative of positive changes regarding altered attitudes toward depression, social interaction and healthcare services during depressed patients’ recovery. It is found that these varying patterns can be mostly decoded based on correspondence and class inclusion metaphor types, developing from specific original source-target relations or original elements of the sources, while the rest of them can be realized by the introduction of new sources or targets for elaborating new experience and outcomes. They reflect depression survivors’ positive thinking patterns, self-empowerment and resilience, and convey their experience-licensed suggestions and encouragement to peers. Additionally, this study discusses how the Chinese socio-cultural values play a vital role in the understanding of depression-related metaphors and their variation, and provides implications for the application of metaphoric techniques in healthcare practice with socio-cultural sensitivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100046"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143092242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-23DOI: 10.1016/j.laheal.2024.100044
Furat Taha , Razan Mhanna , Zeina Harakeh , Sanaa Awada , Roula Bou Assi , Assem El-Kak , Georges Hatem
This study investigates the effects of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) on students at risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), recognizing the influential role of teachers in student development. Conducted over five months in a Lebanese private school, the cohort study involved 130 students (mean age: 8.7 years) spanning grades 1–5. Utilizing the NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale, teachers' pre- and post-intervention assessments, with sociodemographic data from caregivers, were collected. Significant improvements in inattentive and hyperactive symptoms post-NLP were noted, with ADHD percentages dropping to zero. Oppositional/conduct and anxiety/depression risks also decreased. Academic performance, particularly in written expression, showed notable improvement (18–9.1 %; p = 0.05). Teachers reported substantial advancements in high-risk ADHD children following NLP interventions, highlighting the importance of teacher-student relationships, motivation, confidence, and collaborative parent-teacher efforts in creating conducive learning environments. NLP can be used as an effective tool in addressing cognitive challenges and promoting positive behavioral changes.
{"title":"Neuro-linguistic programming's impact on academic performance in primary schoolchildren at risk of ADHD","authors":"Furat Taha , Razan Mhanna , Zeina Harakeh , Sanaa Awada , Roula Bou Assi , Assem El-Kak , Georges Hatem","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.100044","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.100044","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the effects of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) on students at risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), recognizing the influential role of teachers in student development. Conducted over five months in a Lebanese private school, the cohort study involved 130 students (mean age: 8.7 years) spanning grades 1–5. Utilizing the NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale, teachers' pre- and post-intervention assessments, with sociodemographic data from caregivers, were collected. Significant improvements in inattentive and hyperactive symptoms post-NLP were noted, with ADHD percentages dropping to zero. Oppositional/conduct and anxiety/depression risks also decreased. Academic performance, particularly in written expression, showed notable improvement (18–9.1 %; p = 0.05). Teachers reported substantial advancements in high-risk ADHD children following NLP interventions, highlighting the importance of teacher-student relationships, motivation, confidence, and collaborative parent-teacher efforts in creating conducive learning environments. NLP can be used as an effective tool in addressing cognitive challenges and promoting positive behavioral changes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100044"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143092241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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