Language and Health最新文献

{"title":"Fear and persuasion in public health discourse: The case of CDC anti-smoking campaigns","authors":"Ghaleb Rabab’ah ,&nbsp;Fakir Al Gharaibeh ,&nbsp;Sharif Alghazo ,&nbsp;Rima Malkawi","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100071","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100071","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fear has long been recognised as a potent tool for persuasive communication. A plethora of research has examined the role of fear appeals in influencing the target audience. However, scant attention has been given to the choice of persuasive strategies used to craft fear messages, particularly in the public health domain. This study aims to bridge the gap in the literature by examining the prevalence of fear strategies and the interplay between persuasion and fear in an anti-smoking campaign, drawing on Aristotle’s persuasion theory and Fear Appeals by Witte and Allen (2000). Methodologically, the study employs a qualitative, descriptive content analysis to examine how fear-based persuasive strategies are constructed in the CDC’s press releases. A qualitative analysis was conducted on a corpus of 27 press releases issued between 2012 and 2024 as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) <em>Tips From Former Smokers</em> campaign. The analysis reveals five predominant fear strategies utilised by the CDC in their press releases: fear-induced narratives, health-hazard emphasis, statistics, expert endorsement, and urgency. These strategies enhance the CDC's message by amplifying fear appeals, thereby altering smokers' current behaviours and attitudes. This study contributes to the literature by providing insights into the strategies adopted in crafting fear appeals in anti-smoking campaigns and how fear patterns shape individuals’ behavioural change against smoking tobacco.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100071"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145808471","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}

{"title":"Talking aging care for ordinary people: Caregiving at home for dementia in three different countries","authors":"Constantina Demosthenous,&nbsp;Boyd H. Davis,&nbsp;Lu Song,&nbsp;Antonis Stylianou,&nbsp;Vasso Stylianou,&nbsp;Meredith Troutman-Jordan,&nbsp;Margaret Maclagan","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2026.100083","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2026.100083","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Throughout the world ordinary people are caring for equally ordinary people who are living with dementia (PLWD). However, the care available differs in different parts of the world. In this paper we explore the caregiving that is available in three different countries: the People’s Republic of China, Cyprus and the United States of America. In China and Cyprus interviews were carried out with caregivers of PLWD who were still living in their own homes. The PLWD in the U.S. were no longer living in their own homes but had moved to residential facilities where it proved almost impossible to interview their carers. In addition, interviews were carried out with U.S. prison Corrections Officers who become de facto carers for older prisoners who develop dementia. In China most caregiving is carried out by family members who are not assisted by immigrant caregivers. Cyprus is in a period of transition. Traditionally family members, usually women, cared for PLWD, but as more women are working outside the home more of the caregiving is being carried out by migrants. In the U.S., much of the caregiving is provided by migrants, whether the PLWDs are living in their own homes or in residential facilities. Many immigrant caregivers do not speak the language of the PLWD for whom they care and receive minimal or no training for their role. Instead, they must learn on the job. We end by stressing the importance of providing training and simple resources for carers of PLWD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100083"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148539740","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}

{"title":"Elderspeak revisited: Cross-cultural insights from French and Chinese nursing homes","authors":"Weiwei Guo ,&nbsp;Marie Lefelle","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2026.100080","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2026.100080","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aims to offer a more nuanced examination of elderspeak, which most research on elderly care communication considers to have a negative effect on the dignity of older adults. To do this, we drew on data collected in two very different countries/cultures, France and China, in order to fill the gap in cultural diversity in elderspeak studies (existing work mainly concerns English) and to broaden the focus to include cultural and institutional contexts. Multimodal data analyzed in the current study include meal assistance, sensory workshops, and memory games. The diversity of communicative situations (daily care vs. social activities, informal vs. structured) makes it possible to identify the contextual elements that favor the use of elderspeak and the varied effects of the same communication strategy depending on the individuality of the residents. Preliminary findings suggest that certain elements of elderspeak, such as repetition and simplified phrasing, when adapted to residents’ cognitive capacity, can enhance comprehension and participation. Similarly, compliments, when sincere and proportionate, contribute positively to the construction of older people's social identity. Finally, the design of activities plays a decisive role in the use of elderspeak: in a task-oriented activity where the professional-resident power relationship is asymmetrical to the detriment of residents, communication is likely to be condescending, whereas an exchange on equal terms allows for better participation and self-expression on the part of residents. All these elements lead us to propose a new definition of elderspeak: rather than focusing on linguistic appearances which vary according to cultural contexts, we should focus on effects. This opens up new avenues for reflection in caregiver training. Proposing a guide to good practices is not a satisfactory solution; instead, professionals need interactional skills to adjust their communication style to the specific needs and abilities of residents.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100080"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188941","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}

{"title":"Do children with language impairment tell depressing and anxious stories? An emotion-based narrative language sample analysis of over 1000 children","authors":"Scott R. Schroeder ,&nbsp;Max R. Freeman ,&nbsp;Glennys A. Cuatlacuatl ,&nbsp;Journee Cunningham ,&nbsp;Natalie M. Jordan ,&nbsp;Alexandra K. Occhiuto","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2026.100079","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2026.100079","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Children with language impairment (LI) experience increased mental health challenges, which may be reflected in the words they use to tell stories. We examined whether children with LI produced more emotionally negative narratives than typically developing (TD) children, and whether lower lexical diversity (a proxy for vocabulary size) was associated with more negativity. Language samples were analyzed from four corpora, totaling 1197 children, ages 3–15. In the two larger corpora, there was evidence for increased negativity in LI children compared to TD children. However, this increased negativity in LI children was not observed across all measures of emotional valence in the two larger corpora, nor was it observed in any measure in the two smaller corpora (and was in the opposite direction on one measure in one of the smaller corpora). There were many associations within both the LI and TD groups between lower lexical diversity and more negativity, indicating that children with smaller vocabularies produced narratives with elevated negativity, but these associations were generally small and sometimes absent or in the reverse direction. In sum, the negative emotions that are known to be experienced by children with weaker language abilities may manifest in their stories, but the results were inconclusive, and more research is needed. Implications for speech-language pathology and clinical psychology are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100079"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146038230","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}

{"title":"Examining influencing factors in measuring mean length of utterance: A case study of Chinese-speaking older adults with cognitive decline","authors":"Yiran Yang,&nbsp;Lihe Huang,&nbsp;Tsy Yih,&nbsp;Deyu Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2026.100085","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2026.100085","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Linguistic changes in later life serve as observable indicators of age-related cognitive decline, with mean length of utterance (MLU) being a widely adopted metric for assessing syntactic complexity in aging populations. However, the reliability of MLU depends on utterance segmentation consistency, a methodological challenge that remains underexplored in Chinese, where standardized guidelines are lacking and phenomena such as pro-drop and cohesive repetition systematically obscure boundary judgments. This study presents a methodological investigation into how segmentation variability influences MLU values. Using narrative and descriptive speech samples from Chinese older adults with differing cognitive statuses, three MLU variants were derived from the transcripts: MLU_Raw, MLU adjusted for pro-drop (MLU_PDP), and MLU adjusted for cohesive repetition (MLU_CHS). Inter-annotator agreement in utterance boundary judgments was assessed via accuracy, while Pearson Correlation and Bland-Altman analysis quantified cross-method agreement. Results showed that without explicit segmentation guidelines, inter-annotator agreement was quite low, indicating high subjectivity. Bland-Altman analysis showed significant MLU variability between calculation methods. Task complexity and cognitive status critically moderated MLU validity. MLU_PDP amplified differences between cognitively impaired and healthy older adults during narrative tasks. In contrast, MLU_Raw and MLU_CHS demonstrated high agreement, supporting their stability for basic language assessment. The findings demonstrate that MLU is not a fixed property of speech but a construct highly sensitive to preprocessing decisions, task demands, and annotator interpretation. This study underscores the necessity for evidence-based, linguistically motivated segmentation protocols for Chinese and provides a methodological framework for evaluating measurement consistency. It argues that systematic methodological investigation including explicit reporting of segmentation criteria and multi-method agreement analyses is a prerequisite for advancing MLU as a valid measure in lifespan linguistics and clinical applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100085"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148539741","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}

{"title":"“There wasn’t any proper sit-down talk about it”: Silence and salience in intergenerational discourse on menopause among Chinese women","authors":"Olga Zayts-Spence","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2026.100084","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2026.100084","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intergenerational inter-familial communication is one of the pillars of women’s knowledge about menopause; however, it remains largely unexplored in Chinese contexts. Drawing on interviews with 46 women experiencing menopause and using theme-oriented discourse analysis, this paper examined intergenerational communication about menopause among the women residing in Hong Kong and China mainland. The data were examined along two axes: <em>ascending communication</em> (between women in menopause and their mothers or older female family members) and <em>descending communication</em> (women in menopause and their daughters). The analysis demonstrated that menopause was rendered secondary and silenced when external circumstances (such as hardships, geographically dispersed families) took precedence. Menopause was made more salient in the conversations when symptoms became more severe and, therefore, noticeable. On reflecting on conversations about menopause, the women engaged in complex accounts work to provide excuses for why these conversations had not happened. The excuses primarily focused on external extenuating circumstances. The women also provided justifications to re-distribute the responsibility for communication about menopause between their daughters and themselves and to construct their identity of ‘good mothers’ who had a strong bond with their daughters. The analysis points to a changing epistemic landscape: the younger generation are more knowledgeable about menopause, but their sources of information are external, such as social media or school. Intergenerational communication on menopause can thus be viewed as a cline ranging from more deliberate salient communication to minimal communication or silence. This is reflective of complex mother-daughter relational dynamics, as well as a range of extra-familial contextual factors that impact it.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100084"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148183900","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}

{"title":"The silent impact of pesticides: A systematic and critical review of endocrine disruption, FOXP2, and language development","authors":"Azhari Azhari ,&nbsp;Muhammad Zikrullah ,&nbsp;Ahmad Taufiq","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100066","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100066","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rising global utilization of pesticides, organophosphates and pyrethroids, has elicited significant apprehensions regarding their possible effects on neurodevelopment, particularly in relation to language acquisition. Pesticides are acknowledged as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs); however, their precise impact on the hormonal regulation of FOXP2, a gene crucial for vocal learning and expressive language, has not been thoroughly investigated. This study seeks to systematically and critically analyze the correlation between pesticide exposure, testosterone levels, FOXP2 gene expression, and language-related outcomes, emphasizing sex-specific susceptibility. In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, 23 peer-reviewed empirical studies published from 2003 to 2024 were chosen from Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. A mixed-methods synthesis was executed across three domains: endocrine disruption, hormonal modulation of FOXP2, and behavioral-linguistic ramifications. The quality of the study was assessed with the ROBINS-I and SYRCLE tools, and the certainty of the evidence was assessed with a GRADE-style framework. The findings indicate that pesticide exposure is consistently linked to diminished testosterone levels, which subsequently downregulate FOXP2 expression in brain regions essential for speech. Changes in FOXP2 expression are linked to problems with expressive language and phonological errors in both humans and animals. The review differentiates between clinical impairments and subclinical variations, emphasizing limited yet significant sex-specific effects. These findings highlight the necessity for longitudinal, sex-sensitive research and enhanced public health policies to reduce developmental risks. Comprehending the impact of environmental toxins on language development is crucial for early intervention and the protection of neurocognitive outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 2","pages":"Article 100066"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145265203","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}

{"title":"Linguistic insights into dementia from 1994 to 2023: A structural topic modeling-assisted bibliometric analysis","authors":"Hong Lei ,&nbsp;Zhanhao Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100064","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100064","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article presents a bibliometric analysis of research on dementia in the field of linguistics. We reviewed and analyzed 545 articles published in 89 peer-reviewed journals between 1994 and 2023, to identify key bibliometric information and major research topics in this expanding field of research. The distribution of countries indicates that the United States is the most productive country, and researchers from the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada also play an important role. <em>Aphasiology</em> and <em>Brain and Language</em> are the most influential journals in terms of research productivity and impact. The analysis of highly cited references demonstrates the intellectual foundation of this research field. The topics generated by structural topic modeling show that scholars in linguistics have responded to a variety of issues on dementia, encompassing semantic processing, multilingualism and cognitive functions, primary progressive aphasia and apraxia of speech, natural language processing techniques, the role of speech-language pathologists, communication dynamics in contexts, speech processing, syntactic processing, and word retrieval and language processing. This study aims to enhance researchers’ understanding of the current state of this research field and provide insights for future studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 2","pages":"Article 100064"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144809442","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}

{"title":"Understanding Ndebele ethnolinguistic expressions of a full female bust and the fear of breast amputation among breast cancer patients in Zimbabwe","authors":"Sindile Dlodlo","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100070","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100070","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Words can make or break any individual. At the same time, each language and culture has its own expressions that point to the ideals of that society. The Ndebele people of Zimbabwe use linguistic expressions which bring out what the society values. Women in their natural state are part of the inventory of valued beings. Women’s health has come under risk due to the prevalence of breast cancer, which is the second most common cancer among women. One lasting solution to the condition is to have the breast amputated (mastectomy). Against this backdrop, the paper interrogates Ndebele ethnolinguistic expressions which idealise a female’s full bust thereby becoming a deterrent to breast amputation in cases of breast cancer. Zimbabwe health statistics show that there are few women who take mastectomy as a treatment option. While some of the reasons for this may be economic, there are some social reasons as well which in this case lean on the expressions of the society. Focusing on some Ndebele expressions which are found in daily speech and artistic forms like songs as a springboard, the researcher interviewed some breast cancer patients to ascertain the impact of such expressions when faced with an option of mastectomy. The paper concludes that linguistic and cultural expressions contribute negatively to the treatment behaviours and attitudes towards mastectomy among female patients in Zimbabwe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 2","pages":"Article 100070"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145519156","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}

{"title":"Exploring the relationship between dyslexia and second-language reading proficiency: An empirical study on undergraduate students","authors":"Ayesha Akter ,&nbsp;Shahriar Ahsan Taisiq ,&nbsp;Dr. Serajum Munira","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100068","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100068","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties in accurate and fluent word recognition, affecting reading and language acquisition. While much research has explored dyslexia in native language contexts, its impact on second language (L2) reading proficiency among university students remains underexamined, especially in multilingual settings like Bangladesh. This study aims to investigate how dyslexia affects English reading skills, particularly decoding, fluency, comprehension, and confidence, among undergraduate students at the university level in Bangladesh. Employing a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from 120 undergraduate students through standardized reading assessments and structured surveys. Additionally, 20 students diagnosed with dyslexia participated in semi-structured interviews to provide deeper qualitative insights into their lived experiences. Quantitative results indicated that dyslexic students performed significantly lower in English reading comprehension and exhibited slower reading fluency compared to their non-dyslexic peers (p <span><math><mo>&lt;</mo></math></span> 0.01). Qualitative findings revealed that students faced difficulties decoding advanced vocabulary, experienced exam-related anxiety, and reported fluctuating confidence. Interviews also pointed to a lack of specialized support and assistive tools. These challenges span cognitive, emotional, and educational domains. The study underscores the need for early screening, inclusive teaching, and targeted interventions like structured literacy and audio-assisted tools to better support dyslexic learners and enhance English reading outcomes in multilingual contexts like Bangladesh.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 2","pages":"Article 100068"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145465969","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}