Studies in linguistic ambiguity and insecurity.
This article focuses on problems of cross-culture communication between patients and psychiatrists of varying socio-linguistic and foreign language backgrounds, in an in-patient psychiatric community facility. Issues of diagnosis, integration into the ward treatment program, and progress in the course of treatment can in some cases be traced to specific socio-linguistic problems, which have previously gone undiagnosed. The clinical impact of three types of communication breakdowns are evaluated: (1) overt language differences; (2) linguistic ambiguity; and (3) linguistic insecurity. A need exists for further research in identification and assessment of language insecurity, and for modification of therapeutic procedures to deal with inter-dialectic communication difficulties.
D001741:Black or African American; D003142:Communication; D003144:Communication Barriers; D006205:Haiti / Q000208:ethnology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D009519:New York City; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000208:ethnology