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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Crossed aphasia in multilinguals.

Reports of crossed aphasia in single case studies of bilinguals have led to incidence studies of crossed aphasia among larger groups of stroke patients. Among a few others, studies carried out in India (K. R. Nair & Virmani, 1973 Indian Journal of Medical Research, 61, 9; P. Chary, 1986, In Language processing in bilinguals: Psycholinguistic and neuropsychological perspectives) have lent support to the notion of a higher incidence of crossed aphasia among bi- and multilinguals and form major citations in support of the hypothesis that bilingualism could lead to a greater bilateral cerebral representation of languages. This paper reports on the incidence of crossed aphasia in a large unselected population of stroke patients in monolingual and multilingual speakers of South India, which is in agreement with the previous reports of a higher incidence of crossed aphasia in multilinguals. However, along with this high incidence of crossed aphasia a low incidence of sinistrality was also seen. In order to confirm these findings and their significance two further studies were carried out-an incidence study of crossed aphasia in a population of mono- and multilingual aphasics and an incidence study of hand dominance in a normal population. The results and their significance to the issue of crossed aphasia in multilinguals are presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

[Multilingualism and speech pathology (author's transl)].

Bilingualism, plurilingualism respectively multilingualism can be associated with pathological deviations. Besides hereditary components, it can be observed that exogenic influences such as cerebral injuries etc, may render more difficult multilingualism or even prevent multilingualism. It is the task of the phoniatry to recognize and to deal with this problem. For example, the following situations were explained in terms of recognition, symptoms, and treatment of the communicational disease via multilingualism from the point of phoniatrical-logopaedical view: delayed speech and language development; stammering and dysgrammatism; stuttering; legastheny, and within the framework of hearing disorders. The study is to be conceived as reference for the specialized otorhinolaryngological physician, the problem of multilingualism to comprehend in view of verbal communication disorders.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

MARVIN, multi-agent softbot to retrieve multilingual medical information on the Web.

The World-Wide Web is an unstructured, multimedia and multilingual information network. While most efforts have addressed the structuring issue, very few attempts have been proposed to provide support for multilingual information retrieval. Yet, medical information is now available all over the world. The MARVIN (Multi-Agent Retrieval Vagabond on Information Network) softbot and its associated medical search engine MedHunt (Medical Hunter) are a solution for helping people, who only understand a few languages, to access multilingual information.

Information Storage and Retrieval↗
PubMed1996

Use of functional MR to map language in multilingual volunteers.

PURPOSE: To use functional MR imaging to compare brain activation during processing of languages in which multilingual volunteers are fluent with brain activation during processing of languages in which they are not fluent. METHODS: Echoplanar images were obtained for five right-handed male multilingual subjects who performed a language task in three languages, one of which was a language in which the subject was not fluent. The functional MR technique included echoplanar images obtained at 1 per second during cycles of rest and performance of the task, from which functional images were processed by means of cross-correlation analysis. The numbers of active pixels in each volunteer and for each language were compared. RESULTS: Activation was noted in the left frontal lobe in all subjects performing language tasks. In each subject, the number of activated pixels was greatest for the language in which the subject was least fluent. CONCLUSION: Functional MR imaging shows differences in the processing of different languages in multilingual volunteer subjects, depending on the level of fluency in the language, and it is an effective functional imaging method for studying the processing of different languages.

Brain↗
PubMed1997

Language experience and right hemisphere tasks: the effects of scanning habits and multilingualism.

This study explores the effects of multilingualism and reading scanning habits on right hemisphere (RH) abilities. Native Hebrew speakers and Arabic-Hebrew bilinguals performed three tasks. Experiment 1 employed an odd/even decision paradigm on lateralized displays of bar graphs. Both groups of subjects displayed the expected LVFA within the range previously reported for readers of English. Experiment 2 consisted of a chair identification task designed to tap asymmetry of hemispheric arousal and a chimeric face task designed to tap RH specialization for facial emotion. Neither scanning habits nor language experience affected performance on the chair task. Scanning habits seem to have affected performance on the chimeric faces task: there was no preference for the left smile in these right-to-left readers, as opposed to previous results in the literature using left-to-right readers. Correlations between measures from the three tasks and all the subject's scores on an English proficiency test and on a Hebrew test for the bilinguals reveal tentative relationships between proficiency in a second language and RH abilities. The results do not support the hypothesis that multilingualism can affect the manner in which these nonlanguage tasks are subserved by the RH. They do support the hypothesis that scanning habits particular to specific languages can affect performance asymmetries on some nonlanguage tasks that have been posited to reflect RH specialization.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Versatility of a multilingual and bi-directional approach for medical language processing.

At the dawn of the 21st century, we are experiencing an exponential growth of online information that is mostly textual, and that benefits from new electronic media, such as the World Wide Web (WWW), to be broadly diffused across borders. However, there is a gap to bridge between holding information and accessing in a relevant way the deep underlying knowledge. Multilingual natural language processing (NLP), once tuned, is certainly the best solution to cope with this era of textual information. This paper focuses on the lesson learned through the joint development of an analyzer and a generator of medical language, within a multilingual context. Concrete examples, derived from the efforts under way in the European GALEN-IN-USE project, illustrate the use of these linguistic tools for the handling of surgical procedures.

Multilingualism↗
PubMed1996

Multilingual translation of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) quality of life measurement system.

There is need for multilingual cross-culturally valid quality of life (QOL) instrumentation to assess the QOL endpoint in international oncology clinical trials. We therefore initiated a multilingual translation of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) Quality of Life Measurement System (Version 3) into the following languages: Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian and Swedish. Prior to this project, the FACT Measurement System was available in English, Spanish and Canadian French. The FACT is a self-report instrument which measures multidimensional QOL. The FACT (Version 3) evaluation system uses a 29-49 item compilation of a generic core (29 Likert-type items) and numerous subscales (9-20 items each) which reflect symptoms associated with different diseases, symptom complexes and treatments. The FACT-G (general version) and eight of 18 available cancer-related subscales were translated using an iterative forward-backward translation sequence. After subsequent review by 21 bilingual health professionals, all near final language versions underwent pretesting with a total of 95 patients in the native countries. Available results indicate good overall comprehensibility among native language-speakers. Equivalent foreign language versions of the FACT will permit QOL evaluation of people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1987

Respiratory questionnaires in occupational studies: their use in multilingual workforces on the Witwatersrand.

The mother tongue of the majority of black workers in the industrial workforces of the Witwatersrand is either Zulu or S Sotho/Tswana, and these are also the main languages spoken in the area. However a substantial minority cite one of several other languages as their mother tongue. In consequence, in occupational surveys using a respiratory questionnaire, the accepted practice has been to use multilingual interviewers who administer the questionnaire in whichever of the two main languages the interviewee requests, but work from an English language version. To test the reproducibility of the information so gathered, a standardized questionnaire was administered to 56 subjects on two occasions approximately three weeks apart by each of two interviewers, one of whose mother tongue was Zulu and the other S Sotho. Reproducibility was little affected by whether the interviewer used her mother tongue or not, pointing to the multilingual competence of both interviewers. Reproducibility was, however, less in subjects not interviewed in their mother tongue compared to those who were. In general, reproducibility was also less for symptom than for history questions, though the phlegm question performed comparably to that reported for more homogeneous language/ethnic groups. Thus, even if internally valid, respiratory symptom information obtained by this method may have limited generalizability. However respiratory history information appears more reliable and may prove of value in the investigation of the natural history of chronic lung disease in this and similar communities.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Multilingual natural language generation as part of a medical terminology server.

Re-usable and sharable, and therefore language-independent concept models are of increasing importance in the medical domain. The GALEN project (Generalized Architecture for Languages Encyclopedias and Nomenclatures in Medicine) aims at developing language-independent concept representation systems as the foundations for the next generation of multilingual coding systems. For use within clinical applications, the content of the model has to be mapped to natural language. A so-called Multilingual Information Module (MM) establishes the link between the language-independent concept model and different natural languages. This text generation software must be versatile enough to cope at the same time with different languages and with different parts of a compositional model. It has to meet, on the one hand, the properties of the language as used in the medical domain and, on the other hand, the specific characteristics of the underlying model and its representation formalism. We propose a semantic-oriented approach to natural language generation that is based on linguistic annotations to a concept model. This approach is realized as an integral part of a Terminology Server, built around the concept model and offering different terminological services for clinical applications.

Language↗
PubMed1996

Metalinguistic analysis of therapeutic discourse: flight into a second language when the analyst and the analysand are multilingual.

The choice of a particular language for the conduct of analysis becomes an important theoretical and clinical question when both the analyst and the analysand are multilingual and share the same languages. Shift from one language into another language during analysis is an equally important question. This paper offers an analysis of the flight into a second language by both the analysand and the analyst within the transference-countertransference matrix. The focus of the discussion is the communicative nature of the mother tongue vis-à-vis a second language. The author argues that unconscious fantasies and memories of early childhood experiences are built into the mother tongue and are brought to life in the analytic dialogue by way of that language. Shift into a second language is viewed as primarily defensive in nature. It is, however, noted that a second language may at times provide the only space where the analyst can meet the patient out of each of certain personal and cultural ghosts. Finally, since the mother tongue is viewed as the preverbal register of the transitional space, it is suggested that the working through of preoedipal issues be ultimately carried out in that language.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Right hemisphere involvement in processing later-learned languages in multilinguals.

In two experiments, multilingual Papua New Guinean subjects were tested using a divided visual field technique designed to determine hemispheric laterality for English and for Tok Pisin. Various factors including age of acquisition, proficiency, mode of instruction, and number of years that the language had been used were considered in relation to language laterality. Only age of acquisition proved to be a significant contributor to the laterality effects obtained; older acquirers of both English and Tok Pisin showed greater right hemisphere involvement than early acquirers. Although proficiency did not seem to be related to language laterality, it too was systematically affected by acquisition age. Older acquirers of English performed significantly poorer than younger acquirers on all four of the language-usage tests given. The strong influence of acquisition age on cerebral laterality for language and proficiency is interpreted as supporting a critical period for language learning.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

A short multilingual quality of life questionnaire--practicability, reliability and interlingual homogeneity.

International cooperative clinical trials require a multilingual quality of life questionnaire. The 'International Society for Chemo- and Immunotherapy' therefore designed a study to develop and test a 'health accentuated' quality of life questionnaire in the eight languages spoken in this society. The objective was to examine practicability, reliability and interlingual homogeneity. Versions of the questionnaire in Czech, German, Hungarian, Italian, Kroatian, Polish, Romanian and Slovakian have been prepared. The results are based on data of 1,104 adult patients. They demonstrate that the developed questionnaire is practicable. Patients need 10-15 min to answer it, usually without assistance. The proportion of missing values is for all but two questions less than 3%. The questionnaire also found high acceptance reflected by only 2.7% refusals. It is reasonably reliable in each language. Interlingual homogeneity could be shown by demonstration of strong structural similarities between the different versions using multidimensional scaling, factor analysis and comparison of mean profiles.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Multilingual bracket treatment combined with orthognathic surgery in a skeletal class III patient with facial asymmetry.

A case report is presented on a female adult with a Class III mandibular protrusion. Resolution of her dentoskeletal problem required a combination of comprehensive multibonded orthodontic mechanotherapy and orthognathic surgery. The patient preferred a multilingual bracket appliance because of esthetics. Both surgical and orthodontic treatment were quite successful in the correction of the facial profile and occlusion. Both psychological and esthetic satisfaction were achieved.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Vowel and consonant identification tests can be used to compare performances in a multilingual group of cochlear implant patients.

Vowel and consonant identification tests were conducted in the sound-only condition in a multilingual group of 13 totally deaf patients who are users of the Ineraid multichannel cochlear implant. Native languages ranged across French, German, Italian, Spanish, Albanian and Swahili. We found high correlations (r > -0.83) among vowel or consonant identification scores and 'subjective ranking' scores established on the basis of a subjective evaluation of the patient's speech reception abilities in the sound-only condition. Detailed analysis demonstrates that the identification of vowel and consonant is dominated by the perception of acoustic cues characteristic of the set of stimuli used as well as by the strengths and weaknesses of the speech processing of the cochlear implant system. We did not find any systematic pattern in the results that could be related to the native language of the patients. These results suggest that vowel as well as consonant identification tests are effective means to compare the performance of cochlear implant patients even across different native languages. They also indicate that, in the future, one can conduct a fewer number of the many different (e.g. nonsense-syllable, word, sentence, speech-tracking) tests when evaluating the speech recognition abilities of patients with the implant.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

English-only work rules: balancing fair employment considerations in a multicultural and multilingual healthcare workforce.

Most healthcare organizations are currently or will shortly be composed of a multicultural and multilingual workforce. In attempting to manage such diverse workforces. English-only work rules may be necessary to ensure effective communication among workers. However, care must be taken to insure that the employees' rights to free speech and a harassment-free workplace are not infringed by utilizing English-only work rules. This article attempts to assist the healthcare manager in dealing with the legal aspects of English-only work rules. Specifically, an examination of two legal cases is provided to illustrate the various legal aspects of such work rules. Also, suggestions are offered as to how and when, or when not, to implement English-only work rule in order to avoid possible liability.

Cultural Diversity↗
PubMed1975

A multilingual self-administered symptom history.

A multilingual computer-derived symptom history was developed from a two-stage yes-no symptom questionaire, based on a library of 4,000 numbered questions. The English primary and secondary questionaires were translated into German, Italian, French, Spanish, Greek and Yugoslav. "Yes" answers to the numbered primary questions presented in these languages were processed by a computer that generated individualized secondary questions in the same language. "Yes" answers to these numbered questions were processed by a second computer program that printed out the narrative history in English. As well as other benefits of automated symptom histories, there is now a facility for the computer to acquire a patient's history in one language and print it out in any other.

Computers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The multilingual videotape project: community involvement in a unique health education program.

The large number of Southeast Asian, Hispanic, and Portuguese immigrants in Rhode Island face formidable language and cultural barriers in gaining access to the health care that they need. As the funding for refugee-specific programs diminishes, the focus is on programs that encourage self-sufficiency, assist in gaining access to mainstream health care, and involve a collaboration among service agencies and the communities they serve. On behalf of a coalition of health care and community agencies, Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island received a private foundation grant to produce nine multilingual videotapes that would educate immigrants and refugees about health issues specific to them and help them access the health care system. The project was structured to maximize the involvement of the various communities and to "empower" community members in working with mainstream service agencies. Coalition and other community members provided input into topic selection, script content, and presentation methods for the videotapes that would be culturally appropriate. During the 2-year project, nine videotapes were produced with narration in seven languages. Copies of the videotapes were distributed free of charge to coalition members.

Asia, Southeastern↗