Disrupting diagnostic hegemony: reimagining mental health language with British South Asian communities
This perspective paper draws attention toward an urgent issue, that is, decolonizing mental health language for South Asian communities. A quarter of the world speaks at least one South Asian language including the global South Asian diaspora and the British South Asian communities in the UK. In the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1550711/full |
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| author | Md. Zahidul I. Pranjol Alia Amir Alia Amir |
| author_facet | Md. Zahidul I. Pranjol Alia Amir Alia Amir |
| author_sort | Md. Zahidul I. Pranjol |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This perspective paper draws attention toward an urgent issue, that is, decolonizing mental health language for South Asian communities. A quarter of the world speaks at least one South Asian language including the global South Asian diaspora and the British South Asian communities in the UK. In the wake of the spread of the British Raj, English language and the Western medicine through it, a lingering gap persists between the language of western medicine and medical care for South Asian communities, especially the terminologies used for mental health language. In addressing the complexities of cross-cultural psychiatry and psychiatric anthropology, it has for nearly five decades engaged with the cultural relativity of psychopathology. This body of work provides valuable insights into the nuanced ways in which mental health is understood and experienced in diverse cultural contexts. In this perspective paper, we highlight the linguistic colonial injustices and suggest some approaches to developing culturally relevant mental health terminology. Moreover, we aim to contribute to this discourse by focusing on the specific linguistic challenges faced by South Asian communities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bade60a02b964a0da15fe3b19cb347d3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2504-284X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-bade60a02b964a0da15fe3b19cb347d32025-08-20T03:21:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2025-05-011010.3389/feduc.2025.15507111550711Disrupting diagnostic hegemony: reimagining mental health language with British South Asian communitiesMd. Zahidul I. Pranjol0Alia Amir1Alia Amir2Department of Biochemistry and Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United KingdomKTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures, and Linguistics, SOAS, London, United KingdomThis perspective paper draws attention toward an urgent issue, that is, decolonizing mental health language for South Asian communities. A quarter of the world speaks at least one South Asian language including the global South Asian diaspora and the British South Asian communities in the UK. In the wake of the spread of the British Raj, English language and the Western medicine through it, a lingering gap persists between the language of western medicine and medical care for South Asian communities, especially the terminologies used for mental health language. In addressing the complexities of cross-cultural psychiatry and psychiatric anthropology, it has for nearly five decades engaged with the cultural relativity of psychopathology. This body of work provides valuable insights into the nuanced ways in which mental health is understood and experienced in diverse cultural contexts. In this perspective paper, we highlight the linguistic colonial injustices and suggest some approaches to developing culturally relevant mental health terminology. Moreover, we aim to contribute to this discourse by focusing on the specific linguistic challenges faced by South Asian communities.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1550711/fulldecolonizing languageSouth Asian communitiesmultilingualismlinguisticsglobal health inequitieshealth communication |
| spellingShingle | Md. Zahidul I. Pranjol Alia Amir Alia Amir Disrupting diagnostic hegemony: reimagining mental health language with British South Asian communities Frontiers in Education decolonizing language South Asian communities multilingualism linguistics global health inequities health communication |
| title | Disrupting diagnostic hegemony: reimagining mental health language with British South Asian communities |
| title_full | Disrupting diagnostic hegemony: reimagining mental health language with British South Asian communities |
| title_fullStr | Disrupting diagnostic hegemony: reimagining mental health language with British South Asian communities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disrupting diagnostic hegemony: reimagining mental health language with British South Asian communities |
| title_short | Disrupting diagnostic hegemony: reimagining mental health language with British South Asian communities |
| title_sort | disrupting diagnostic hegemony reimagining mental health language with british south asian communities |
| topic | decolonizing language South Asian communities multilingualism linguistics global health inequities health communication |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1550711/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mdzahidulipranjol disruptingdiagnostichegemonyreimaginingmentalhealthlanguagewithbritishsouthasiancommunities AT aliaamir disruptingdiagnostichegemonyreimaginingmentalhealthlanguagewithbritishsouthasiancommunities AT aliaamir disruptingdiagnostichegemonyreimaginingmentalhealthlanguagewithbritishsouthasiancommunities |