Lexical Deviations in the Speech of Schizophrenic Patients in Cameroon

Abstract

This study examined some Lexical deviations in the speech of some Schizophrenic patients in Cameroon. The work dealt with Schizophrenia from a Cameroonian point of view. We therefore set out to report the different Lexical lapses in the language of schizophrenic patients. The study included 09 patients in the Jamot hospital, which is found at the Mballa II neighbourhood in the Centre Region of Cameroon (Yaoundé). The place of the study was appropriate because the Jamot Hospital has a psychiatric center and the unit receives patients nationwide. We were therefore sure to have patients who came from different regions of the country and the diagnoses were of good standard because of the specialists the center has. Our data were collected principally with the use of interviews. The qualitative technique was used to analyse data. Analysis showed that patients suffered from phenomena such as neologism, repetition of utterances and rare vocabulary. The most significantly affected feature was neologism (P<0.05); seven out of nine patients suffered from neologism, making a total of 77% of patients affected. Other features affected were: rare vocabulary (22%) and repetition (11%). Though these patients faced great difficulties in managing their daily activities, they may however join society again and live a normal life if proper treatment and follow-up is done on a regular basis. Further research could be done on the Morphosyntax of schizophrenic patients.