"Ask" or "Inquire": operationalizing speech formality in psychosis and its risk states using etymology

Many individuals with psychotic symptoms exhibit less linguistically complex speech than healthy individuals. This study investigated the relationship between word etymology and speech formality in a large cohort of individuals with recent-onset psychosis (ROP) or at clinically high risk (CHR) for psychosis. The researchers hypothesized that individuals with ROP would use more Germanic-origin words and fewer Old French-origin words (indicative of less formal speech) compared to healthy controls. Their hypothesis was supported, even after adjusting for various demographic and clinical factors. Etymology proportions were linked to role functioning but not social functioning in individuals with psychotic symptoms, suggesting a connection between speech formality and occupational/academic success. The findings suggest that understanding speech differences in psychosis through the lens of etymology may inform new interventions to improve role functioning.

Matthew Cotter, Alessia McGowan, Zarina Bilgrami, Cansu Sarac, Johanna Bayer, Jessica Spark, Marija Krcmar, Melanie Formica, Kate Gwyther, Jessica Hartmann, Sophia Shuster, Alexandria Selloni, Jai Shah, Shaynna N. Herrera, Patrick McGorry, Alison R. Yung, Barnaby Nelson, Romina Mizrahi, Guillermo Cecchi, Stephen Heisig, Agrima Srivastava, Cheryl M. Corcoran