Mzati Nkolokosa
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Email
mn23458@essex.ac.uk -
Location
Colchester Campus
Profile
- Cognitive linguistics
- Conceptualisation of distress
- Metaphor and metonymy
- Relationship between language, mind and culture
Biography
I am a PhD student in Cognitive Linguistics, studying Malawian Chinyanja speakers' conception of mental wellness and mental illness. One of the objectives of the study is to lexicalise mental disorders to improve diagnostic and therapeutic recommendation validity, thereby decolonising mental health services in Malawi.
Qualifications
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BA in Journalism University of Malawi (2003)
Research and professional activities
Thesis
Chinyanja speakers conception of mental wellness: a cognitive linguistic approach
A 30% depression prevalence is reported in people who seek health care intervention for physical illness in public hospitals in Malawi. The rate reflects the scale of undiagnosed – and therefore untreated – depression in Malawi. Consequently, my proposed doctoral research adopts a cognitive linguistic approach to investigate perspectives of mental wellness and mental illness among Chinyanja speakers in Malawi to improve diagnosis. The use of indigenous languages in clinical settings is link
