Multiculturalism at its Best- The Universality of Dysarthria

I go to one of the most diverse schools in North Carolina. The multiculturalism that is represented at UNC-Greensboro is unique in its many colors, traditions, cultures, and customs. The US is also one of the biggest culturally attractive nations in the world. Nevertheless, I do not feel that culture is effectively represented in major parts of our economy, politics, and most importantly in regards to this text, medical settings and research. Many of our diagnoses and treatments are meant for the majority of people that live in the US. I believe that it is imperative if not mandatory that we examine how what we call "a disorder" affects those outside of our own culture. Luckily, I had the opportunity to examine the brief review of a study done by Hong Kong scientists out of the People's Republic of China.
In this article, studies of Cantonese-and Mandarin-Chinese speakers with dysarthria are reviewed. There were two types of people studied with two different types of diseases comorbid with dysarthria. One was Cerebral Palsy, and the other was Parkinson's Disease. Mandrin- Chinese people have a very "lexical" tone when they speak with dysarthria; this is specific to the way that many Mandrin-Chinese people speak normally thus affecting how they speak with dysarthria. This study concluded that although these disease affect Mandrin-Chinese people the same way it affects American people, there are certain differences in the phonologies of Cantonese and Madnrin. Moreover, this lucidly shows the language specificities of dysarthria. Although this article was very (very) brief, I judge that after examining it, it hold a much stronger purpose. It contributes to the multiculturalism of many disorders- not just speech. It shows us the cultural differences that obviously exist global, and that although many cultures have many diverse venaculars and customs, in a very acute sense, we are very much alike.

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