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Language and Cognition01:27

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Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
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Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
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"It's Very Powerful": Language as a Complex Asset Among Latinx Medical Students and Residents.

Nicole A Perez1, Lynda Lopez2, Andrea Cespedes Zablah3

  • 1Department of Medicine Education, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.

Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
|February 15, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Latinx medical learners leverage multilingualism as a valuable asset for patient care, but face systemic challenges in medical education. Addressing these barriers is crucial for equitable training and improved health outcomes.

Keywords:
Latinx medical studentsLatinx residentscommunity cultural wealthlinguistic capitalmedical education

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Area of Science:

  • Medical Education
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Health Equity

Background:

  • Latinx physicians are significantly underrepresented in the US medical workforce.
  • Language concordance between physicians and patients is linked to improved clinical outcomes.
  • Latinx medical learners navigate unique challenges and opportunities related to multilingualism during training.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the role of linguistic capital among Latinx medical learners.
  • To understand how multilingualism functions as both an asset and a challenge in medical education.
  • To investigate the impact of language skills on social mobility and power within medical training.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted 34 semistructured interviews with Latinx medical students and residents.
  • Utilized constructivist qualitative methods and constant comparative analysis.
  • Applied the community cultural wealth framework to analyze linguistic capital.

Main Results:

  • Multilingualism enhances patient communication, culturally concordant care, and trust-building.
  • Learners reported logistical benefits, including improved patient histories and workflow facilitation.
  • Challenges included inappropriate requests for interpretation and identity threats, despite pride in linguistic identity.

Conclusions:

  • Multilingualism is a critical asset for improving care for linguistically diverse populations.
  • Latinx learners encounter systemic barriers within medical education.
  • Medical education needs standardized policies, enhanced interpreter training, and formal recognition of language skills.