Abstract:
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease beginning with mild memory loss and possibly
leading to loss to carry on a conversation and respond to the environment. In a study by
Corkin (1982), Alzheimer’s disease patients had a naming deficit caused by failure to identify
the objects. The study prompted this current research through an identification of a niche.
While the proof of concept (Exemplar Theory of Phonetics) has been promising, this study
had a wide gap to address. In response to the gap in this field of study, the primary aim of this
project was to add on to the knowledge in the area and devise a non-medical way to preserve
speech production and comprehension in Alzheimer’s disease. There were three research
objectives in this study: (1) To identify phonetic dimensions affected in the production of
speech through the identification of distinctive features, (2) To explore whether Basotho in
Age Care Facilities have any interventions as explanatory treatment for poor speech
production and comprehension in Alzheimer’s disease, for the betterment of patient-carer
relationship, and (3) To identify the role of exemplars in speech production. For these
objectives to be met, a particular methodology had to be deployed. Through purposive
sampling, the researcher chose the two Old Age Homes from which data was drawn. Nine
Alzheimer’s disease patients were used as participants in this mixed methods study through
participation in the focus group. the data was in a form of recorded conversations, which was
later transcribed verbatim and analysed through content analysis. This project was the first to
investigate the linguistic communication aspects on Alzheimer’s disease in Lesotho, and the
key finding was that Alzheimer’s disease has a negative impact on the communication of the
carers and patients as the patients do not fully comprehend what is being said to them and
they are unable to produce some speech sounds
