Louise Cummings

Louise Cummings is Professor in the Department of English and Communication at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She teaches and conducts research in pragmatics and clinical linguistics. She is the author and editor of over 20 books, including The Oxford Handbook of Communication Disorders in Neurodegenerative Diseases (Oxford University Press, 2025) and Language in Dementia (Cambridge University Press, 2020). She is Editor of Cambridge Elements in Health Communication and Routledge Research in Speech-Language Pathology, Consulting Editor of Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology (Springer), and Associate Editor of the journal Language and Health.

📖 Publications - Books | Journal Articles | Book Chapters | Other Outputs

📌 ORCID | Scopus | Google Scholar

Research Interests

Communication Disorders | Pragmatic Disorders | Speech and Language Therapy

Clinical Linguistics | Pragmatics | Public Health Reasoning

Teaching Areas

Communication Disorders | Pragmatics | Speech and Language Therapy | Clinical Linguistics

Contact Information

✉️ louise.cummings@polyu.edu.hk

Research Overview

I conduct research in three main areas: Linguistics (pragmatics and clinical linguistics); Communication disorders (particularly pragmatic disorders); and Public health communication. The current focus of my research in pragmatic disorders is on the role that pragmatic features of language can play in the diagnosis of conditions such as dementia. I am also interested in language and communication problems in adults with Long COVID. My research in public health examines the reasoning strategies that experts and lay people use to assess health risks and inform decision-making. The emphasis of this work is on a group of arguments that are typically characterized as fallacies, but which can be shown to function as facilitative cognitive heuristics during reasoning.

Publications - Books

Protecting the Public’s Health during the UK’s Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and COVID-19 Crises (Cambridge University Press, 2024)

Protecting the Public’s Health during the UK’s Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and COVID-19 Crises (Cambridge University Press, 2024)

COVID-19 and Speech-Language Pathology (Routledge, 2023)

COVID-19 and Speech-Language Pathology (Routledge, 2023)

Introducing Pragmatics (Routledge, 2023)

Introducing Pragmatics (Routledge, 2023)

Handbook of Pragmatic Language Disorders: Complex and Underserved Populations (Springer Nature, 2021)

Handbook of Pragmatic Language Disorders: Complex and Underserved Populations (Springer Nature, 2021)

Language Case Files in Neurological Disorders (Routledge, 2021)

Language Case Files in Neurological Disorders (Routledge, 2021)

Language in Dementia (Cambridge University Press, 2020)

Language in Dementia (Cambridge University Press, 2020)

Fallacies in Medicine and Health: Critical Thinking, Argumentation and Communication  (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020)

Fallacies in Medicine and Health: Critical Thinking, Argumentation and Communication  (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020)

Working with English Grammar: An Introduction  (Cambridge University Press, 2018)

Working with English Grammar: An Introduction  (Cambridge University Press, 2018)

Speech and Language Therapy: A Primer (Cambridge University Press, 2018)

Speech and Language Therapy: A Primer (Cambridge University Press, 2018)

Research in Clinical Pragmatics (Springer, 2017)

Research in Clinical Pragmatics (Springer, 2017)

Case Studies in Communication Disorders (Cambridge University Press, 2016) 

Case Studies in Communication Disorders (Cambridge University Press, 2016) 

Reasoning and Public Health (Springer, 2015)

Reasoning and Public Health (Springer, 2015)

Pragmatic and Discourse Disorders: A Workbook (Cambridge University Press, 2015)

Pragmatic and Discourse Disorders: A Workbook (Cambridge University Press, 2015)

Communication Disorders (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014)

Communication Disorders (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014)

Cambridge Handbook of Communication Disorders (Cambridge University Press, 2014)

Cambridge Handbook of Communication Disorders (Cambridge University Press, 2014)

Pragmatic Disorders (Springer, 2014)

Pragmatic Disorders (Springer, 2014)

Communication Disorders Workbook (Cambridge University Press, 2014)

Communication Disorders Workbook (Cambridge University Press, 2014)

Pragmatics Encyclopedia (Routledge, 2013)

Pragmatics Encyclopedia (Routledge, 2013)

Rethinking the BSE Crisis (Springer, 2010)

Rethinking the BSE Crisis (Springer, 2010)

Clinical Pragmatics (Cambridge University Press, 2009)

Clinical Pragmatics (Cambridge University Press, 2009)

Clinical Linguistics (Edinburgh University Press, 2008)

Clinical Linguistics (Edinburgh University Press, 2008)

Pragmatics (Edinburgh University Press, 2005)

Pragmatics (Edinburgh University Press, 2005)

Journal Articles

  1. Cummings, Louise. (2024) ‘Cognitive-linguistic difficulties in adults with Long COVID: A follow-up study’, Language and Health, 2 (1): 1-21.

  2. Cummings, Louise. (2023) ‘Long COVID: The impact on language and cognition’, Language and Health, 1 (1): 2-9.

  3. Cummings, Louise. (2022) ‘Pragmatic impairment in COVID-19’, Intercultural Pragmatics, 19 (3): 271-297.

  4. Cummings, Louise. (2021) ‘Cognitive-linguistic difficulties in COVID-19: A longitudinal case study’, International Journal of Speech & Language Pathology and Audiology, 9: 8-19.

  5. Cummings, Louise. (2021) ‘COVID-19 and language: A case study’, International Journal of Language Studies, 15 (3): 1-24.

  6. Cummings, Louise. (2021) ‘Douglas Walton and the Covid-19 crisis’, Journal of Applied Logics, 8 (1): 31-51.

  7. Cummings, Louise. (2020) ‘Good and bad reasoning about Covid-19’, Informal Logic, 40 (4): 521-544.

  8. Cummings, Louise. (2020) ‘The role of pragmatics in the diagnosis of dementia’, East Asian Pragmatics, to appear.

  9. Cummings, Louise. (2019) ‘Describing the cookie theft picture: Sources of breakdown in Alzheimer’s dementia’, Pragmatics and Society, 10 (2): 151-174.

  10. Cummings, Louise. (2018) ‘Public health reasoning: The contribution of pragmatics’, International Journal of Language Studies, 12 (1): 1-18.

  11. Cummings, Louise. (2015) ‘Theory of mind in utterance interpretation: The case from clinical pragmatics’, Frontiers in Psychology, 6: 1286.

  12. Cummings, Louise. (2015) ‘The use of ‘no evidence’ statements in public health’, Informal Logic, 35 (1): 32-65.

  13. Cummings, Louise. (2014) ‘Public health reasoning: A logical view of trust’, Cogency, 6 (1): 33-62.

  14. Cummings, Louise. (2014) ‘Informal fallacies as cognitive heuristics in public health reasoning’, Informal Logic, 34 (1): 1-37.

  15. Cummings, Louise. (2014) ‘The ‘trust’ heuristic: Arguments from authority in public health’, Health Communication, 29 (10): 1043-1056.

  16. Cummings, Louise. (2014) ‘Coping with uncertainty in public health: The use of heuristics’, Public Health, 128 (4): 391-394.

  17. Cummings, Louise. (2014) ‘Analogical reasoning in public health’, Journal of Argumentation in Context, 3 (2): 169-197.

  18. Cummings, Louise. (2014) ‘Circles and analogies in public health reasoning’, Inquiry, 29 (2): 35-59.

  19. Cummings, Louise. (2014) ‘Can there ever be a theory of utterance interpretation?’, Reti, Saperi, Linguaggi, 2: 199-222.

  20. Cummings, Louise. (2013) ‘Clinical linguistics: A primer’, International Journal of Language Studies, 7 (2): 1-30.

  21. Cummings, Louise. (2013) ‘Clinical linguistics: State of the art’, International Journal of Language Studies, 7 (3): 1-32.

  22. Cummings, Louise. (2013) ‘Public health reasoning: Much more than deduction’, Archives of Public Health, 71 (1): 25.

  23. Cummings, Louise. (2013) ‘Circular reasoning in public health’, Cogency, 5 (2): 35-76.

  24. Cummings, Louise. (2012) ‘Theorising in pragmatics: Commentary on Bara’s Cognitive Pragmatics: The Mental Processes of Communication (MIT Press, 2010)’, Intercultural Pragmatics, 9 (1): 113-120.

  25. Cummings, Louise. (2012) ‘The contribution of informal logic to public health’, Perspectives in Public Health, 132 (2): 66-67.

  26. Cummings, Louise. (2012) ‘Scaring the public: Fear appeal arguments in public health reasoning’, Informal Logic, 32 (1): 25-50.

  27. Cummings, Louise. (2012) ‘The public health scientist as informal logician’, International Journal of Public Health, 57 (3): 649-650.

  28. Cummings, Louise. (2012) ‘Establishing diagnostic criteria: The role of clinical pragmatics’, Lodz Papers in Pragmatics, 8 (1): 61-84.

  29. Cummings, Louise. (2011) ‘Considering risk assessment up close: The case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy’, Health, Risk & Society, 13 (3): 255-275.

  30. Cummings, Louise. (2011) ‘Pragmatic disorders and their social impact’, Pragmatics and Society, 2 (1): 17-36.

  31. Cummings, Louise. (2009) ‘Emerging infectious diseases: Coping with uncertainty’, Argumentation, 23 (2): 171-188.

  32. Cummings, Louise. (2007) ‘Introduction: Pragmatics and adult language disorders’, Seminars in Speech and Language, 28 (2): 95-97.

  33. Cummings, Louise. (2007) ‘Pragmatics and adult language disorders: Past achievements and future directions’,

  34. Cummings, Louise. (2007) ‘Clinical pragmatics: A field in search of phenomena?’, Language & Communication, 27 (4): 396-432.

  35. Cummings, Louise. (2005) ‘Interpreting Putnam’s dialectical method in philosophy’, Metaphilosophy, 36 (4): 476-489.

  36. Cummings, Louise. (2005) ‘Giving science a bad name: Politically and commercially motivated fallacies in BSE inquiry’, Argumentation, 19 (2): 123-143.

  37. Cummings, Louise. (2004) ‘Rejecting the urge to theorise in fallacy inquiry’, Argumentation, 18 (1): 61-94.

  38. Cummings, Louise. (2004) ‘Argument as cognition: A Putnamian criticism of Dale Hample’s cognitive conception of argument’, Argumentation, 18 (3): 331-348.

  39. Cummings, Louise. (2004) ‘Analogical reasoning as a tool of epidemiological investigation’, Argumentation, 18 (4): 427-444.

  40. Cummings, Louise. (2003) ‘Formal dialectic in fallacy inquiry: An unintelligible circumscription of argumentative rationality?’, Argumentation, 17 (2): 161-183.

  41. Cummings, Louise. (2002) ‘Hilary Putnam’s dialectical thinking: An application to fallacy theory’, Argumentation, 16 (2): 197-229.

  42. Cummings, Louise. (2002) ‘Justifying practical reason: What Chaim Perelman’s new rhetoric can learn from Frege’s attack on psychologism’, Philosophy and Rhetoric, 35 (1): 50-76.

  43. Cummings, Louise. (2002) ‘Rejecting theorising in philosophy: The urgency of Putnamian dialectic’, Journal of Speculative Philosophy, 16 (2): 117-141.

  44. Cummings, Louise. (2002) ‘Evaluating fallacies: Putnam’s model-theoretic legacy’, Philosophica, 69: 61-84.

  45. Cummings, Louise. (2002) ‘Why we need to avoid theorising about rationality: A Putnamian criticism of Habermas’s epistemology’, Social Epistemology, 16 (2): 117-131.

  46. Cummings, Louise. (2002) ‘Reasoning under uncertainty: The role of two informal fallacies in an emerging scientific inquiry’, Informal Logic, 22 (2): 113-136.

  47. Cummings, Louise. (2000) ‘Petitio principii: The case for non-fallaciousness’, Informal Logic, 20 (1): 1-18.

  48. Cummings, Louise. (2000) ‘Mind and body, form and content: How not to do petitio principii analysis’, Philosophical Papers, 29 (2): 73-105.

  49. Cummings, Louise. (1998) ‘The scientific reductionism of relevance theory: The lesson from logical positivism’, Journal of Pragmatics, 29 (1): 1-12.

Book Chapters

  1. Cummings, Louise. (2025) 'Language in COVID-19', in L. Cummings (ed.), Oxford Handbook of Communication Disorders in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  2. Cummings, Louise. (2023) ‘Cognitive-linguistic difficulties in adults with Long COVID’, in L. Cummings (ed.), COVID-19 and Speech-Language Pathology, New York: Routledge, 72-95.

  3. Cummings, Louise. (2023) ‘Communication-related quality of life in adults with Long COVID’, in L. Cummings (ed.), COVID-19 and Speech-Language Pathology, New York: Routledge, 96-129.

  4. Cummings, Louise. (2023) ‘Case studies of adults with COVID-19 infection’, in L. Cummings (ed.), COVID-19 and Speech-Language Pathology, New York: Routledge, 243-268.

  5. Cummings, Louise. (2023) ‘Cognitive-linguistic difficulties in COVID-19’, in A. Capone and A. Penna (eds.), Exploring Contextualism and Performativity: The Environment Matters, Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology 30, Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 141-161.

  6. Cummings, Louise. (2021) ‘Pragmatic disorders in the 21st century’, in L. Cummings (ed.), Handbook of Pragmatic Language Disorders: Complex and Underserved Populations, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 1-22.

  7. Cummings, Louise. (2020) ‘Pragmatic impairment’, in M.J. Ball, N. Müller and J. Damico (eds.), Handbook of Language and Speech Disorders, Wiley-Blackwell, 192-208.

  8. Cummings, Louise. (2020) ‘Convincing a sceptical public: The challenge of public health’, in B. Watson and J. Krieger (eds.), Expanding Health Communication in Asia, The Humanities in Asia, Springer, 249-274.

  9. Cummings, Louise. (2020) ‘Pragmatic disorders: An overview’, in K.P. Schneider and E. Ifantidou (eds), Developmental and Clinical Pragmatics, Handbooks of Pragmatics, Volume 13, Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 499-522.

  10. Cummings, Louise. (2019) ‘Narrating the Cinderella story in adults with primary progressive aphasia’, in A. Capone, M. Carapezza and F. Lo Piparo (eds.), Further Advances in Pragmatics and Philosophy. Part 2: Theories and Applications, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 301-329.

  11. Cummings, Louise. (2019) ‘On making a sandwich: Procedural discourse in adults with right-hemisphere damage’, in A. Capone, M. Carapezza and F. Lo Piparo (eds.), Further Advances in Pragmatics and Philosophy. Part 2: Theories and Applications, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 331-355.

  12. Cummings, Louise. (2017) ‘Cognitive aspects of pragmatic disorders’, in L. Cummings (ed), Research in Clinical Pragmatics, Series: Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, Vol. 11, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 587-616.

  13. Cummings, Louise. (2017) ‘Clinical pragmatics’, in G. Yueguo, A. Barron & G. Steen (eds), Routledge Handbook of Pragmatics, London and New York: Routledge, 419-432.

  14. Cummings, Louise. (2017) ‘Pragmatic disorders in forensic settings’, in F. Poggi and A. Capone (eds), Pragmatics and Law, Series: Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, Vol. 10, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 349-377.

  15. Cummings, Louise. (2016) ‘Clinical pragmatics’, in Y. Huang (ed) Oxford Handbook of Pragmatics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 346-361.

  16. Cummings, Louise. (2016) ‘Reported speech: A clinical pragmatic perspective’, in A. Capone, F. Kiefer & F. Lo Piparo (eds), Indirect Reports, Series: Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, Vol. 5, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 31-55.

  17. Cummings, Louise. (2015) ‘Pragmatic disorders and social functioning: A lifespan perspective’, in A. Capone & J.L. Mey (eds), Interdisciplinary Studies in Pragmatics, Culture and Society, Series: Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, Vol. 4, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 179-208.

  18. Cummings, Louise. (2015) ‘Pragmatics’ in N. Braber, L. Cummings and L. Morrish (eds.), Exploring Language and Linguistics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 194-218.

  19. Cummings, Louise. (2015) ‘Clinical linguistics’, in N. Braber, L. Cummings and L. Morrish (eds.), Exploring Language and Linguistics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 353-378.

  20. Cummings, Louise. (2014) ‘Pragmatic disorders and theory of mind’, in L. Cummings (ed) Cambridge Handbook of Communication Disorders, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 559-577.

  21. Cummings, Louise. (2014) ‘Pragmatics’, in N. Whitworth & R.-A. Knight (eds), Methods in Teaching Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics, Guildford, Surrey: J&R Press, 167-191.

  22. Cummings, Louise. (2013) ‘Clinical pragmatics and theory of mind’, in A. Capone, F. Lo Piparo & M. Carapezza (eds), Perspectives on Linguistic Pragmatics, Series: Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, Vol. 2, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 23-56.

  23. Cummings, Louise. (2012) ‘Pragmatic disorders’, in H.-J. Schmid (ed.) Cognitive Pragmatics [Handbook of Pragmatics, Vol. 4], Berlin and Boston: Walter de Gruyter, 291-315.

  24. Cummings, Louise. (2012) ‘Theorising context: The case of clinical pragmatics’, in R. Finkbeiner, J. Meibauer & P. Schumacher (eds), What is a Context? Linguistic Approaches and Challenges, Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 55-80.

Other Ouputs

  1. Cummings, Louise. (2019) ‘Pragmatic impairment’, in J.S. Damico and M.J. Ball (eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders, Thousand Oaks, CA, 1447-1450.

  2. Cummings, Louise. (2019) ‘Infectious diseases and communication disorders’, in J.S. Damico and M.J. Ball (eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders, Thousand Oaks, CA, 905-908.

  3. Cummings, Louise. (2017) ‘Clinical linguistics’, in M. Aronoff (ed), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics. New York: Oxford University Press.

  4. Cummings, Louise. (2014) ‘Clinical linguistics’, in M. Aronoff (ed), Oxford Bibliographies in Linguistics. New York: Oxford University Press.

  5. Cummings, Louise. (2013) ‘Pragmatic disorders’, in J.H. Stone & M. Blouin (eds), International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation.

Papers

  1. Cummings, Louise. (2022) Long COVID: Understanding the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. European Association of Language Teachers for Healthcare (EALTHY).

    https://ealthy.com/long-covid-understanding-the-legacy-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/

  2. Cummings, Louise. (2022) Long COVID: The impact on language and communication. Fifteen Eighty Four, Cambridge University Press.

    https://www.cambridgeblog.org/2022/04/long-covid-the-impact-on-language-and-communication/

  3. Cummings, Louise. (2020) The long road back: Implications of COVID-19 for language and cognition. Fifteen Eighty Four, Cambridge University Press.

    https://www.cambridgeblog.org/2020/10/the-long-road-back-implications-of-covid-19-for-language-and-cognition/

Blogs

  1. Cummings, Louise. (2024) Cognitive-linguistic difficulties in adults with Long COVID: A follow-up study. The Queen’s Nursing Institute. 21 May 2024.

    https://qni.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Summary-Long-Covid-Nurse-Group-Meeting-21st-May-2024.pdf

  2. Cummings, Louise. (2024) Research into cognitive-linguistic difficulties in Long COVID. Long COVID podcast. 7 March 2024.

    https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/122-professor-louise-cummings-research-into-cognitive/id1580981740?i=1000648364424

  3. Cummings, Louise. (2024) Speech, language, and cognitive-communication disorders in Long COVID. Living with Long COVID podcast. 25 February 2024.

    https://livingwithlongcovid.buzzsprout.com/1939141/14485548-professor-louise-cummings-and-kerry-davies-research-speech-language-and-cognitive-communication-disorders-in-long-covid

  4. Cummings, Louise et al. (2023) Long Covid: What is it and how can speech and language therapists support people living with it? Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, UK. 26 January 2023. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/long-covid-what-is-it-and-how-can-speech-and/id1523073475?i=1000596651130

  5. Cummings, Louise. (2022) Cognitive-linguistic difficulties in adults with Long COVID. European Association of Language Teachers for Healthcare (EALTHY). 24 November 2022.

    https://ealthy.com/webinar-summary-cognitive-linguistic-difficulties-in-adults-with-long-covid/

  6. Cummings, Louise. (2022) Language and cognition in adults with Long COVID. The Queen’s Nursing Institute. 1 July 2022.

  7. Cummings, Louise. (2022) Cognitive and linguistic difficulties in Long COVID. Long COVID podcast. 20 January 2022.

    https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/18-louise-cummings-cognitive-linguistic-difficulties/id1580981740?i=1000548456013

Podcasts and Webinars

  1. Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (2023) Long COVID Guidance. London: RCSLT.

    https://www.rcslt.org/members/clinical-guidance/long-covid/long-covid-guidance/

  2. Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (2023) Long COVID – Patient Handbook. London: RCSLT.

    https://www.rcslt.org/speech-and-language-therapy/clinical-information/long-covid-overview/

Clinical Reports