Alzheimer Discourse: Some Sociolinguistic Dimensions

Author:   Vai Ramanathan
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Inc
ISBN:  

9780805823554


Pages:   152
Publication Date:   01 May 1997
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Alzheimer Discourse: Some Sociolinguistic Dimensions


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Overview

"This book deals with the narrative discourse--specifically lifestories--of 16 patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD). It attempts to understand the discourse of these patients in contextual terms. Thus far, the dominant explanation for ""incoherence"" in AD speech has been largely provided by research in psycholinguistics, much of which has understood AD speech in terms of the progressively deteriorating nature of the disease. This study provides a complementary view by examining ways in which some social factors--audiences, setting, and time--influence the extensiveness and meaningfulness of AD talk. By offering both an examination of interactions across the data as well as analyzing particular cases in detail, this unusual study attempts to juxtapose some general insights regarding AD discourse with case-specific ones. Sociolinguistic analyses of the data demonstrate how certain audiences and particular settings set in motion discourse activities that either facilitate the patients' ability to recall their pasts or impede it. This analysis also includes a critical look at the researcher's contribution in negotiating and reinforcing these activities. Ethnographic details about the social worlds of some of these patients shed light on how larger social contexts at least indirectly contribute to exacerbating the patients' conditions or stabilizing them. The analyses of both context and language provides a more global understanding of the Alzheimer experience. This study also discusses some interactional strategies by which professionals can begin to engage AD patients in meaningful talk as well as ways by which they can better ""hear"" AD patients' cues at narrating. Throughout, this book underscores the need to factor in social factors when making assessments regarding AD patients' communicative abilities."

Full Product Details

Author:   Vai Ramanathan
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Inc
Imprint:   Routledge
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.249kg
ISBN:  

9780805823554


ISBN 10:   0805823557
Pages:   152
Publication Date:   01 May 1997
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction. Theoretical Framework. Wellformedness in Alzheimer Interactions: Continuity Elements. Narrative and Interactive Illformedness in Alzheimer Talk. Repair as a Discontinuity Element: Examining Tina's Talk With N. A Schematic Understanding of Repetition in an AD Life Story. Some Implications and Conclusions.

Reviews

"""The dependence of language on context, whether of setting or of interlocutors, is well illustrated in this sensitively written book. It is to be recommended to linguists and clinical linguists interested in the insights on the human condition that can be obtained by analyzing the language of the cognitively impaired."" —Language in Society"


The dependence of language on context, whether of setting or of interlocutors, is well illustrated in this sensitively written book. It is to be recommended to linguists and clinical linguists interested in the insights on the human condition that can be obtained by analyzing the language of the cognitively impaired. -Language in Society


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Vai Ramanathan

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