Alzheimer Discourse: Some Sociolinguistic Dimensions

Vai Ramanathan

This book examines the way in which Alzheimer's disease is represented in public discourse, focusing on the ways in which language is used to construct and negotiate the social meaning of the disease. Drawing on a range of data, including media reports, policy documents, and medical texts, the book shows how Alzheimer's discourse is shaped by a number of factors, including the medical model of the disease, the role of the media in constructing public perceptions of the disease, and the experiences of people with Alzheimer's disease and their families. The book argues that Alzheimer's discourse is a site of contestation, in which different groups vie to define the meaning of the disease and to shape the ways in which it is experienced and treated. As such, the book offers a valuable contribution to the understanding of Alzheimer's disease and its social implications.

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.
Author: Ramanathan, Vai Publisher: Routledge Illustration: n Language: ENG Title: Alzheimer Discourse: Some Sociolinguistic Dimensions Pages: 00152 (Encrypted EPUB) On Sale: 2013-11-05 SKU-13/ISBN: 9780805823554 Category: Language Arts & Disciplines : Communication Studies