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Alison Wray notes that ""Alzheimer's Disease affects language in many different ways. Directly, language processing is undermined by damage to the language areas of the brain. Indirectly, language is compromised by short term memory loss, distortions in perception, and disturbed semantic representation . . . All of this makes AD an obvious focus of interest for linguists and in particular, those interested in the field of pragmatics - yet a striking amount of what is published about AD languag

AbstractWithin western cultures, portrayals of dementia as 'a living death' are being challenged by people living with the diagnosis. Yet dementia remains one of the most feared conditions. The sociological lens of citizenship provides a conceptual framework for reviewing the role of society and culture in repositioning dementia away from deficit to a discourse of agency and interdependence. Awareness of cognitive change, and engaging with the diagnostic process, moves people into a transitional, or 'liminal' state of uncertainty. They are no longer able to return to their previous status, but may resist the unwanted status of 'person with dementia'. Drawing on qualitative studies on social participation by people with dementia, we suggest that whether people are able to move beyond the liminal phase depends on acceptance of the diagnosis, social capital, personal and cultural beliefs, the responses of others and comorbidities. Some people publicly embrace a new identity whereas others withdraw, or are withdrawn, from society to live in the shadow of the fourth age. We suggest narratives of deficit fail to reflect the agency people with dementia can enact to shape their social worlds in ways which enable them to establish post‐liminal citizen roles. (A Virtual Abstract of this paper can be viewed at:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_979cmCmR9rLrKuD7z0ycA)

Although research at the intersection of language and dementia has matured over the past several decades, much still needs to be accomplished in the quest to understand how discourse relates to the quality of everyday life for individuals living with dementia. Toward this goal, this essay proposes four concrete steps that scholars can take in the design and execution of their studies to move collectively and incrementally toward a more complete picture of discourse in dementia: (1) move beyond interviews and casual conversations as primary sources of data; (2) video record activities to allow for multimodal analyses; (3) develop sustained collaborative relationships with families, institutions, and/or individuals with dementia; and (4) seek out partners in other disciplines.

AbstractSuccessful ageing continues to be a key theme in contemporary ageing discourses, where good physical and cognitive health in older age is an individualised responsibility. This paper explores how Australian aged care stakeholder discourse contributes to constructions of self-responsibility for brain health and dementia prevention in older persons. Brain health advice messages about diet, exercise and 'brain fitness' by aged care stakeholders are argued to construct a moral framework of 'brainwork practices' to prevent or delay dementia. This study performed discourse analysis of a sample of public online aged care stakeholder documents (N = 170) to reveal three key concepts in discursive constructions of dementia. The first concept characterises dementia as a disastrous force to be opposed; the second is a biomedical concept of dementia as preventable (or able to be delayed) in a 'successful' older age, while the third reflects neurocultural ideas that fetishise perfect memory as the best defence against cognitive decline and dementia. Identifying this matrix of responsibilising 'brainwork practices' messages by aged care stakeholders makes a contribution within social gerontology to revealing neoliberal conceptions of older age as an outcome of lifestyle and consumer choices, where dementia is constructed as 'failed' or 'unsuccessful' ageing.

Intro -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Contributors -- Abbreviations -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1 Introduction -- Aims and Objectives -- Methodological Approaches to Dementia -- Discourse Analysis -- Conversation Analysis -- Ethnography -- Syntactic Analysis -- Limitations -- Chapter Overviews -- Understanding the Transcription System -- References -- Part I The Talk of Persons with Dementia: What Can It Tell Us? -- 2 Dementia, Etiologies, and Implications on Communication -- Learning Objectives -- Introduction -- Some Preliminaries: Clinical Description of Dementia -- A Brief Look at Common Dementia Etiologies -- Diagnostic Procedures -- A Closer Look at the Individual Etiologies of Dementia -- Alzheimer's Disease -- Neurocognitive Causes and Changes -- Demographic Factors -- Prognostic Information -- AD Symptoms -- Lewy Body Dementia -- DLB Causes -- Language Effects of DLB -- Frontotemporal Dementias -- FTDs Cause and Predispositions -- FTDs Behavioral Effects -- Language Effects of FTDs -- Vascular Dementia -- VaD Causes and Predisposition -- VaD Prevention -- Language Effects of VaD -- Discussion -- References -- 3 Challenges in Collecting Real-World Dementia Discourse -- Learning Objectives -- Introduction -- Purposes -- Collection Protocols -- Implications -- References -- 4 Why Use Interactional Data to Better Understand the Effects of Dementia? -- Learning Objectives -- Perspectives on Cognition -- Sense-Making in Interaction -- Conclusion and Outlook -- References -- Part II Learning from the Talk of Persons with Dementia: Practical Steps for Doing and Applying Linguistic and Social Interactional Research -- 5 Signposts, Guideposts, and Stalls: Pragmatic and Discourse Markers in Dementia Discourse -- Learning Objectives -- Introduction -- Data -- But -- But in Initial Position -- But in Final Position -- Wayfinding.

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Part I: The Talk of Persons with Dementia: What Can It Tell Us? -- Chapter 2. Dementia, Etiologies, and Implications on Communication -- Chapter 3. Challenges in Collecting Real-World Dementia Discourse -- Chapter 4. Why Use Interactional Data to Better Understand the Effects of Dementia? -- Part II: Learning from the Talk of Persons with Dementia: Practical Steps for Doing and Applying Linguistic and Social Interactional Research -- Chapter 5. Signposts, Guideposts, and Stalls: Pragmatic and Discourse Markers in Dementia Discourse -- Chapter 6. Making Sense of Syntactic Error in Conversations between Persons with Dementia and their Non-Impaired Co-Participants -- Chapter 7. Foregrounding Competence in Interaction with a Person with Dementia: Co-Participant Responses to Disordered Talk -- Chapter 8. Meaningfulness at the Intersection of Knowledge and Environmental Objects: Investigating Interactions in Art Galleries and Residences Involving Persons with Dementia and Their Carers -- Chapter 9. Disagreements in Assessment Sequences with Persons Diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia -- Chapter 10. Dementia and the Life Course: Examining Cognitive Decline in a Slowly Progressing Degenerative Illness -- Chapter 11. Public and Private Spaces in Residential Care for Older People -- Part III: Keeping the Conversation Going -- Chapter 12. Conclusion: Keeping the Conversation Going.

Abstract

Objectives
This research explores how the representations and meanings of living with dementia are constructed by older adults.


Methods
Focus groups (N = 19) and in-depth interviews (N = 29) were conducted with older adults aged 65+ living in the Czech Republic, representing different levels of personal familiarity with care for an individual experiencing dementia.


Results
We identified 2 different discourses: (1) Tragedy discourse with two distinctive repertoires "dementia as a thief of personality" and "dementia as a thief of humanity." Within such discourse, dementia transcends mere medical terminology, serving as a symbolic representation of existential anxieties linked to aging and the perceived loss of control. (2) The discourse of Dementia as a specific way in which people approach the world was articulated mainly by caregivers, providing them with a coping mechanism and a means to reconstruct the agency of the person experiencing dementia. In older adults' representations, references to suffering among family members emerged as a primary association with dementia. Dementia was portrayed as "contagious" in its effect on the family members who were, in a sense, depicted as the primary sufferers of the disease.


Discussion
Dementia often serves as a symbolic tool for older adults to articulate concerns about advanced old age, extending beyond its clinical definition to convey deep-seated fears associated with aging. The experience of people surrounding those diagnosed with dementia and the permeability of the impacts of this disease between bodies represented crucial frameworks for conceptualizing dementia in the narratives of older adults.

Linguistic choices are widely understood to have the potential to contribute to, but also to challenge, dementia stigma. This scoping review therefore aims to better understand: 1) the characteristics of language-oriented studies into representations of dementia and people with dementia, particularly regarding theoretical engagement with dementia stigma; and 2) what specific linguistic features have the potential to contribute to and/or challenge dementia stigma. Using Scopus, PubMed, PsychInfo and Google Scholar, 44 papers published between January 2000 and December 2022 were selected and thematically synthesized. We found that the number of publications addressing language and dementia stigma increased dramatically over the period covered. Most studies (75 %) did not explicitly define their use of the term stigma, and those that did drew on a range of theories and sources. Linguistic features associated with stigma included catastrophizing metaphors and the personification of dementia as a cruel enemy. Distancing and delegitimizing strategies were popularly used for people living with dementia, including homogenization, negative group labels, dehumanizing metaphors, infantilization and passivization. Humor could be used to perpetuate dementia stigma, but also to resist and reclaim stigmatizing discourses. Dementia stigma could be challenged through redefining the roles attributed to social actors, directly critiquing harmful discourses, and by providing counter-discourses. Counter-discourses used normalizing, holistic, person-centerd, rights-based, optimistic and affirmative language. Overall, a complex picture of language and dementia stigma emerges. Based on our review of the 44 papers considered, we argue that much language has the potential to perpetuate or resist stigma, and that this is shaped by and depends upon the broader discursive context within which such language use takes place.

"Anhand einer diskursanalytischen Untersuchung eines Homepagetextes, der eine Pflegeeinrichtung in Thailand für deutschsprachige demenziell veränderte Menschen bewirbt, klärt der Beitrag Einbettungen des Textes in seine diskursiven Kontexte sowie sein machtvolles Wirken für andere Einrichtungen. Hierzu wird zuerst herausgestellt, welche Normalitätsvorstellungen hinsichtlich Alter(n), Demenz und einem verantwortungsvollen Umgang mit Erkrankten durch das Angebot der Einrichtung in Frage gestellt bzw. bestätigt werden. Sowohl die Produktionsweisen als auch die Funktionen der Umsortierungen von bereits etabliertem Wissen im Rahmen transnationaler Pflegekonstellationen (wie etwa der ('richtige') Umgang mit Demenz oder Stereotype von Thais und Thailand und die Bedeutung(slosigkeit?) von Heimat) werden mithilfe der diskurspragmatischen Aussagenanalyse untersucht. In einem zweiten Schritt eruiert der Beitrag die Anschlussfähigkeit der im vorigen Teil herausgearbeiteten Aussagefelder auch für andere ähnliche Einrichtungen für deutschsprachige Menschen in Thailand. So wird u.a. deutlich, wie diskursives Wissen um Pflege, Demenz und deren Migration zu Zeiten der populären Prognose der Alterung der deutschen Bevölkerung geprägt und anschlussfähig gemacht wird, wie es zirkuliert, wie es sich in bereits etablierte Aussagefelder einschreibt, sie aber auch neu miteinander verknüpft, wie diskursives Wissen an den Kontext Thailand angepasst wird und wie dies unter Rückgriff auf bereits etabliertes Wissen um Pflege, Demenz und Alter(n) geschieht." (Autorenreferat)

Cover -- Dedication Page -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Contributors -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Vision and values -- Book structure -- References -- Chapter 1: Developing the Co-researcher INvolvement and Engagement in Dementia model (COINED) -- Introduction -- Co-researchand co-operativeinquiry -- Inquiry groups -- Focus of inquiry (phase 1 - reflection) -- Involvement in research (phase 2 - action) -- Developing the model (phase 3 - action) -- The final cut (phase 4 - reflection) -- Ethical debates -- Discussion -- Acknowledgements -- Note -- References -- Part I Social research methods - participatory andvisual media -- Chapter 2 Walking interviews as a research method with people living with dementia in their local community -- Introduction -- The significance of the local environment -- Mobile methods in social research -- Walking interviews as a research method -- Walking interviews as a research method within the field of dementia research -- Outline of walking interviews -- Participant description -- Performing the walking interview -- The participant's active role in the walking interview -- The researchers' role in walking interviews -- Insights gained from using the method -- Walking interview and focus on embodied experience -- Walking interviews support wellbeing -- Navigating in public space -- Care implications of conducting walking interviews -- Ethical reflections and implications -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgements -- References -- Chapter 3: Audio recorded data as a method to understand encounters between people living with dementia and social workers -- Introduction -- Introduction to discourse analysis and naturally occurring data -- Generating naturally occurring data within the framework of discourse analysis.

Cover Popularizing Dementia -- Contents -- Popularizing dementia. Public expressions and representations of forgetfulness -- I. LITERARY FICTION -- The locus of our dis-ease. Narratives of family life in the age of Alzheimer's -- Deconstructing the American family. Figures of parents with dementia in Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections and A.M. Homes' May We Be Forgiven -- Purging the world of the Whore and the horror. Gothic and apocalyptic portrayals of dementia in Canadian fiction -- Narrating the limits of narration. Alzheimer's disease in contemporary literary texts -- The 'terrifying question mark'. Dementia, fiction, and the possibilities of narrative -- II. ART, ARTISTIC APPROACHES, AND FILM -- Dementia on the canvas. Art and the biopolitics of creativity -- Cultural projection of dementia in the Reminiscence Museum. Dynamics of extrapolation -- Opening Minds through Art. Students' constructions of people with dementia -- 'Zip!' Dementia materialized in clothing design -- Challenging representations of dementia in contemporary Western fiction film. From epistemic injustice to social participation -- Intercorporeal relations and ethical perception. Portrayals of Alzheimer's disease in Away from Her and En sång för Martin -- III. MEDIA DISCOURSES AND PUBLIC UNDERSTANDINGS -- Dementia in the making. Early detection and the body/brain in Alzheimer's disease -- The meanings of early diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease in Dutch newspapers. A framing analysis -- Respect for autonomy? The contribution of popular magazines to the public understanding of dementia care -- Representations of Alzheimer's disease among non-specialists. A cross-cultural study between Paris and Boston -- In the company of robots. Health care and the identity of people with dementia -- The zero-degree of dementia. Thinking the gap between subject and substance.