8. Pragmatic development in the (middle and) later stages of life
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Annette Gerstenberg
Abstract
Age-related factors are not a very prominent topic in pragmatic research, yet there are many approaches that show how such questions can be productively addressed. The article begins by providing an overview of relevant theories and models from the fields of discourse (accommodation theory), language change and sociolinguistics, as well as from the neighboring fields of variational pragmatics and corpus pragmatics. Furthermore, in the sense of “lifespan pragmatics”, social roles of middle and higher adulthood, related questions of identity and the challenges of old age are presented. For older age, a separate section describes how the psycholinguistic theory of compensation can be applied to re-understand how the individual use of language continues to be adaptive until old age. The areas of gestures and prosody show the need to take possible physiological and cognitive changes into account. Related phenomena as pauses, interruptions and fillers are often labeled with the negatively connotated term disfluencies. Here, pragmatic research can contribute to a better understanding of communicative functions and adaptive abilities in later life.
Abstract
Age-related factors are not a very prominent topic in pragmatic research, yet there are many approaches that show how such questions can be productively addressed. The article begins by providing an overview of relevant theories and models from the fields of discourse (accommodation theory), language change and sociolinguistics, as well as from the neighboring fields of variational pragmatics and corpus pragmatics. Furthermore, in the sense of “lifespan pragmatics”, social roles of middle and higher adulthood, related questions of identity and the challenges of old age are presented. For older age, a separate section describes how the psycholinguistic theory of compensation can be applied to re-understand how the individual use of language continues to be adaptive until old age. The areas of gestures and prosody show the need to take possible physiological and cognitive changes into account. Related phenomena as pauses, interruptions and fillers are often labeled with the negatively connotated term disfluencies. Here, pragmatic research can contribute to a better understanding of communicative functions and adaptive abilities in later life.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface to the handbook series v
- Preface to Developmental and Clinical Pragmatics ix
- Table of contents xi
- 1. Pragmatic competence: Development and impairment 1
-
I. Pragmatic development in a first language
- 2. Pragmatic development in a first language: An overview 33
- 3. Communicative act development 61
- 4. Acquisition of epistemic and evidential expressions 89
- 5. Acquiring implicatures 119
- 6. Acquiring irony 149
- 7. Acquiring prosody 177
- 8. Pragmatic development in the (middle and) later stages of life 209
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II. Pragmatic development in a second language
- 9. Pragmatic development in L2: An overview 237
- 10. Teaching speech acts in a second language 269
- 11. Learning how to interpret indirectness in an L2 301
- 12. Comprehension of implicatures and humor in a second language 331
- 13. Pragmatic transfer 361
- 14. Developing pragmatic awareness 393
- 15. Developing pragmatic competence in a study abroad context 429
- 16. Testing pragmatic competence in a second language 475
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III. Pragmatic disorders
- 17. Pragmatic disorders: An overview 499
- 18. Pragmatic competence in autism spectrum disorders 523
- 19. Pragmatic competence in Down syndrome 545
- 20. Pragmatic competence in aphasia 581
- 21. Pragmatics and dementia 611
- 22. Assessing pragmatic competence in developmental disorders 647
- Contributors 681
- Name Index 691
- Subject Index 711
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface to the handbook series v
- Preface to Developmental and Clinical Pragmatics ix
- Table of contents xi
- 1. Pragmatic competence: Development and impairment 1
-
I. Pragmatic development in a first language
- 2. Pragmatic development in a first language: An overview 33
- 3. Communicative act development 61
- 4. Acquisition of epistemic and evidential expressions 89
- 5. Acquiring implicatures 119
- 6. Acquiring irony 149
- 7. Acquiring prosody 177
- 8. Pragmatic development in the (middle and) later stages of life 209
-
II. Pragmatic development in a second language
- 9. Pragmatic development in L2: An overview 237
- 10. Teaching speech acts in a second language 269
- 11. Learning how to interpret indirectness in an L2 301
- 12. Comprehension of implicatures and humor in a second language 331
- 13. Pragmatic transfer 361
- 14. Developing pragmatic awareness 393
- 15. Developing pragmatic competence in a study abroad context 429
- 16. Testing pragmatic competence in a second language 475
-
III. Pragmatic disorders
- 17. Pragmatic disorders: An overview 499
- 18. Pragmatic competence in autism spectrum disorders 523
- 19. Pragmatic competence in Down syndrome 545
- 20. Pragmatic competence in aphasia 581
- 21. Pragmatics and dementia 611
- 22. Assessing pragmatic competence in developmental disorders 647
- Contributors 681
- Name Index 691
- Subject Index 711
