East Asian Linguistics Workshop: "Sharing who they really are through conversations and haiku"

Long life is celebrated, yet it carries the stigma of physical, cognitive and social decline. There is a common perception that the conversation of older adults is often suffused with self-pity and that people with dementia display a serious communication breakdown. However, actual conversations among older Japanese women reveal their resilience (e.g. Matsumoto 2011), speakers living with dementia cooperatively co-construct conversations with interlocutors analogously to those without dementia (e.g. Hamilton 1994, Ramanathan 1997), and rich interactional communication is observed among memory care residents especially when the content is interpersonal and affect-related (Matsumoto 2019).

In this talk, starting with relevant previous observations, we present some of the current findings of the ongoing research project “Sharing conversations: A core human experience across life.” The project explores the ways in in which we can create inclusive communities of people with diverse conditions, focusing on aging and communication. We report analyses of two case studies: (1) intergenerational haiku-making events that the research team has conducting locally online and in-person and (2) conversational narratives documented in Japan of people who are diagnosed with dementia. The analyses illuminate the agency and personhood of the speakers especially when their interlocutors act as equal partners in the interaction.

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Yoshiko Matsumoto is Yamato Ichihashi Chair of Japanese History and Civilization and Professor, by courtesy, of Lingusitics. 

Harumi Maeda is a PhD Candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Japanese Linguistics track.

Emily Yu Wan is an undergraduate student in the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, and the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.