The Constitution of Gerontolinguistics Paradigm and Its Contemporary Prospects

The article considers the formation of scientific interest in the study of language mediation of the phenomenon of aging. The reasons for the demand for gerontolinguistic knowledge are analyzed, and the arguments justifying its relevance are given. A brief excursion into the history of scientific research on aging is made, but the focus is on its linguistic aspects. The natural sciences were the first to study the aging process, which formed the biomedical paradigm of its consideration. Later, gerontology was constituted as an attempt to form a broader view and a deeper understanding of the ontology of aging. As a result, new areas of research on this phenomenon have emerged: social, psychological, economic, political, and cultural perspectives. The formation of a systematic interest in the language side of aging occurred later than others, but the emergence of gerontolinguistics brought awareness of its high heuristic and practical potential both in understanding the ontology of aging and in applying the knowledge gained to implement the strategy of active and healthy aging. The article considers the main vectors of research on the relationship between language and the aging process, and presents the existing interpretations of the term "gerontolinguistics". It is shown that gerontolinguistics is becoming an interdisciplinary field that accumulates the efforts of the entire body of gerontological knowledge aimed both at maintaining the language health of the aging population and at implementing the strategy of active and healthy aging in the transition to a hyper-age society.

Keywords

Authors

References