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Article published In:
Pragmatics of Active Social Inclusion
Edited by Yoshiko Matsumoto and Heidi E. Hamilton
[Pragmatics and Society 15:1] 2024
► pp. 49–66

Code accommodation as a measure of inclusion for bilingual people living with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type

A case study

ORCID logo | Utrecht University
| University of Duisburg-Essen

This case study explores the dynamics of code choices in interactions involving bilingual people living with dementia of the Alzheimer’s Type (DAT) and their primary care partners, focusing on two narrative interviews held in private settings. Drawing on a combination of Communication Accommodation Theory and Conversation Analysis, it takes account of the patterns, communicative functions and effects of code choices and code switching as practices of interactional adjustment. The qualitative analysis sheds light on inclusive and non-inclusive interactional adjustments expressed through code choices by individual speakers, especially focusing on code accommodation at turn boundaries. Results indicate a high language awareness in the two speakers living with DAT and positive communicational outcomes when code accommodation is performed by the conversational partner.

Keywords: dementia of the Alzheimer’s Type, Communication Accommodation Theory, code choice, code-switching, bilingualism, interpersonal dynamics
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Interactional adjustment in the context of dementia
  • 3.Data
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1Overall code choices across conversational partners
    • 4.2Non-inclusive code accommodation practices in bilingual DAT conversations
    • 4.3Inclusive code accommodation practices in bilingual DAT conversations
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 22 December 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.23042.sch
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