Elderspeak, also referred to as patronizing talk or secondary baby talk, is a style of speaking to old people used by younger adults, characterized by simpler vocabulary and sentence structure, filler words, content words, overly-endearing terms, closed-ended questions, using the collective "we", repetition, and speaking more slowly. Elderspeak stems from the ageist stereotype that older people have reduced cognitive abilities, such as in language processing and production.
Elderspeak, also referred to as patronizing talk or secondary baby talk, is a style of speaking to old people used by younger adults, characterized by simpler vocabulary and sentence structure, filler words, content words, overly-endearing terms, closed-ended questions, using the collective "we", repetition, and speaking more slowly. Elderspeak stems from the ageist stereotype that older people have reduced cognitive abilities, such as in language processing and production.
Source: Wikipedia "Elderspeak" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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