Memory, Aging, and the Lingering 'Anyways'

974. How does aging affect our ability to understand language? From the challenges of processing complex sentences to the resilience you get from a rich vocabulary, we look at how our language skills change over time.  Plus, looking into why people say "anyways" led me to some interesting historical tidbits.

The aging segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and the author of "Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English." A version of the piece originally appeared on Psychology Today, and you can find her at valeriefridland.com.

| Edited transcript with links: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/aging-anyways/transcript

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References for the Aging segment

van Boxtel, W, Lawyer, L. Sentence comprehension in ageing and Alzheimer's disease. Lang Linguist Compass. 2021;e12430.

Payne, B. R., Gao, X., Noh, S. R., Anderson, C. J., & Stine-Morrow, E. A. (2012). The effects of print exposure on sentence processing and memory in older adults: Evidence for efficiency and reserve. Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 19(1–2), 122–149.