Aging Language: Understanding How Human Cognition Changes As We Grow Old

Abstract

Language lies at the core of human nature. It is, therefore, not surprising that it has long been investigated as a privileged domain for understanding how human cognition is structured and organized. Because language is not monolithic across the lifespan, examining how it changes at different life stages has become a powerful means of advancing our understanding not only of language itself, but also of other cognitive functions—and of cognition as a whole—in light of the transformations it undergoes at specific developmental and aging phases.