- Linguistic image of the world
- A person who is not young, which is what?
- Negative concepts related to old age
- Euphemisms about old age
- Age stereotypes among young people
- When does old age start?
- Seniors in media and pop culture
- Poetically and metaphorically about seniors
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Language is not only a communication tool, but also a way of seeing the world and organizing it. By studying the vocabulary and phraseology, you can get to know a specific conceptual grid through which we perceive and analyze reality. It does not lack linguistic stereotypes or terms that are positively and negatively marked, but also poetic and very creative. This time we are talking about old age and seniors.
In the area of old age and maturity, an excellent source to look at the linguistic image of the world is the publication "About the ways of talking about old age. Debate, analysis, examples", i.e. a report prepared as part of the work of the Commission of Experts for Elderly People at the Ombudsman Civil Rights (Warsaw 2014). And it is the main source in this article.
Linguistic image of the world
The linguistic worldview (JOS) is a concept used mainly by cognitive scientists. According to it, language influences the way you see the world. The vocabulary, grammar, phraseology and linguistic metaphors reflect the culture of a given society and linguistic area, which describes reality in a specific way. Simply put, we think differently in each language, and therefore we see the world a bit differently.
A good example? There are many terms for the whiteness of snow in Inuit languages. For Poles, however, it will always be white and it will be difficult for him to assign a dozen or even several dozen shades with the use of individual words. By studying JOS, it is possible to create specific conceptual networks concerning various aspects and areas of life - e.g. the perception of seniors and old age.
A person who is not young, which is what?
The terms that apply to young people can be divided into three groups:
Middle-aged personwho is getting old. Here, neutral phrases appear, such asolder woman ,old man , as well as expressing respect ( old man,old lady ). In addition, there are also terms characterized by a certain distance ( older guy ) and euphemisms (e.g.not of the first youth ,at a certain age ,oldszawy ).
A person with clear features of an old person :old man ,old woman ; withwe'll sayold guywith reluctance, for exampleold bastard .
A person who shows features of infirmity- somehow "officially" will be calledelderly person , positiveold man/old woman,with compassionold woman/old woman,and with more contemptold man, old man, old mushroomoreven próchno .
Negative concepts related to old age
In Polish, unfortunately, there are many negative, emotionally marked and contemptuous expressions about old age and seniors. They can, for example, be divided sexually:
Women:old powder box ,prukwa, old bag ,old box ,at the back of the high school, at the front of the museum ,purchawa, mohair.
Men:old bastard ,bitch, fart, old gingerbread , ramol, old crap ,limniak, tetryk, zagred, lamus, spring, facio without IP .
Euphemisms about old age
In the official language, as well as for marketing purposes, many neutral, sometimes poetic expressions refer to old age.
Good examples are a series of concepts like60 + ,70 + ,80 +(cosmetics for people aged 60 + ), as well assenior, senior, veteran, third age( especially inuniversities of the third age ),advanced age ,elderly people ,people in the third phase of life .
More specific terms are replaced with neutral ones, such asretirement homebetter to sayretirement homeorhome happy old age . This is largely related to political correctness and the desire not to offend anyone.
After all, telling someone outright that he is an old man might be very badly received.
On the other hand, we are talking about young people and nobody has a problem with that. This shows that the problem of old age has not been properly "worked out" in Polish. Even in English it is easier, becauseolder/elderhas a more neutral overtone.
Age stereotypes among young people
Research on this area was conducted by Małgorzata Potent-Ambroziewicz among high school students. First of all, it was about checking the connectivity (i.e. with which adjectives and verbs it is most often combined) of the wordold ageand its synonyms. The final picture is notunfortunately optimistic, because the youth attributed to the old man such stereotypical features as:
a) lonely and sad b) gray, hunched c) waiting to die d) decrepit, sick, lying in bed, having difficulty moving e) dirty, neglected, overgrown, smelly f) unable to work, idle g) asexualh) frustrated, irritable i) backwardj) with impaired eyesight, hearing, nervous tics
(the aforementioned report under the patronage of the Ombudsman, p. 15).
Fortunately, there is also a positive image: “a) wise, experienced; b) having time for relatives; c) patient and understanding; d) able to advise in a difficult situation; e) patriot; f) telling about the past; g) prayerful, spiritual, knowing the secret. "
When does old age start?
The language in this area is not… precise. Often, for seniors, we will saygrandmotherorgrandfather,but after all - literally - you can become a grandmother at the age of even 40, and then it is difficult to talk about old age.
The same applies to a rigid, somewhat legal division, because it determines the beginning of retirement - i.e. the age from 60 for women and from 65 for men.
Especially that from a biological and medical point of view, it is impossible to say "rigidly" when old age begins for representatives of each sex.
What about the phraseretirees and pensionersi? Also here is … the problem.
Retirement concerns what is mentioned above, i.e. the conventional limit. Besides, some time ago it was possible to retire even at the age of thirty (e.g. in the case of uniformed services).
It is even worse with the rent, which has nothing to do with the age criterion. One can even perversely ask whether old age exists at all, since it cannot be precisely defined in the Polish language?
Seniors in media and pop culture
Unfortunately, it turns out that the presence of seniors in both the media and pop culture is small. Often one avoids talking about old age in general, and all pop culture is, as it were, lined with the cult of youth. The ancient years are often mentioned in negative contexts related to poverty or the general inducement of pity.
Not to mention how some celebrities skillfully ignore the topic of their age, although they could act as "role models" for their peers. But the situation is gradually changing, especially as the society is aging, we live much longer and in better he alth.
It can therefore be expected that there will be more film and series roles for the elderly, and the subject of seniors will befinally disenchanted - it will go beyond the sphere of silence and political correctness.
An interesting list in the aforementioned report was prepared by Ewa Kulisz. According to her concept, seniors are mainly talked about on seven topics:
- The test results are given - then the senior appears in virtually any role. He may be a victim of crime, a patient, client, employee, and not necessarily in a positive context. Here, too, it is often said about the bad situation of the elderly (but also does not propose any recipes for this phenomenon).
- The regulations that apply to seniors are changing. "Life annuity in exchange for real estate. The government approved the project of the so-called reverse mortgage. The new regulations will primarily benefit the elderly, for whom it may be an additional source of income" (report, p. 68).
- Someone cheated the senior. Actually, there is not a week without such information appearing somewhere. This also applies to a cheater of the "granddaughter" or "policeman" type.
- The elderly have been hurt. Unfortunately, the media live on such topics, and the presentation of an older, "defenseless", weak, ailing person who has been hurt by something is supposed to evoke specific emotions.
- Senior did something "age inappropriate". A great example here was the wedding of the aged Andrzej Łapicki with a 25-year-old - a topic that was once heated by the media.
- Senior must be shown, because it is required by political correctness. Very often in TV spots we see an adult, a child and a senior.
- The situation triggers a "wow" reaction. Examples? She's 50 and she looks so sexy; "The old lady won with the debt collector."
Poetically and metaphorically about seniors
The Polish language also does not lack poetic, positive expressions related to old age and seniors.
Someone could live toright age , bein the prime of lifeor live toautumn of life (necessarilycheerful).Other terms in this group include:third century ,beautiful age ,matuzalem years ,serious age ,not the first youth ,hypermaturity.
In the optimistic version, it can be assumed that we simply esteem old age.
In pessimistic - we have a problem with this phase of our life, so we want to "floral" it linguistically. Anyway, demographic changes and the aging of the society are discussed in the context of … a catastrophe. This is evidenced by terms such asdemographic tsunamiorgeriatric tsunami .
About the author
Daniel Works A Polish philologist by education andAmericanist, by profession - more of the first. For over a decade, he has been working on texts: writing, editing, and occasional proofreading. He specializes primarily in home & living, but also writes about culture, art, fashion, he alth, tourism and everything that will attract attention and interest. Privately, a fan of series with a plot detached from reality and - possibly in terms of time and other possibilities - a traveler.