The interdisciplinary research symposium “Language and Dementia / Sprache und Demenz”

According to forecasts, more than 2.7 million people in Germany could be living with dementia by 2050. Dementia-related disorders are associated with a high level of suffering for those affected and place major challenges on family members and caregivers—particularly because over the course of the disease, linguistic and communicative abilities are strongly affected.

The interdisciplinary research symposium “Language and Dementia / Sprache und Demenz” addresses these challenges. Organized by the Göttingen Centre “Text Structures”, the symposium brings together renowned scientists and experts from Medicine, Nursing Science, (Medical) Ethics, Linguistics, and Literature Studies at Georg-August University Göttingen from November 2–4. The central goal and unique feature of this symposium is the thematic connection between dementia and language. Not only are language changes diagnostically relevant; language is the central medium for communication with and by people with dementia, just as language is the medium through which knowledge about dementia is prepared and presented in different discourses.

The symposium explores key questions: How does language change during the course of dementia—already before diagnosis? What role does language play in diagnostics, and how do linguistic changes affect social interactions? How can people communicate appropriately with individuals diagnosed with dementia? How is knowledge about dementia communicated in public—and what functions do fictional works serve in enabling a holistic perspective on the condition?

To discuss these questions, a range of disciplines and institutions come together: the Seminar for German Philology Göttingen, the Göttingen Center for “Text Structures” in cooperation with the Sign Language Lab, Philosophical Seminar, the Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, the Memory Outpatient Clinic of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, the Dementia Outpatient Clinic of the UMG, the UMG Dementia Commissioner, , the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE, Göttingen site), The University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK),as well as renowned external guests. With the symposium, the foundation for interdisciplinary basic research will be laid. At the same time, within the framework of a public lecture, interest in and understanding of the condition will be fostered among a broad audience.