Subjectivity and institutionalization in discourse of elderly

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the language of eight elderly residents in a home for the aged, verifying the particulars of language production, as well as the marks of subjectivity of each. Research was carried out in the health records of sheltered elderly and data were collected from transcripts of a semi-structured interview and analyzed descriptively considering the context of language production. It was noted that all elderly remained consistently in conversation and showed marks of subjectivity as marks of spirituality and recollections of the past. They still had common features of the speech of elderly, as pointed out in the literature, such as pauses, hesitations, repetitions, building speech based on past memories and self-healing strategies. Furthermore, in parts of speech, the elderly demonstrated tendency to isolation, which is a common feature in sociability of elderly in homes for the aged.