Human language ability will decline with age? Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press in October will publish a new book "Change Thinking: How to Interaction of Language and Age"。This book studies the effects of age on language and the positive role of language on human psychological age。The author's proposed in the book，Human language ability has strong "elasticity" and plasticity。For related issues，This reporter's main author of the book、Roger Kreuz, a professor of psychology at Memphis University in the United States, gave an interview。

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"China Social Sciences": Many outstanding authors have been working hard，and achieved remarkable achievements at the middle and elderly stage，For example, the Nobel Prize winner who just died in August、American female writer Toni Morrison。For this，Is there any relevant explanation of your latest research?

Cruz:Humans learn language in infants and young children seem to not be able to blow ash，But with age,，Language acquisition seems to have declined。In fact，Language is a partner of people's life，Compared with other cognitive abilities，Even if people will be aging，Language has a rare "rebate"。Morrison is not a literary genius，She only published the first novel "The Blue Vedes" at the age of 39 (The Bluest Eye). The final book "God Bless Children" (God Help the Child) When publishing，She is 84 years old。In fact，Morrison's main works are all published after the age of 70，She ushered in a high yield period in her later years。

Morrison phenomenon is not alone，The outstanding works of many well -known writers in history were born in their later years。For example，American writer Herman Wouk published the last novel "Legislator" (The Lawgiver)，It's 97 years old。 Literary achievement "aging" is actually a common phenomenon，It also verified an important point: age does not seem to weaken people's speech、The ability to write and learn new vocabulary。As you grow,，People's vision may weaken，Memory may appear "shake"，But below，Understanding、The ability to use and creative language is through life，Even at the elderly stage, it can get a good development。

　　"China Social Sciences": How does language and age influence each other?

Cruz:Most people realize，The aging process will accompany the changes in language ability。As you grow,，It may be difficult for us to recall some words or names at a certain moment。But，Some language functions have increased with age。The relationship between language and aging is a "two -way channel": aging affects language acquisition，Language will also affect the aging process。Overall，More contact language in his life is very helpful for its brain health and even extension of life.。

The book specifically discusses the changes in the language ability of the elderly。On the one hand，Language cognitive ability，If memory ability and perception ability will decrease with age; on the other hand，Other language abilities，Including vocabulary and writing ability，But with age, it has increased。Elderly people often show a greater vocabulary than young people，This is due to the reading and writing experience in a long life。For example，The elderly have an advantage in understanding custom slang。Another，Some specific language activities，Including reading novels、Communicate with people，Then it can make life richer，Life is healthier。

The book explains the Bet365 lotto review "potential" capabilities under the language ability，Explore the ability to change the ability to listen to, speaking, reading and writing during the age of age。We discussed why the elderly felt "like the throat" but could not blurt out in some cases。As you grow,，The reaction ability of the elderly begins to decline，The incidence of the above situation may increase。We think，On the one hand, the reason may be excess knowledge and information today。But the elderly can become a better story teller，Can tell a lot of past trivial matters at home gatherings。Although these stories are often considered by young people to be "problematic and lengthy"，But that may reflect different communication purposes of the elderly in different occasions。

　Language research should be more comprehensive

"China Social Sciences": What blind spots do you think there are previous research on language and age?

Cruz:Most language researchers mainly pay attention to children or elderly people。We now hope to conduct language skills to 20-60 years old，These people constitute the "missing middleman" in our language research。Push over time，Is the ability to spell words to enhance or weaken? Does the ability to learn the second language will be accompanied by life?，We hope to fill these research blind spots in the latest research。

"China Social Sciences": Can the evolution of people's cognitive ability be predicted through language ability?

Cruz:Language skills sometimes play a warning role in cognition。1996，David Snowdon (David Snowdon) and a group of researchers have studied samples of nuns。They found，The grammatical complexity of the articles written by the nuns is researched，Can help predict which nuns will suffer from Alzheimer in later years。

Another example，Although Morrison's later works still make smooth and clear text，But other writers are not so lucky。British female writer Iris Murdoch's last novel "Jackson’ s Dilemma "reflects her cognitive impairment in some extent。In fact，4 years after the book was published，She died of disease -related diseases。

　Incidentally insist on writing, reading and conversation

"China Social Sciences": Why "language mastery is a lifetime journey"?

Cruz:A large number of research evidence has shown，When people leave school，Language learning is not over，It should not end。People should continue to learn new vocabulary，and benefit from practicing writing skills。Current，Psychologists and elderly researchers have made evidence to support this view，That is, people can continue to improve language skills through unremitting efforts。

　　"China Social Sciences": For the elderly，What helps them to read and write?

Cruz:Reading and writing can prevent the decline in cognitive ability。For example，The diary has proven to greatly reduce the risk of cognitive diseases such as dementia。Reading novels will also help the extended life。A large -scale study led by the School of Public Health of Yale University，Those who read at least 30 minutes a day have been extended for nearly two years than those who do not read。Even if people are in gender、After the differences in education and health，This impact is still obvious。Researchers think，Build a fictional in our brain、The imaginative universe helps to "lubricate" our "cognitive wheel"。Therefore，In order to make yourself "get older"，We should consciously insist on writing、Reading and conversation。

(Newspaper Boston, September 17th)