Does Age Influence Intergenerational Interaction? Experiences from the UnVergessen Project
Options
Description
Age is a complex construct that includes numerical, biological, social, and interactive characteristics
(Fiehler/Thimm 2007). Based on these characteristics, we perceive another person’s age, as well as our own.
What are the implications of this for the interactions among people who differ according to some or all of these
characteristics?
This is the primary research question, which is discussed with the help of the experiences from the long-standing
intergenerational project UnVergessen (UnForgotten). In this project, couples are formed consisting of a student
and an older person, usually in need of care. The couples meet over several months and exchange ideas on a
variety of topics. A sub-project, called Letters against Loneliness, transfers the same personal exchange between
representatives of two generations to the written space.
During the project, different data are collected:
1) General (biographical) data on the participants.
2) Excerpts from the conversations (audio recordings of the couples’ free conversations) or letters.
3) Testimonies of the student’s reflection (written and oral reports).
In our talk, we will present five of these partly multilingual couples and their data and evaluate them from
different perspectives and with the help of different methods:
• Sociolinguistic analysis: presentation of the linguistic context of the persons involved (speaker biographies, including multilingualism) and classification of numerical and biological age.
• Discourse or text analysis: evaluation of conversation recordings or letters and elaboration of passages
in which certain facets of age play a role in the interaction, either explicitly or implicitly.
• Qualitative content analysis: evaluation of the written and oral reflections regarding students’ perception of age differences and their influence on the level of the relationship.
With the help of these results, we will discuss which facets of age are especially focused on and if and how they
influence intergenerational interaction. Finally, we ask: Can a feeling of belonging arise in intergenerational
exchange despite perceived differences? After considering the individual specificities, the average result is that
differences are perceived, but they are not a hindrance to the constitution of the relationship. Rather, they serve
to rethink and refine the concept of age.
Fiehler, R., Thimm, C. (2003): Sprache und Kommunikation im Alter. Radolfzell: Verlag für Gesprächsforschung.
(Fiehler/Thimm 2007). Based on these characteristics, we perceive another person’s age, as well as our own.
What are the implications of this for the interactions among people who differ according to some or all of these
characteristics?
This is the primary research question, which is discussed with the help of the experiences from the long-standing
intergenerational project UnVergessen (UnForgotten). In this project, couples are formed consisting of a student
and an older person, usually in need of care. The couples meet over several months and exchange ideas on a
variety of topics. A sub-project, called Letters against Loneliness, transfers the same personal exchange between
representatives of two generations to the written space.
During the project, different data are collected:
1) General (biographical) data on the participants.
2) Excerpts from the conversations (audio recordings of the couples’ free conversations) or letters.
3) Testimonies of the student’s reflection (written and oral reports).
In our talk, we will present five of these partly multilingual couples and their data and evaluate them from
different perspectives and with the help of different methods:
• Sociolinguistic analysis: presentation of the linguistic context of the persons involved (speaker biographies, including multilingualism) and classification of numerical and biological age.
• Discourse or text analysis: evaluation of conversation recordings or letters and elaboration of passages
in which certain facets of age play a role in the interaction, either explicitly or implicitly.
• Qualitative content analysis: evaluation of the written and oral reflections regarding students’ perception of age differences and their influence on the level of the relationship.
With the help of these results, we will discuss which facets of age are especially focused on and if and how they
influence intergenerational interaction. Finally, we ask: Can a feeling of belonging arise in intergenerational
exchange despite perceived differences? After considering the individual specificities, the average result is that
differences are perceived, but they are not a hindrance to the constitution of the relationship. Rather, they serve
to rethink and refine the concept of age.
Fiehler, R., Thimm, C. (2003): Sprache und Kommunikation im Alter. Radolfzell: Verlag für Gesprächsforschung.
Date of Publication
2023-07-10
Publication Type
Conference Item
Language(s)
en
Additional Credits
Title of Event
Access(Rights)
metadata.only