海角大神

Experts in the field of aging get frustrated with terms like 鈥渟enior鈥� and 鈥渆lderly鈥� commonly used to describe a diverse cast of characters as likely to be in a wheelchair as climbing a mountain.

Now, they have one of the world鈥檚 major dictionaries ready to change one important age-related reference.

That lexical undercurrent was at play this week as more than 4,000 researchers, social scientists, and others concerned with the issues of aging gathered here to talk about themes of loneliness, dementia, Medicare, and ... Donald Trump (as in, what last week鈥檚 presidential victory bodes for all these issues).

Threading throughout the annual scientific conference of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is attention to the impact of more prosaic use of words. Sessions examined the effects of terminology, including a study scouring 62 million posts on the social media platform X for stigma-inducing ageist terms; a ChatGPT analysis of ageist words in 2024 presidential election news coverage; and a look at words used in children鈥檚 books and media portrayals of older characters (finding they鈥檙e either loving or 鈥渘o fun鈥� and 鈥渃rabby,鈥� nothing in between).

But what capped it all off was the GSA-led effort last month asking the world鈥檚 most influential dictionaries to make changes.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to change culture,鈥� explains Patricia D鈥橝ntonio, executive director of the GSA鈥檚 National Center to Reframe Aging. 鈥淗ow we communicate about aging,鈥� she says, can drive stereotypical perceptions of older people, from 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 in a nursing home鈥� to 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 retired and on a cruise鈥� 鈥� while missing the reality of diversity in between.

Ms. D鈥橝ntonio wrote letters asking the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and Merriam-Webster to tweak their definitions of 鈥渁geism鈥� 鈥� which both described the term as age discrimination, especially aimed at 鈥渢he elderly.鈥� The aging experts asked to change that to 鈥渙lder people鈥� 鈥� a broader, more inclusive definition.

The OED responded in a week, agreeing that 鈥渆lderly鈥� 鈥� once considered a polite euphemism for 鈥渙ld鈥� 鈥� had taken on associations of infirmity. But the editors also noted that 鈥渙lder people鈥� is a comparative term that prompts the question 鈥淥lder than whom?鈥� (Merriam-Webster has not responded.)

Still, the OED concluded, 鈥淗aving re-examined the evidence, we agree that the current OED definition can be improved. A future version is likely to refer to the discriminatory treatment of people because they are considered too old, rather than because they are 鈥榚lderly鈥�.鈥�

That victory represents 鈥渁 small change,鈥� says Ms. D鈥橝ntonio. 鈥淏ut we know that if we make people aware, [biases] will start to change.鈥� It follows her successful campaign in 2019 and 2020 to get The Associated Press, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychological Association to accept National Center to Reframe Aging guidance for age-related language in their style manuals.

OED senior editor Fiona McPherson cautions that while the gerontologists may be trying to raise awareness, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a dictionary鈥檚 role to drive language change; it鈥檚 ... to reflect and to show that the language has changed.

鈥淲e鈥檙e descriptive ... not prescriptive,鈥欌�� she adds. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not telling you how to use words. We鈥檙e telling you how you use words.鈥�

How conference exhibitor Wamis Singhatat uses words changed swiftly nine years ago when he started working with medical doctors and older people to create the Tango Belt, a device that protects hips by deploying airbags in case of falls. Working alongside those doctors influenced his vocabulary changes: 鈥淐ommunity not facility, because no one wants to live in a facility. And it鈥檚 鈥榦lder adults鈥� instead of 鈥榮eniors鈥� or 鈥榚lderly鈥� or 鈥榞eriatric people.鈥�

鈥淚 think the whole rationale behind using this nomenclature is that the quality of life is improving later in your life,鈥� he says, and 鈥渆lderly鈥� or 鈥渟enior鈥� doesn鈥檛 accurately describe 鈥渁 75-year-old today鈥� versus one 鈥�20, 30, 40 years ago.鈥�

For her part, Adrianna Acevedo-Fontanez, a young epidemiologist who grew up in Puerto Rico, hasn鈥檛 much contemplated terminology. Though she does find the term for older people back home to be lacking nuance: Older people are simply called viejo 鈥� old 鈥� used bluntly or tenderly depending on intent, she says.

But, here, in English, she says, she tends to use the term 鈥渁ging individuals.鈥� And then she stops short, smiles at the language tangle she鈥檚 in, and adds, 鈥淚 guess that鈥檚 actually not the right word either 鈥� we鈥檙e all aging, right?鈥�

This article was written with the support of a journalism fellowship from the Gerontological Society of America, the Journalists Network on Generations, and the Silver Century Foundation. The GSA has no editorial input on journalism produced by 海角大神.