Skip to main content

“Elephants to ride upon, my little Irish Rose”

Performing Memory

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Language, Dementia and Meaning Making
  • 369 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore performances of memory in interactions of everyday life. As important background, we first situate this examination within what is called ‘procedural memory’ (Eichenbaum, The cognitive neuroscience of memory (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012) and discussions of formulaic language (Wray and Perkins, Language & Communication, 20(1), 1–28, 2000), followed by a brief case study. We then turn to everyday conversation for evidence of the following phenomena: performed memory in the form of singing songs and reading aloud; management of interactional system requirements and constraints; displays of formulaic language; and the eventual malfunction of the autopilot.

I’ve Got Rings on My Fingers is a popular song written in 1909 with words by Weston and Barnes and music by Maurice Scott.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Appell, J., Kertesz, A., & Fisman, M. (1982). A study of language functioning in Alzheimer patients. Brain and Language, 17, 73–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayles, K. (1979). Communication profiles in a geriatric population. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona, Tucson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayles, K. (1982). Language function in senile dementia. Brain and Language, 16, 265–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayles, K., & Kaszniak, A. (1987). Communication and cognition in normal aging and dementia. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolinger, D. (1961). Syntactic blends and other matters. Language, 37, 366–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, P., & Levinson, S. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, J., Houlihan, J., & Hill, M. (1986). The pattern of reading deterioration in dementia of the Alzheimer type: Observations and implications. Brain and Language, 29, 315–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, B. H., & Maclagan, M. (2014). Talking with Maureen: Extenders and formulaic language in small stories and canonical narratives. In R. Schrauf & N. Müller (Eds.), Dialogue and dementia: Cognitive and communicative resources for engagement (pp. 87–120). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eichenbaum, H. (2012). The cognitive neuroscience of memory (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folstein, M., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975). “Mini-mental state” a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12(3), 189–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garvey, C. (1977). The contingent query: A dependent act in conversation. In M. Lewis & L. Rosenblum (Eds.), Interaction, conversation and the development of language (pp. 63–94). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, E. (1959). Presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City: Anchor Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, E. (1981). Replies and responses. In E. Goffman (Ed.), Forms of talk (pp. 5–77). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guendouzi, J., & Müller, N. (2001). Intelligibility and rehearsed sequences in conversations with a DAT patient. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 15, 91–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, H. E. (1994). Conversations with an Alzheimer’s patient: An interactional sociolinguistic analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Honsinger, W. (1962). To light a candle. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchins, E. (1995). Cognition in the wild. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hydén, L.-C. (2014). Cutting Brussels sprouts: Collaboration involving persons with dementia. Journal of Aging Studies, 29, 115–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kempler, D. (1984). Syntactic and symbolic abilities in Alzheimer’s disease. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kontos, P. C. (2006). Embodied selfhood: An ethnographic exploration of Alzheimer’s disease. In A. Leibing & L. Cohen (Eds.), Thinking about dementia: Culture, loss, and the anthropology of senility (pp. 195–217). New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McDermott, O., Crellin, N., Ridder, H. M., & Orrell, M. (2013). Music therapy in dementia: A narrative synthesis systematic review. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28, 781–794.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merleau-Ponty, M. (1964). Signs (trans: McCleary, R. C.). Evanston: Northwestern University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Obler, L. K. (1981). Review of Le langage des dements by Luce Irigaray. Brain and Language, 12, 375–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sabat, S. R., Wiggs, C., & Pinizzotto, A. (1984). Alzheimer’s disease: Clinical vs. observational studies of cognitive ability. Journal of Clinical Experimental Gerontology, 6, 337–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sacks, H., Schegloff, E., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language, 50, 696–735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schegloff, E., & Sacks, H. (1973). Opening up closings. Semiotica, 8, 289–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schegloff, E., Jefferson, G., & Sacks, H. (1977). The preference for the self-correction of talk in the organization of repair in conversation. Language, 53(2), 361–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, M. F., Marin, O., & Saffran, E. (1979). Dissociations of language function in dementia: A case study. Brain and Language, 7, 277–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Squire, L. R. (2004). Memory systems of the brain: A brief history and current perspective. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 82(3), 171–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tannen, D. (1987a). Repetition in conversation as spontaneous formulaicity. Text, 7, 215–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tannen, D. (1987b). Repetition in conversation: Towards a poetics of talk. Language, 63, 574–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wray, A. (2014). Formulaic language and threat: The challenge of empathy and compassion in Alzheimer’s disease interaction. In R. Schrauf & N. Müller (Eds.), Dialogue and dementia: Cognitive and communicative resources for engagement (pp. 263–286). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wray, A., & Perkins, M. R. (2000). The functions of formulaic language: An integrated model. Language & Communication, 20(1), 1–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hamilton, H.E. (2019). “Elephants to ride upon, my little Irish Rose”. In: Language, Dementia and Meaning Making. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12021-4_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12021-4_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12020-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12021-4

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics