Alignment refers to the interactive use of similar words to accomplish a linguistic and cognitive "common ground" in conversations. Alignment is thought to be unconscious, relying on priming mechanisms. This occurs uniquely in conversational contexts and has been shown in choices of words, grammatical constructions, and even indirect…

Purpose: There is a pressing need for psychometrically sound naming materials for Spanish/English bilingual adults. To address this need, in this study the authors examined the psychometric properties of An Object and Action Naming Battery (An O&A Battery; Druks & Masterson, 2000) in bilingual speakers. Method: Ninety-one Spanish/English…

Reviews the effects of aging on language usage focusing on three areas of exploration: (1) changes in language in relation to changes in other cognitive abilities, (2) the linguistic consequences of normal aging versus those of dementia and aphasia, and (3) age-group differences in patterns of conversational interaction. (67 references) (GLR)