elderspeak

English

Etymology

elder +‎ -speak

Noun

elderspeak (uncountable)

1. A simplified, patronizing speech style used by younger adults when addressing elderly people.
   • 1998, Norbert Schwarz, Cognition, Aging and Self-Reports, page 193:

     In this case, the “communicative predicament of aging” is that elderspeak led to a decrease in the older adults' self-ratings of communicative competence yet it also improved their performance on the referential communication tasks.