ABSTRACT
This is our second issues chapter, and as in chapter 8, we shall make reference to various methods, concepts, and points of theory that we introduced earlier in this book. As we mentioned in chapter 2 on data collection and transcribing, it is rare in nonclinical discourse studies that intelligibility becomes the focus of analysis. However, in clinical contexts, the abilities of interlocutors to understand each other and to signal their understanding is of course a central concern. We need to deal with fluctuations in speech intelligibility, deteriorations, and indeed improvements thereof; and of course, intelligibility may be a focus of therapeutic intervention. In the context of dementia, speech intelligibility per se, the improvement of the clarity of the speech signal, will very rarely be a prime target in rehabilitative activities. However, the ability of persons with dementia and their conversation partners, be they carers, health care professionals, or others, to make themselves understood to each other is of course a key factor in the maintenance of communicative functioning.
