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This NYT article is about how the way we refer to and treat the elderly (calling them "dear" or speaking loudly to them, for example) can affect their health. Such studies have broader ranging implications. When we call others derogatory names, can it affect their health? Does using "baby talk" affect the language development of children? Do our assumptions about teenagers affect their intellectual development?

Leland discusses how talking down to elderly people, "elderspeak," has a negative effect on their health and outlook of life. These negative effects lead to decreased self-esteem, depression, and even a reduction in life expectancy. Most people actually get infuriated when they are talked to like a child, and say it is an insult to their integrity. Dr. Becca Levy of Yale University says health care workers are some of the worst offenders of elderspeak and are unaware of the negative implication it has on patients, that such patronizing language gives the message that patients are incompetent.