Analyzing the internal state terms in the narratives of young and elderly individuals

Metaphor is a word or set of words used to make the desired definition of a thing or an idea with something else that has very similar qualities, generally without using the words "like" or "similar", and to add stylistic beauty and ease to the expression. The use of metaphor is accepted not only as a form of linguistic expression, but also as a mechanism that deeply affects the thinking and understanding processes of individuals. The aging process causes significant changes in cognitive, emotional and social dynamics, and this affects the use of metaphor. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of age, gender and education level on the frequency of metaphor use in the speech samples of healthy adults. This study was conducted with a total of 100 participants, including 51 healthy men and 49 women aged 65 and over (n=50) and between the ages of 18-23 (n=50). One of the inclusion criteria is that the participants' MoCA-TR scores are 21 and above. To examine the participants' metaphor use, the Video-Based Pragmatic Language Impairment Assessment Tool was applied and narrative examples were obtained. After the narratives were transcribed, metaphor usages were counted and the obtained value was analyzed. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 25 program was used in the statistical analysis of the scale findings obtained as a result of the data analysis. There was no significant difference between gender groups in terms of MoCA-TR scores and frequency of metaphor use (p-value = 0.4). There was no significant difference in the frequency of metaphor use between men and women (p-value > 0.9). A significant difference was found between young and old people in terms of MoCA-TR scores (p-value < 0.001). There was no significant difference between young people and older people in terms of metaphor use frequency (p-value = 0.8). There is no significant correlation between the age variable and the frequency of MoCA-TR and metaphor use. (r = -0.344, p < 0.001) (r = -0.121, p = 0.230) In this study, changes in metaphor use of elderly individuals were examined. The frequency of metaphor use in healthy Turkish-speaking adults does not vary depending on age and gender. However, cognitive performance decreases with age. This shows that the frequency of metaphor use does not change significantly with age. Key Words: Metaphor, narrative, language, communication, healthy adults.