Introduction to Linguistics

Language + brain =
• The study of the neural and electrochemical bases of language development and use
• The study of the acquisition, storage, comprehension, and production of language

The brain http://www.g2conline.org/2022

Physical features of the brain
Hemisphere
• Temporal lobe
• Perception and recognition of auditory stimuli
• Frontal lobe
• Higher thinking and language production
• Parietal lobe
• Least involved in language perception and production
• Occipital lobe
• Vision
Cortex
• Auditory
• Visual
• Motor

Language centers

Language centers
Broca’s area
• Language production
Wernicke’s area
• Language comprehension
Arcuate fasciculus
• Connection between Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area
Angular gyrus
• Converts visual stimuli into auditory stimuli, or vice versa.
• The capacity to read and write

Producing a spoken word
Wernicke’s area
Accessing the lexicon
Arcuate fasciculus
Phonetic info from W to B
Broca’s area
Interpreting the received info
Motor cortex
Directing the movement of muscles for articulation

Hearing a word
Auditory cortex
• Processing received info by ears
Wenicke’s area
• Interpreting the info and matching it to a lexical entry

Reading a word
Visual cortex
• Processing received info by eyes
Angular gyrus
• Associating written form of word with lexical entry
Wenicke’s area
• Making available the meaning and pronunciation of word

How the brain works
• The brain is composed of neurons.
– Neurons are the basic units of information processing in the nervous system.
– There are about 10 billion interconnected neurons.

Contralateral

Split brain experiments
• The two hemispheres of the brain is connected by corpus callosum.
• The function of corpus callosum
– To commute the info between the two sides of the brain.

• Play the split brain experiments game at http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/me dicine/split-brain/index.html

Aphasia
• A language disorder produced by brain damage
• Major types
– Broca’s aphasia
– Wernike’s aphasia

Broca’s aphasia (Expressive aphasia)
• Symptoms
– Unable to express themselves by more than a single word at a time
– Content words are ok; function words are not
– “Yes... ah... Monday... er... Dad and
Peter H... and Dad.... er... hospital... and ah... Wednesday... Wednesday, nine o'clock... and oh... Thursday... ten o'clock, ah doctors... two... an' doctors... and er... teeth... yah’”
• Damaged area
– The front regions of the left hemisphere

Wernike’s aphasia
• Symptoms
– Fluent speech with no informational value
– Comprehension is impaired.
• “I called my mother on the television and did not understand the door. It was too breakfast, but they came from far to near. My mother is not too old for me to be young.”
• Damaged area
– Temporal lobe of the left hemisphere

• Broca’s aphasia
– Prevents a person from producing speech
– Person can understand language
– Words are not properly formed
– Speech is slow and slurred.
• Wernicke’s aphasia
– Loss of the ability to understand language
– Person can speak clearly but the words that are put together make no sense.

Conduction aphasia
• No connection between Broca’s area and
Wernike’s area
• Symptoms
– Be able to understand and produce speech, but cannot repeat what they have just heard.

Dyslexia
• Dyslexia
– The impairment of reading ability
• Symptoms
• Problems with spelling
• Reading difficulties
• Difficulties in recognizing individual sounds in words
• Difficulties in naming things.
• Problems organizing in the right order

Brain plasticity
• The ability of the brain to reorganize the neural pathways based on new experiences.
– The environment plays an important role.
• The implications on learning?