Ling 21: LANGUAGE & THE BRAIN

Neurolinguistics: The study of how language is

represented and processed in the brain

ROAD MAP

Now that we’ve: Defined critical thinkingIdentified traits of a critical thinkerIdentified some of the barriers to critical thinking

andDefined and analyzed arguments in terms of their component parts, . . .

ROAD MAPWe will turn our attention briefly to some things that we know about language in the brain, in particular:The structure of the brainAphasiaSigned languages

Language in the Brain• Have you ever – Observed children learning learn their first language?– Studied American Sign Language?– Known anyone who has suffered a stroke?

• How are humans and other animals similar?• How do we communicate differently from other

animals?• How do researchers investigate how the brain is

organized and how it works?Language in the brain

THE HUMAN BRAIN• The brain is composed of neurons, nerve

cells that are the basic information processing units of the nervous system.

• The cerebral cortex is the gray wrinkled mass that sits over the rest of the brain and accounts for language representation and processing.

• The longitudinal fissure separates the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

• The corpus callosum is the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres.

FUNCTIONS of the BRAIN HEMISPHERES

• In terms of muscle movement, each hemisphere is responsible for half of the body – contralateral responsibilities.– Right hemisphere -> left side of body– Left hemisphere -> right side of the body

• In terms of higher cognitive functions, the hemispheres are lateralized – – Left hemisphere -> analytic tasks• Math, Language

– Right hemisphere -> recognition of complex patterns• Faces, Melodies

LATERALIZATION• Specialization of brain functions in either left

or right hemisphere of the brain• Said to occur around puberty• More pronounced with right-handed people

than left-handed people– RH people exhibit language difficulties

with damage to the right hemisphere– LH people show language representation

in both hemispheres• Said to contribute to differences between

children and adults with respect to second language learning

INVESTIGATING THE BRAIN• Autopsy studies – – Broca’s area: lower rear of left frontal lobe

• Images of the living brain– Computerized axial tomography (CAT scan)– Positron emission tomography (PET)• What does PET do?• How does it do that?• Describe the experiment – what the subject was

asked to do (three tasks) and what it showed

– Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

INVESTIGATING THE BRAIN

(continued)

• Learning from hemispheric connections and disconnections– Dichotic listening studies show that we

process language better through right ear

– Split brain studies – ‘key’ experiment

APHASIAA language deficit caused by damage to the

brain, often be a stroke or an accident• Nonfluent (motor) aphasia – front of left cortex– results in either slow effortful speech or complete

speechlessness– Broca’s aphasia – • Speech is very halting• Function words are omitted (it, is, to, a, etc.)• Pronunciation is simplified (spoon > poon, etc.)• Inflectional endings are omitted (running > run,

etc.)– Broca’ aphasics are aware of their language deficit

APHASIA

• Fluent (sensory) aphasia – rear of left cortex–No difficulty producing language–Great difficulty selecting, organizing

and monitoring language–Wernicke’s aphasia•Generally unaware of their deficit• Patient rarely makes any sense

YouTube - Wernicke's and Broca's Aphasia

LANGUAGE as FORM & CONTENT

• Non-fluent aphasia – Form is compromised but the content of language remains relatively intact.

• Fluent aphasia – Characterized by a rapid flow of form with little content.

• Working with aphasics

• Exercise: O’Grady, p. 534-535, questions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 & 7.

VISUAL LANGUAGE• Deafness is not a language

impairment.• Language vs. speech–Language = an abstract cognitive system–Speech = an action using the vocal-auditory mode

• Deafness requires a language in a different (i.e., non-vocal) mode

VISUAL LANGUAGES

• Sign languages differ from one culture to another.

• They are NOT mutually intelligible.

SIGNED LANGUAGES vs. PANTOMIME

• Pantomime = iconic• Signed languages = abstract• Three levels of iconicity for signs– Transparent: Understood by untrained

observers – eat, food– Translucent: Easy to recognize when they

are explained – wonder (OSU LF, p. 405)– Opaque: Have no recognizable

relationship to their referent – onion (OSU LF, p. 405)

SIGNED LANGUAGE vs. MANUAL CODES

• Manual code: An artificially contrived system for representing a natural language (e.g., Manually Coded English)– Has no syntax or structure of its own– Created by hearing people for the deaf

• Signed language: a natural language not based on the spoken language used around it– Has a distinct structure and syntax– Is created by deaf people

ASL vs. PSE vs. SEE• What’s the difference?– Signed Exact English: “What is your name?”– Pidgin Signed English: “What you name?”– American Sign Language: “You name what?”

• From a deaf person on Ask Yahoo: If you're taking a class or using books, the books will mostly be ASL. (Some will be SEE - Signing Exact English - but I would avoid those like the plague.) As you use the signs, you will naturally be using PSE - using ASL signs in English order - to communicate. As you learn more about the linguistics of the language you can switch to more ASL.… The signs would be similar, but the order would be different.In terms of communication between PSE and ASL, I'm Deaf and I don't have a problem with understanding PSE or using it myself with people who don't always "get" ASL, but I've had a lot of English training. Some native ASL users will have trouble understanding you if you're using PSE, but most are used to it from hearing people, so you won't have a lot of difficulty.

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE• Used by the deaf in the U.S. and

Canada• Dates to 1815 – Thomas Hopkins

Gallaudet• Influenced by– French Sign Language (SLF)– Deaf signs in use at the time–Written and spoken English

• Not mutually intelligible with British, Chinese, or Russian Sign Language

DICTIONARY OF ASL• Sign structure consists of 3 formational

elements (Parameters)• The shape of the hand used in the sign

(which fingers are used, whether fingers are extended or bent, the general configuration of the hand; E.G., ‘apple’ vs. ‘candy’)

• The place of articulation of the sign in space or on the signer’s body (temple, ear, chest, e.g., ‘apple’ vs. ‘onion’)

• The particular movement associated with the sign (repeated circular motion, slow elliptical motion, e.g., ‘think’ vs. ‘wonder’)

PHONEMES, CHEREMES• Alone they are meaningless (like letters)• Together they form different words when

combined in different ways (like tan & pan)• If I make the same movement at the same point of

articulation, but change the hand shape, the sign has a different meaning (apple & candy, p. 405)

• If I make the same movement with the same handshape at a different point of articulation, the sign has a different meaning (apple & onion, p. 405)

• Think and wonder have the same handshape and point of articulation, but differ in movement (p. 405).

PROSODYIn spoken languages, intonation affects

sentence meaning. Rising intonation often indicates a yes-no question.John fed the cat.John fed the cat?

In signed languages, facial expressions have the same function.

A yes-no question is accompanied by a raised brow.

PRONOUNSThe signer first signs the person or object

being discussed, then points or gazes to a point in space in front of his or her body.

When the signer wants to refer again in the conversation to the person or object, the signer points to that location.

This is the equivalent of the spoken he/she/it, him/her/it, etc.

STRESS & COMPOUNDING• In spoken English, the stress pattern of a

compound word distinguishes it from a mere combination of its components.

– BLACK BIRD vs. BLACKbird

• In ASL, the equivalent to vocal stress is duration; the second element in a compound is always stressed – the first is signed quicker.

– BLUE SPOT vs. blueSPOT

ASL SOCIOLINGUISTICS

• Dialect differences exist, – due to geographic isolation– ‘accents’ as well as vocabulary

differences

• Borrowing from English exists, due to– Bilingualism– Large specialized vocabulary of English– Linguistic oppression against the deaf– Struggle between pro-English & pro-ASL

factions among the deaf

SL NEUROLINGUISTICSDeaf people who suffer damage to the left

hemisphere of their brains will, like hearing people, suffer from aphasia- they may have slow awkward signing (Broca’s aphasia) or may produce ‘sign salad’ (Wernicke’s aphasia)

Damage to the right hemisphere frequently results in the loss of some spatial functioning. Patients asked to draw a clock, for example, may draw only a semicircle, neglecting the left side.

Deaf people who suffer damage to the right hemisphere of their brains will not lose their ability to sign.

Conclusion: Sign language is controlled by the same regions of the brain that control spoken language, not by the visuo-spatial centers.

American Sign Language

Pair Work

• In your first essay, you are asked to describe your strengths and weaknesses as a critical thinker, providing specific exam[ples to illustrate. In pairs, describe to your partner the situation you are planning to write about.