12. Language and the brain
Neurolinguistics
neurolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and the brain.
Language areas in the brain
the most important parts are around the ear on the left.
Broca's area
The Broca's area (anterior speech cortex) is a part of the brain where it is reported
that if it has been damaged it can be difficult to produce spoken language.
Wernicke's area
The Wernicke’s area (posterior speech cortex) is a part of the brain where it has
been reported that if it has been damaged it can lead to speech comprehension
difficulties.
The motor cortex and the Arcuate Fasciculus
The motor context is the part of a brain that controls the movement of muscles.
The Arcuate Fasciculus is a bundle of nerve fibres and forms a crucial connection
between Wernicke's and Broca's areas.
The localization views.
It is tempting to conclude that specific aspects of language ability can be accorded
specific locations in the brain → localization view.
Tongue tips and slips
Minor production difficulties we all sometimes experience may provide possible clues
to how our linguistic knowledge is organized within the brain.
The tip of the tongue phenomenon
The tip of the tongue phenomenon is where we know the word, but it just won't come
to the surface. But when this happens, we generally know the phonological outline,
can get the initial sound right and know the number of syllables. This may suggest
that our ‘word-storage’ system may be partially organized based on some
phonological information.
We make a lot of mistakes in this retrieval process when words have phonological
similarities → malapropisms.
Neurolinguistics
neurolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and the brain.
Language areas in the brain
the most important parts are around the ear on the left.
Broca's area
The Broca's area (anterior speech cortex) is a part of the brain where it is reported
that if it has been damaged it can be difficult to produce spoken language.
Wernicke's area
The Wernicke’s area (posterior speech cortex) is a part of the brain where it has
been reported that if it has been damaged it can lead to speech comprehension
difficulties.
The motor cortex and the Arcuate Fasciculus
The motor context is the part of a brain that controls the movement of muscles.
The Arcuate Fasciculus is a bundle of nerve fibres and forms a crucial connection
between Wernicke's and Broca's areas.
The localization views.
It is tempting to conclude that specific aspects of language ability can be accorded
specific locations in the brain → localization view.
Tongue tips and slips
Minor production difficulties we all sometimes experience may provide possible clues
to how our linguistic knowledge is organized within the brain.
The tip of the tongue phenomenon
The tip of the tongue phenomenon is where we know the word, but it just won't come
to the surface. But when this happens, we generally know the phonological outline,
can get the initial sound right and know the number of syllables. This may suggest
that our ‘word-storage’ system may be partially organized based on some
phonological information.
We make a lot of mistakes in this retrieval process when words have phonological
similarities → malapropisms.
