5. How the human acquire and
use language?
Research on the brain in humans and nonhuman primates,
anatomically, psychologically, and behaviorally is helping
to answer the questions connecting the neurological
basis for language.
Neurolinguistics is the study of how language is represented and
processed in the brain.
We will discuss the language and the brain such as the definition, the reason
why only human can speak the language, the process/ mechanism, the
theories, the contribution, and the examples.
6. The Definition
The brain is one of the important organs that located in human’s
head that composed of neurons, nerve cells that are the
basic information processing units of the nervous
system
The language is the human ability to acquire and use
complex systems of communication, the scientific study of
language is called linguistics.
7.
8. THE HUMAN BRAIN
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.
10. HUMAN’S BRAIN DIFFERS FROM
GORILLA’S
Human’s
Brain is More
Complete and
complex
MOSTLY FOR PHYSICAL
SURVIVAL
NO SPECIAL BOX FOR
LANGUAGE
COMPLETED WITH 2
HEMISPHERES (LEFT AND
RIGHT), SPECIAL BOX FOR
LANGUAGE, CORPUS
COLLOSUM, WERNICKE,
BROCA and so on.
11. Language ability as a difference in degree
between humans and other primates
Nonhuman primates could
not develop speech because
their vocal tracts couldn’t
produce a large enough
inventory of speech sounds.
Mynah birds and parrots
have the ability to imitate
human speech, but not the
ability to acquire language
The development of a vocal tract
capable of producing the wide
variety of sounds can only utilized
by human.
13. GORILLA’S EPIGLOTIS IS HIGHER
THAN HUMAN’S
Gorilla Vs. Human
GORILLA’S RESONANT CAVITY IS
SMALLER THAN HUMAN’S.
BIOLOGICALLY
GORILLA’S TEETH are NOT
LEVELLY POSITIONED, NOT LIKE
HUMAN’S
GORILLA’S LABIAL FORMS ARE
THIN AND LONG, NOT LIKE
HUMAN’S THICK AND SHORT.
14. Why is the brain so well suited to
learning language?
The structure of human language
is inevitably shaped around human
learning and processing biases
deriving from the structure of our
thought processes (brain).
Language is easy for us to learn
and use, not because our brains
embody knowledge of language, but
because language has adapted to our
brains.
15. The connection between the brain
and the language
Human brain structure
is the fundamental basis
of the relationship
between language and
the brain.
17. PAUL BROCA, a French neurosurgeon
In 1861,
found that damage to
the front part of the
left hemisphere
resulted in loss of
speech.
18. Broca’s Area
He examined Tan’s brain (a recently deceased
patient who had had an unusual
disorder). Tan could neither speak a
complete sentence nor express his
thoughts in writing. The only
articulate sound he could only
make syllable “tan”.
“we speak
with the left
hemisphere”
-Broca-
19. CARL WERNICKE, a German neurologist
In 1871, he discovered
another part of the brain,
this one involved in
understanding language,
He found
in the posterior portion of the
left temporal lobe. People who
had a lesion at this location
could speak, but their speech
was often incoherent and made
no sense.
20. The Language Loop
Lateral Sulcus :
one of the most prominent structures
of the human brain.
Broca's Area:
the production of language, or
language outputs
Wernicke's Area :
processing of words that we hear
being spoken, or language inputs.
Arcuate Fasciculus :
a large bundle of nerve fibres which
connect Broca's area and Wernicke's
area
21. This language loop is found in the left hemisphere in about :
90% of
right-handed
persons
70% of
left-handed
persons
Language being one of the functions
that is performed asymmetrically in
the brain. This loop would therefore
not appear to be specific to heard or
spoken language, but rather to be
more broadly associated with whatever
the individual’s primary language
modality happens to be.
23. Language in Brain
Neurolinguistics
.
The relationship
between language
and the brain
How it all
started?
Where is
language located
in the brain?
24. Parts of the brain
Parts of the brain that are related to language functions are in the areas
Brain stem:
connects the brain
to the spinal cord
Left
hemisphere
Corpus callosum:
connects the two
hemispheres
Right
hemisphere
above the left ear.
25. Parts of the brain
• Anterior speech cortex
• Controls Syntax
(1)
Broca’s
area
• Posterior speech cortex
• controls Semantics
(2)
Wernicke’s
area
26. Parts of the brain
• Controls the movement of
the muscles (for moving
hands, feet, arms, etc. as
well as muscles of the face,
jaw, tongue, and larynx.
• Involved in the physical
articulation of speech
• Two neurosurgeons: Penfield
and Roberts (1959)
(3)
Motor
cortex:
27. Parts of the brain
• A bundle of nerve fiber
• Wernicke’s discovery
• Connection between
Broac’s area and
Wernicke’s area
(4)
Arcuate
Fasciculus
28. When does brain began to produce
language?
Every child already
has their LAD
(language acquisition
device) since they
were born even when
they were in their
mom’s womb.
29. Is language
totally left-lateralized?
Not completely.
Adults with left cerebral
hemispheres surgically
removed lose most, but not all of
their linguistic competence.
They lose the ability to speak and
process complex syntactic
patterns, but retain some language
comprehension ability.
31. Human Voice
Input (voice)
Respond by temporal lobe and
the primary auditory cortex:
received, digested, and
processed
Send to Wernicke's
Area
Interpreted (In this area sounds
broken down into syllables,
words, phrases, clauses, and
finally the sentence)
Voice and information
understood.
Memory (no
need verbal
respond)
Broca’s Area
(need verbal
response)
32. In Broca’s Area…
Prepare Sound
verbal
response
Send to the motor
cortex (an utterance
there is at least 100
muscle and
neuromuscular barrage
involved 140,000)
Sound be considered not
only the order of words
and sound sequences,
but also the order of the
features of the sounds
to be uttered
Example….
33. Example…
Consist of /
d / / i /, / e
“die” “tie”
/
Consist of / t
/, / i/, / e /
1. Deciding the features of the
phoneme: Phoneme / d / has a feature
[+ voice], [+ consonant], [+ anterior],
[-bilabial], [+ alveolar], [-nasal] ->
2. motor cortex -> 3. vocal cords 30
milliseconds -> 4. attached to the tip
of the tongue in the mouth of
Regional alveolar to the sound / d /
coordinated with all so neat &
accurate coordination
In contrast,
/ t / -> 25 milliseconds
after the sound
To : ensure that the
billabial sound that comes
out it really / d /, and not /
t /
Without this accuracy then the
conversation would sound like a
stranger
34. Written Form
Input in written form a
text/ discourse
Visual cortex in the
occipital lobe
Angular lines (coordinating
understanding areas with
occiptipal areas)
To the Wernicke areas -
interpreted (In this area sounds
broken down into syllables, words,
phrases, clauses, and finally the
sentence
Broca areas (verbal
responses) / areas perietal
(process visualization)
areas understanding
36. 1. Aphasia
• A language deficit caused by
damage to the brain, often be a
stroke or an accident
• According to Rosenzweig,
aphasia divided into 3
categories:
1.
Broca’s
aphasia
• Nonfluent
speech
2.
Wernicke’s
aphasia
• Fluent
speech but
unintelligible
3.
Global
aphasia
• Total loss
of language
37. 2. Dyslexia
• Dyslexia is a specific
impairment of reading
in a person with
adequate vision and
adequate skills in other
academic areas.
– More common in boys.
– Research suggests a
genetic influence.
