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UNIT 2: BRAIN LANGUAGE LEARNING
Human beings are able to do millions of different activities which distinguish them from animals, like playing chess, building
bridges, etc… However, there is only one thing that we all do as homo sapiens, and that is talking to each other and
communicating.
• What makes language so special? The fact that language is deeply distinct to any other activity and all humans do it.
1. OR IGI NS O F L A NG UA GE
How did we come to have language?
• What is language?
• What do all human languages have in common?
• What is involved in learning it?
• What physical and mental machinery is needed to successfully speak, be understood, and understanding someone
else who’s speaking?
• What’s the role of genes in shaping any of the above behaviours?
Differences and similarities between human and animal language use. Is it different at its fundamental core or is it
just a more sophisticated version of what animals do?
2. BI OL OGI CA L F O UN DA TI ONS O F L AN GUA GE
Neurolinguistics → The study of the neural mechanisms in the human brain that control the comprehension, production
and acquisition of language. It is an interdisciplinary field:
• Neurologists → Study the brain, nervous system and behaviour.
• Linguists → Contribute knowledge about how language functions in the brain.
• Psychologists → Study language in non – impaired individuals.
• Speech pathologists → Study language problems, especially in fields like aphasia.
• Cognitive scientists → Study language processing theories and cognitive mechanisms.
The objects of neurolinguistics are language and the neural components, which can be divided into permanent things and
the processes they are involved in.
NE URO LO G Y
It started in the 19th – 20th century, studying the gross areas of the brain → Cortex and subcortical areas.
• The grosser areas are composed of different cell types and levels, however, there is little knowledge about individual
cells’ behaviour in language processing.
In neurolinguistics there are two major schools:
● Localizationistic → Started in the 19th century and states that the left hemisphere was the one responsible for
language.
● Holistic → Stated that language is a complex phenomenon that involves not only specific brain regions but also broader
cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and executive control. Additionally, it acknowledges the influence of
individual differences such as age, language proficiency and cultural background, on language processing and
acquisition.
IMPORTANT FIGURES
• Paul Brocca → He met a man named Mr. Leborgne, who had had an accident and suffered from seizures (hemiplegia)
and was unable to pronounce the syllable ‘tan’ (he died at the age of 21).
○ Broca realised he was able to understand and hadn’t lost the mobility from his mouth, tongue or fingers.
○ Therefore, Broca claimed that there were different functions on the brain that are in different parts of the
brain, each part working when different functions are needed.
○ In the autopsia, they saw he had damaged the left side of his frontal lobe, and decided to continue doing
