Languade:Chapter 2: Definitions:

♥Neurolinguistics : the study concerned with the biological and neural

foundations of language
♥The brain consists of ten billion nerve calls (neurons) and billions of fibers that
interconnect them
♥The cortex : it is the neurons or the “gray” matter :
1- The cortex is the decision - making organ of the body
2- It receives messages from all the sensory organs
3- It initiates all voluntary actions
4- It is the storehouse of “memory”
5- The gray matter ( cortex ) is the place where the grammar that represent
our knowledge of language resides
♥ The brain is divided into two parts called the cerebral hemispheres and they
are connected the by corpus callosum
♥ The corpus callosum consists of two million fibers connecting the cells of the
left and the right hemispheres
♥ The contralateral brain function: the left hemisphere controls the movement
of the right side of the body and vice versa
♥ The theory of localization by Franz Joseph Gall :1- the different human ability
and behaviors were traceable to specific parts of the brain
2-Phrenology: the practice of determining personality traits, intellectual
capacities and other matters by examination of the “bumps” on the skull
♥ Johann Spur Zheim, Gall’s student, said that language is located directly
under the eye
♥ Modularity of the brain: the brain is divided into distinct anatomical
faculties ( referred to as cortical organs ) that were directly responsible for
specific cognitive functions, including language
♥ Language is lateralized: the term is used to refer to any cognitive functions
which are primary localized to one side of the brain or another
♥ Aphasia is the neurological term used to refer to language disorder that
follow brain lesions caused by a stroke, tumor, a gunshot wound, other trumas ,
or an infection

Broca’s aphasia Carl Wernicke’s aphasia

The problem is in the front area , The problem is on the back portion of
on the left the left hemisphere
Labored speech Patients speak fluently with good
intonation and pronunciation
Word-finding pauses Numerous instances of lexical errors
(word substitution) often producing
jargon and nonsense words
Loss of function words
Disturbed word order
(Language disorder but not
language loss)
No difficulty in comprehending Difficulty in comprehending speech
speech

✔ Hemiplegic children: those with acquired unilateral lesions of the brain who
retain both hemispheres ( one normal and one diseased) show different
cognitive abilities
✔ Left damaged hemisphere : deficiency in language acquisition and
performance
✔ Right damaged hemisphere: acquiring language as do normal children
✔ Split brain: the corpus callosum is cut and the pathway is split so there’s no
communication between the “two brains”
✔ Dichotic listening: experimental method for testing braiin lateralization in
which subjects hear different auditory signals in the left and the right ears
✔ Three evidences to support that language is in the left hemisphere :
Hemiplegic children
Split brain
Dichotic listening
Broca’s aphasia Wernicke’s aphasia
It is referred to as grammatic Patients produce fluent, but
(problems with syntax) unintelligible speech
A problem with the passive voice Serious comprehension problems
and difficulty in lexical selection
Difficulty in interpreting sentences Difficulty naming objects
correctly when comprehension
depends on syntactic structures
✔ Jargon aphasia: substitution of one sound for another. Patients with
Wernicke’s aphasia often produce such jargon.
✔ Acquired dyslexics: substituted words are not just randomly selected, but
are similar to the intended words either in the sounds or in their meanings
✔ Tip of the tongue (TOT): a phenomenon which is not uncommon. Aphasics
with such problems are said to be suffer from anomia ( they can never find
the word they want)
✔ Specific Language Impairment(SLI): children who have difficulties in
acquiring language or are much slower than the average child