The Brain and Language

Professor Dave again, let’s learn about language.
We just learned about brain lateralization,

or the notion that certain cognitive functions
can be localized more specifically in one

hemisphere of the brain over the other.
Language is one such function, as it is highly

localized in the left hemisphere.
Attempts to understand why this is the case

can help us understand the evolution of cerebral
lateralization in general, so let’s take

a look at how the brain processes language.
The motor theory of lateralization proposes

that the left hemisphere controls fine movements,
speech being one of these, but our ability

to make a variety of noises with our mouths
is far from the full story when it comes to language.
Unlike other animals, we are able to take

a finite set of elements, which comprise some
alphabet, and use them to express any idea

imaginable, new or old, concrete or abstract.
Even monkeys and whales and dolphins, which

do exhibit rudimentary forms of speech, can’t
do what we do.
They do not have such fine motor control over

speech so as to produce the distinct syllables
that we can.
But they are also not as hard-wired as we

are to be able to perceive and comprehend
these sounds, something that is innate in

humans, which are able to learn their parents’
languages remarkably quickly in infancy.
What are the specific areas of the brain that

are responsible for this capacity?
Two critical regions are called Broca’s

area and Wernicke’s area.
The first of these is responsible for the

motor functions that allow us to formulate
syllables with our mouths, since damage to

this area results in impairment of this function,
without affecting the ability to understand language.
The second area is the one that is responsible

for the understanding of language, since damage
to this region does not impair the ability

to vocalize, but results in complete nonsense
being spoken.
These two regions together with the basal

nuclei form a language implementation system
that analyzes words that are heard and produces

our own speech in response.
A surrounding set of cortical areas links

this system with other regions of the cortex
that are responsible for conceptualization

of ideas, essentially enabling us to communicate
our thoughts.
This highlights the features of language that

are lateralized, though there are functions
of the opposing hemisphere that are also relevant,

which allow us to interpret the nonverbal
components of language, such as body language,

gestures, and any kind of tone or quality
that would signify the emotional content of

what is heard.
Much of what we have mentioned so far can

be considered part of the Wernicke-Geschwind model.
This is comprised of seven components, two

of which are Broca’s area and Wernicke’s
area, which we just discussed.
The others are the primary visual cortex,

angular gyrus, primary auditory cortex, arcuate
fasciculus, and the primary motor cortex.
All of these are in the left hemisphere of

the brain, not surprisingly.
Now let’s trace the brain activity that

occurs during a conversation.
According to this model, when you are listening

to someone talk, their voice is converted
into signals that are sent to the primary
auditory cortex, and then conducted to Wernicke’s area.
This is where we can imagine that the words

are actually comprehended, as this is where
the neural representation of the thought underlying

the reply is generated, which is then sent
via the arcuate fasciculus over to Broca’s area.
From there, information is sent to the primary

motor cortex, which controls the muscles in
your mouth so that you may respond.
Instead, when reading aloud, the visual information

of the written words is sent to the primary
visual cortex, and this information is transmitted

to the angular gyrus, which translates the
written word into the corresponding auditory

signal, and sends that to Wernicke’s area
for comprehension.
The rest follows the same path already outlined.
We should note that this is simply a model,

and is likely somewhat of an oversimplification
of brain function.
There is empirical evidence to support this

model, relating to patients with brain injuries
in specific areas, and the observation of

the type and severity of function loss.
But the model is not flawless, it can’t

account for all of the data, and not all of
its predictions have been confirmed.
But it is a reasonable model that serves as

a basic understanding of how the brain perceives
and produces language.
There is plenty more to discuss here, and

it is up for debate the degree to which we
are innately programmed to learn language,

with syntactical and grammatical rules fully
formed in the brain, according to Noam Chomsky’s

theory of universal grammar.
We will touch on this again in a future linguistics
course, but for now let’s now move on to
some other topics.

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Professor Dave again, let’s learn about language.

We just learned about brain lateralization,

can be localized more specifically in one

Language is one such function, as it is highly

Attempts to understand why this is the case

lateralization in general, so let’s take

The motor theory of lateralization proposes

speech being one of these, but our ability

is far from the full story when it comes to language.

Unlike other animals, we are able to take

alphabet, and use them to express any idea

Even monkeys and whales and dolphins, which

They do not have such fine motor control over

But they are also not as hard-wired as we

these sounds, something that is innate in

languages remarkably quickly in infancy.

What are the specific areas of the brain that

Two critical regions are called Broca’s

The first of these is responsible for the

syllables with our mouths, since damage to

without affecting the ability to understand language.

The second area is the one that is responsible

to this region does not impair the ability

These two regions together with the basal

that analyzes words that are heard and produces

A surrounding set of cortical areas links

that are responsible for conceptualization

This highlights the features of language that

of the opposing hemisphere that are also relevant,

components of language, such as body language,

that would signify the emotional content of

Much of what we have mentioned so far can

This is comprised of seven components, two

area, which we just discussed.

The others are the primary visual cortex,

fasciculus, and the primary motor cortex.

All of these are in the left hemisphere of

Now let’s trace the brain activity that

According to this model, when you are listening

This is where we can imagine that the words

the neural representation of the thought underlying

via the arcuate fasciculus over to Broca’s area.

From there, information is sent to the primary

your mouth so that you may respond.

Instead, when reading aloud, the visual information

visual cortex, and this information is transmitted

written word into the corresponding auditory

The rest follows the same path already outlined.

We should note that this is simply a model,

There is empirical evidence to support this

in specific areas, and the observation of

But the model is not flawless, it can’t

its predictions have been confirmed.

But it is a reasonable model that serves as

and produces language.

There is plenty more to discuss here, and

are innately programmed to learn language,

formed in the brain, according to Noam Chomsky’s

some other topics.