These articles were certainly interesting to read. I didn’t find any claims problematic; however, I do wonder what exactly would be the best way to learn vocabulary in a new language. “How we mean” discusses the different ways in which one can learn new words and the pros and cons of many. This made me realize that I often resort to rote words and definitions, yet that does not get me a true reference of the word in real-world context. For example, in Spanish, just learning that “mesa” means “table” does not distinguish whether table refers to a chart of data or a piece of furniture or both or neither. In retrospect, I have often structured my language learning in this flawed manner. But what then, is the better version? I know that to conceptualize or process meaning there must be a series of neurolinguistic processes involving stimuli sending signals to various parts of the brain. But what does that mean in practice? How does that look?
The other article allowed me to refresh on the various parts and functions of the brain and gave me a better understanding of and respect toward language processing. Specifically, I learned that comprehension of speech is managed by Wernicke’s area and encoding language (aka in biochemistry, production) is managed by Broca’s area.
Despite the many necessary biological processes though, I do not think language learning is purely biological. I believe motivation and passion can either positively or negatively affect learning. Even if someone has some sort of biological disadvantage (I’m not sure how that would technically work but it seems possible), that gap could likely be made up through intrinsic desire to learn a new language. Also the way in which you go about acquiring a new language can make a world of difference.
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