Due to the various anatomic names that I am very unfamiliar with, it was difficult trying to understand the readings. But from what I had gathered, there is a lot that goes on in order for the brain to handle and understand languages. As read in the readings, there are various parts such as the right and left hemisphere which work together in order to understand what is being heard and what is being seen, which helps someone when trying to learn a language. The parts of the brain that are most important for the production and comprehension of speech can be found in specific parts of the cortex. Two important areas are known as the Broca’s and Wernicke’s area. If the Broca’s area is damaged, the person loses their ability to speak but comprehension still stays intact. As for Wernicke’s area, if that were to be damaged, the person is still able to speak relatively well, but lose their comprehension of speech. There are also other parts of the brain that help aid in understanding speech such as manual signing and the process of visual input which are important when trying to understand speech. Therefore, the first reading titled “How the brain handles languages” discusses more of the biological phenomenon of language. The brain is essential in order for a person to begin to even understand what is being said to them. While it is important to hear and read, that still does not mean that we have a complete comprehension of the language. The second part of the readings, “How we mean and How we analyze meaning,” demonstrate that we need help from external factors in order to fully grasp the semantics of the word. These readings talk about the naturalist and conventionalist views, in which the former is about how “...we would be able to tell the meaning of words just by hearing them,” (p. 187) whereas conventionalists believe in the arbitrary relationship between the two. There is also the difference between word and lexeme. Lexeme is more about the meanings of units in a word which help create semantic domains. This area I was a bit confused on how to fully comprehend but it was really interesting to read how it can be difficult to find words that mean exactly what you want to convey and the intricacies that comes with comprehending a language. By knowing parts of the brain that are specifically for learning a language, I can try to figure out studying plans that work best for these parts. Also, I learned the importance of being able to understand that trying to understand a language can be difficult because we need to take into consideration the numerous meanings and differences a word would have across various languages. Therefore I would be able to understand the culture better because I would be learning the meanings of words in that specific context.
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