Reflect on the readings. What parts of the brain are most important for the production and comprehension of speech? How do you conceptualize or process meaning? Do these readings bring to mind any questions or motivations that could help promote your foreign-language abilities, retention, and recollection?
Language is loosely tied to several (if not all) regions of the brain including Wernicke’s area, Heschl’s gyri, Broca’s area, and Exner’s centre. These areas are related to speech production, encoding of speech, auditory reception, and motor control of writing. Reading Crystal D.’s work made me quickly realize how interdependent our brains are when it comes to language. The conceptualization of a message is the first thing that happens before speech production. All the steps that occur between conceptualization and speech production occur in Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas. Our environments and norms, however, also inform how we internalize meanings and messages. As Crystal says, “different languages talk about the world in different way.” As we learn more languages, we expand our repertoire of senses and references begin to mean more than one thing. I think being conscious of this concept will both help me understand what learning another language means and facilitate the process.
Comments
This is an excellent post, Johnnette! I'm sorry that we did not get a chance to explore the reading on language and the brain last week. There have been several fascinating studies on neurological physiology in regards to language. We'll discuss several key episodes from medical science tomorrow in class, before discussing different qualitative aspects of culture. Well done!