语言学技术师范学院

Introduction

toLinguisticsGengtang

WuGuangdong

Polytechnic

Normal

UniversityGuangzhou,

ChinaChapter

6

Language

and

Cognition6.1

Neurolinguistics

Neurolinguistics

studies

the

relation

oflanguage

and

communication

to

differentaspects

of

brain

function,

i.e.

it

tries

toexplore

how

the

brain

understands

andproduces

language

and

communication.

This

involves

attempting

to

combine

theoryfrom

neurology/neurophysiology（神经生理学）(how

the

brain

is

structured

and

how

itfunctions)with

linguistic

theory(howlanguage

is

structured

and

how

it

functions).1.Broca"s

area2.Wernicke"s

area3.The

motor

cortex/皮层运动区4.The

arcuate

fasciculus/弓状束Different

views

on

the

relationbetween

brain

and

language

Localism

tries

to

find

locations

or

centersin

the

brain

for

different

languagefunctions.

Associationism

placeslanguage

functions

in

the

connectionsbetween

different

areas

of

the

brain,making

it

possible

to

associate,

forexample,

perceptions

of

different

senseswith

words

and/or

“concepts”.

Dynamic

localization

of

functionassumes

that

functional

systems

oflocalized

sub-functions

perform

languagefunctions.

Such

systems

are

dynamic,

sothat

they

can

be

reorganized

duringlanguage

development

or

after

a

braindamage.

Holistic

theories

consider

many

languagefunctions

as

handled

by

large

parts

of

thebrain

working

together.(整体论)

Evolution

based

theories

stress

therelation

between

how

brain

and

languageevolved

over

time

in

different

species,

howthey

develop

in

children

and

how

adultsperform

language

functions.The

central

questions

of

neurolinguistics

What

happens

to

language

and

communicationafter

brain

damage

of

different

types?

How

did

the

ability

to

communicate

and

the

abilityto

use

language

develop

in

the

evolution

of

thespecies?

How

can

we

relate

this

development

tothe

evolution

of

the

brain?

How

do

children

learn

to

communicate

and

uselanguage?

How

can

we

relate

their

acquisition

of

language

tothe

development

of

their

brains?

How

can

we

measure

and

visualize

processes

inthe

brain

that

are

involved

in

language

andcommunication?

How

can

we

make

good

models

of

language

andcommunication

processes

that

will

help

us

toexplain

the

linguistic

phenomena

that

we

study?

How

can

we

make

computer

simulations

oflanguage

processing,

language

development

andlanguage

loss?

How

can

we

make

experiments

that

will

allow

us

totest

our

models

and

hypotheses

about

languageprocessing?Acquired

language

disorders

Aphasia

is

an

acquired

language

disorder,often

defined

as

a

focal

lesion

(i.e.

alesion

of

specific

areas).

Acquired

disorders

are

also

caused

byprogressive

neurological

diseases,e.g.dementias(痴呆).

Language

and

memory

are

closelyconnected

and

interdependent,

especiallyin

complex

higher

cognitive

functions.Developmental

language

disorders

Not

only

acquired

language

disorders,

butalso

developmental

language

disorders,i.e.disorders

that

are

found

in

childrenwithout

any

specific

lesion(器官损害)

event,are

of

interest

to

neurolinguistics.Neurolinguistic

approaches

todevelopmental

language

disorders,including

SLI

(specific

language

disorder),and

developmental

reading

and

writingproblems,including

dyslexia(阅读障碍).Language

evolution

The

development

of

language

and

speechand

prerequisites

for

language

and

speechin

the

evolution

of

the

species

also

need

tobe

considered

by

neurolinguists.

Thechanges

in

the

structures

and

function

of

thebrain

are

compared

to

the

ways

of

living

ofdifferent

species.

Animal

communicationsystems

are

studied

under

natural

conditions,especially

those

of

primates,

and

experimentswith

primates

being

taught

humancommunication

systems

are

carried

out.

For

a

neurolinguist,an

essential

source

ofknowledge

is

the

possibility

of

measuringbrain

activity

during

language

tasks

innormal

and

lesioned

brains.Static

picturesof

the

brain,where

lesion

sites

can

beseen,such

as

the

CT

scan(computertomography

scan),which

constructs

a

3-dimensional

picture

of

a

lesion

from

X-raysof

many

planes

of

the

brain,or

the

MRI(magnetic

resonance

image磁共振成像)isstandard

information

in

hospitals

today.

The

measurement

of

dynamic

activity

inthe

brain

during

language

tasks

bymethods

such

as

PET,fMRI

and

MEG

is

arelatively

new

tool.(PET=positronemission

tomography/正电子放射断层造影,

fMRI=functional

magnetic

resonanceimaging/功能磁共振成像,MEG=magnetic

encephalography/脑造影).Broca"s

aphasiaThe

type

of

serious

language

disorder

known

asBroca"s

aphasia

(also

called

"motor

aphasia")

ischaracterized

by

a

substantially

reduced

amountof

speech,

distorted

articulation

and

slow,

ofteneffortful

speech.

What

is

said

often

consistsalmost

entirely

of

lexical

morphemes

(e.g.

nounsand

verbs).

The

frequent

omission

of

functionalmorphemes

(e.g.

articles,

prepositions,

inflectionhas

led

to

the

characterization

of

this

type

ofaphasia

as

agrammatic(失语法性).Thegrammatical

markers

are

missing.In

Broca"s

aphasia,

comprehension

is

typicallymuch

better

than

production.Wernicke"s

aphasia

The

type

of

language

disorder

which

results

indifficulties

in

auditory

comprehension

is

sometimescalled"sensory

aphasia",but

is

more

commonly

knownas

Wernicke"s

aphasia.Someone

suffering

from

thisdisorder

can

actually

produce

very

fluent

speech

whichis,however,often

difficult

to

make

sense

of.Verygeneral

terms

are

used,even

in

response

to

specificrequests

for

information,as

in

this

sample:I

can"ttalk

all

of

the

things

I

do,and

part

of

the

part

Icango

alright,but

I

can"t

tell

from

the

other

people.Difficulty

in

finding

the

correct

words(sometimesreferred

to

as

anomia/命名性失语)is

also

verycommon

and

circumlocutions

may

be

used,

as

in

thisanswer

(to

the

question

"What"s

ink

for?"):

to

do

with

apen.Conduction

aphasia传导性失语症

One

other,