9.language-and-brain--简明英语语言学-戴炜栋

LanguagesandthebrainTwoareasinhumanbrainLateralizationHowisthebrainorganizedformultiplelanguages?SpecificQuestionsTwoMajorAreasoftheHumanBrainBroca’sarea（anareaintheleftfrontallobe左半脑额叶)——responsiblefortheabilitytospeak.Wernicke’sarea(anearbyareaadjacenttothepartofthecortex脑皮层)——responsibleforlanguageprocessing.Languageisrepresentedprimarilyinthelefthalfofthebrainwithinanareaaroundthesylvianfissure(acleavageseparatinglobesinthebrain-大脑侧裂)Languageactivityisnotlocalized,butcorelinguisticprocessesaretypicallyinthelefthemisphere.Specializationofthetwohalvesofthebrainisknownaslateralization,andispresenttosomeextentininfancy.Thereisincreasedspecializationasthebrainmaturesandhaslessplasticity（可塑性）.[note]:plasticity:AccordingtoLenneberg,beforetheendofthecriticalperiod,bothhemispheresareinvolvedtosomeextentinlanguageandonecantakeoveriftheotherisdamaged.Thisneurologicalflexibilityiscalledbrainplasticity.lateralization(脑部的偏侧优势)CriticalPeriodHypothesis(关键期假说)——LennebergchildrenhadonlyalimitednumberofyearstoacquiretheirL1flawlesslyiftheysufferedbraindamagetothelanguageareas;brainplasticityinchildhoodwouldallowotherareasofthebraintotakeoverthelanguagefunctionsofthedamagedareas,butbeyondacertainage,normallanguagewouldnotbepossible.PrincipalCommunicativeSpecializationofLandRHemisphereLefthemisphereRighthemispherephonologynonverbalmorphologyVisuospatialinformationsyntaxintonationFunctionwordsandinflectionsNonliteralmeaningandambiguityTonesystemManypragmaticabilities语用能力MuchlexicalknowledgeSomelexicalknowledgeRefertomovementwhichmaybemeaningfulbutisnonlinguisticinnatureNotes:Hemisphericspecializationforlanguageisthesameregardlessofwhetherthelanguageisspokenornot.Thetypicaldistributionofprimaryfunctionsisprobablyduetothelefthemisphere’sbeingmorepowerfulthantherightandthereforebettersuitedforprocessingthehighlycomplexelementsoflanguage.HowIstheBrainOrganizedforMultipleLanguages?Possibility:multiplelanguagesmayberepresentedindifferentlocationsinthebrainand/orhavedifferentnetworksofactivation.Methodsforgatheringdataacorrelationsoflocationofbraindamagewithpatternsofloss/recoverybpresentationsofstimulifromdifferentlanguagestotheright&theleftvisualorauditoryfieldstoinvestigatewhichsideofthebrainismostinvolvedinprocessingeachlanguage.cmappingthebrainsurfaceduringsurgerybyusingelectricalstimulationatprecisepointsandrecordingwhichareasareinvolvedinwhichaspectsofspeech,andinwhichlanguage.dPositionEmissionTomography(正电子发射X射线层析照相术)andothernoninvasiveimagingtechniquesthatallowdirectobservationofareasofthebrainwhichareactivatedbydifferentlanguagestimuliandtasks.P70SpecificQuestions※1.Howindependentarethelanguagesofmultilingualspeakers?※2.Howaremultiplelanguagestructuresorganizedinrelationtooneanotherinthebrain?Arebothlanguagesstoredinthesameareas?※3.DoestheorganizationofthebrainforL2inrelationtoL1differwithageofacquisition,howitislearnedorlevelofproficiency?※4.Dotwoormorelanguagesshowthesamesortoflossdisruptionafterbraindamage?Whenthereisdifferentialimpairmentorrecovery,whichlanguagerecoverfirst？1.Howindependentarethelanguagesofmultilingualspeakers?Nosingleanswertothisquestion(individualvariation&complexfactors)Conclusion:multiplelanguagesystemsareneithercompletelyseparatenorcompletelyfused.ErvinandOsgoodsuggestedathree-waypossibilityforhowlanguagesrelateinone’smind.Coordinate:parallellinguisticsystemsindependentofoneanother;Compound:afusedorunifiedsystem(simultaneousbilingualism);Subordinate:onelinguisticsystemaccessedthroughanother.2.Howaremultiplelanguagestructuresorganizedinrelationtooneanotherinthebrain?Arebothlanguagesstoredinthesameareas?Formostmultilinguals,L1andL2arestoredindifferentareasofthebrain,bothpredominantlyinareasofthelefthemisphere.ButrighthemispheremaybemoreinvolvedinL2thanL1.3.DoestheorganizationofthebrainforL2inrelationtoL1differwithageofacquisition,howitislearnedorlevelofproficiency?AgeofacquisitioninfluencesbrainorganizationformanyL2learners.IndividualswhoacquireL2laterinlifeshowmorerighthemisphereinvolvement.L2maybelearnedbymanymeansratherthanthesinglemeansfoundinL1acquisitionandmayhaveagreaterapparenthemisphericspread.OrganizationofL2knowledgeismorediffuseforlowerlevelsofproficiencyandmorecompactforhighlyfluentL2users.4.Dotwoormorelanguagesshowthesamesortoflossdisruptionafterbraindamage?Whenthereisdifferentialimpairmentorrecovery,whichlanguagerecoverfirst？Braindamageresultsinthesameorsimilarpatternsoflossandrecoveryforboth/allofthemostmultilingualpersons’languages.Earlyhypothesis:incaseofbraindamage,thelastlearnedlanguagewouldbethefirstlost,thenext-to-the-lastlearnedthesecondtobelost,withL1thelasttoremain;recoverywasspeculatedtobeL1first.OblerandGjerlowconcludes:Asignificantfactorininitialrecoveryiswhichlanguagewasmostusedintheyearsbeforebraindamage.BraindamageDifferentlanguagescanbeaffecteddifferentiallybybraindamage.Differentlanguageslieindifferentareas.Differentabilitiesinthesamelanguagemaybedifferentiallyimpaired.Differentelementsoflanguagearelocatedinseparatepartsofthebrain