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September 25, 2005
Japenese Writing Systems
Question: In Japanese, there are several writing systems. Kana is phonetic (like English-the spelling corresponds to sounds, more or less) and Kanji is symbolic (like Chinese-words are represented as pictures). Reading which language would be more affected by left brain damage (and back it up with reasons) and reading which language would be more affected by right brain damage?
It would be expected that Kana, a phonetic language that corresponds to sounds like English, would be more affected by left brain damage, while, Kanji, a more symbolic language using pictures, would be more affected by right brain damage. As stated in An Introduction to Language, “he accuracy with which subjects report what they heard is evidence that the left hemisphere is superior for linguistic processing, and the right hemisphere is superior for nonverbal information” (Fromkin 42). Many tests and experiments have been conducted to further prove this lateralization or the differentiation of the right brain abilities from the left brain abilities. One type of experimentation is called dichotic testing where “subjects hear two different sound signals simultaneously through earphones” (41). They may hear a laugh in one ear, and the word “cry” in another. “When asked to state what they heard in each ear, subjects are more frequently correct in reporting linguistic stimuli delivered directly to the right ear, but are more frequently correct in reporting nonverbal stimuli delivered to the left ear” (41). These tests show that the left hemisphere is more likely to distinguish and recognize actual words than the right hemisphere. The right hemisphere, then, would probably be more likely to decipher pictures and colors. To further this idea, many savants who are brilliant in calculating and completing large mathematical equations, do not seem to have the ability to be creative (49). Cases of actual people who have had part of their brain removed have not been able to regain their speech and or their ability to recognize certain objects. There is definitely a separation between creativity and speech development, and these two Japanese languages are definitely examples of this differentiation between the two hemispheres. ** To add, in high school, we were told to complete tests concerning right and left brain thinkers. It is truly interesting how some people really utilize their right brain skills by developing a vocabulary and making incredibly complex sentences, while others can analyze paintings and find great pleasure in color and art.
Posted by lcisgancarz at September 25, 2005 09:32 PM
Comments
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Posted by: AShley at April 17, 2008 12:23 PM