Zooming In: brain and language Archives

September 27, 2005

Question #3

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?

Reading Kana would be more affected by left brain damage because the part of the brain that dominates in the learning and use of language is in the left hemisphere. Reading Kanji, the symbolic language, would be more affected by right brain damage because it is the right hemisphere of the brain that focuses on recognizing the meaning of visual symbols

Posted by lcisowens at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)

September 26, 2005

Question 3

Reading Kana would be affected by left brain damage because this side of our brain is the centre for the ability to understand, interpret and use a language built of symbols that represented syllables as Kana does. The same, left side of our brain is also responsible for our mathematical ability in addition to our comprehension of rhythm and our temporal-order judgments (Fromkin, 41). While the right-hand side of the brain is responsible for pattern matching, spatial orientation and facial recognition (Fromkin, 41), making it possible to understand a language such as Kanji where each symbol represents a word. Therefore were the right brain damaged an individuals ability to comprehend, interpret and use Kanji would be impaired.

~ Nanette Savides

Posted by lcissavides at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)

A Recipe for Sentence Formation

When a normal functioning person forms a sentence, he or she usually does not even have to think about what they are saying and how they need to piece together the elements of the sentence in order to make it logical and coherent, so it is weird to sit here and actually take the time to think about how exactly the brain assembles sentences.

In order to form the sentence "My patient had brain damage" the brain would first need to focus on the message that is trying to be conveyed. A person, who happens to be a patient, experienced damage to a part of his body, his brain, at some point in the past, and this person happens to be my patient. Those are all of the meanings found in that sentence. Once the brain has determined those meanings, it instantly finds the words in its vocabulary to represent those meanings. The next step is putting together the words to form a correct sentence. The brain focuses on the subject of the sentence, the patient, and molds the sentence around it. The brain makes an effort to convey this message as succinctly as possible so instead of saying "A patient, who happens to by my own..." it simply uses the possesive "my." Once the subject has been established the brain would then convey the next message concerning what happened to the patient, or the term "brain damage." So thus far the sentence is "My patient brain damage," but because the brain has had years and years of experience is speaking grammatically correct, it knows that these words alone are not enough. It then adds the correct verb to denote that the brain damage was experienced by the patient, and this verb is automatically conjugated according to when the experience happened.

Sometimes the brain makes mistakes though. If the same sentence were to come out as "My patient had dain bramage," that would mean that at some point in the formation of this sentence something went wrong. All of the meanings that need to be conveyed are present, and the sentence is grammatically correct as well, but it is the formation of the words to represent that meanings that is incorrect. When the brain decided which words to use to convey each message it did so almost simultaneously so that all the words were chosen at basically the same time. Since the brain was focussing on all 5 words at the same time, it confused some of them, causing several letters on one to be switched with a letter on another, resulting in "dain bramage." Since the process of sentence formation is so rapid, the brain sent out the sentence to be spoken before even realizing that it was incorrect.

Posted by lcissullivan at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)

Brain and Language... Question 3!

I must be ignorant; I always thought the Japanese language seemed rather difficult, but I had no idea that there were two completely different languages... let alone two different languages that used two completely different parts of your brain! I can't imagine trying to communicate with someone if I know one language, and they know the other. How frustrating must that get?!?

Okay, so the question for discussion:

As Kana is the phonetic language of the two, with spelling, and sounds, it is more like "language" as we think of and know it. The left side of the brain is predisposed for langauage from birth, and is better for processing verbal sounds and grammar concepts. There is plenty evidence of this from many tests and studies, including event-related-brain potential tests. Oh, and not to mention the demonstration of our brain having structured seperate facilities by Phineas Gage, the man who had a 4 foot iron rod through his head and still functioned, including language-wise, just fine!

Kanji, the symbolic Japanese language in which pictures represent words, would be processed by the right side of the brain instead. The right side has be found to be better in non-verbal, more visual processing, which includes pattern matching and recognizing faces.

Considering all this, if brain damage was to happen to someone on the left side, the Kana language would by far be more affected than the Kanji. If there was right side brain damage, the symbolic Kanji language would be much more affected.

Eeeesh!

Posted by lcisthur at 02:14 AM | Comments (0)

Language Chapt. Two

I don't think anybody else has answered this question yet in a post, so I picked it just to be different. :) It doesn't make much sense, but I thought it was an interesting question, and I'd like to know the real answer.

Question Two:

A person who doesn’t have any speaking difficulty would quickly think of what they want to say and the words come out verbally as the person’s brain works quickly like a database to search for the correct words in the correct sequence. It also helps if the speaker thought clearly and had a moment to think before they spoke.

When someone speaks incorrectly, they may switch the beginning sounds of words which translates into nonsense. We all make this mistake every now and then, and speaking from personal experience, this is because the speaker doesn’t think about what the words as they’re saying them, like when they are speaking fast, for any reason such as anger, excitement, etc. Because someone who is aphasic has a damaged brain and therefore a damaged thinking process, the words often don’t come out right.

Posted by lcishagan at 12:22 AM | Comments (0)

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 09:32 PM | Comments (1)

Kana vs. Kanji

Kanji are one of the five character sets used in Japanese. It consists of Chinese characters that are like pictures. In Kanji, different words would have different "pictures". On the other hand, Kana consists of syllables that correspond to sounds.

The human brain has two hemispheres: left and right. The left hemisphere is superior for language, rhythmic perception, and mathematical judgements. If a person suffers from damage or loss of left hemispheric brain, then he/she wouldn't be able to comprehend to Kana - the syllables. The right hemisphere corresponds to non verbal information, such as drawings and pictures. Therefore, loss of right hemisphere brain will lose ability to read in Kanji - the pictures.

Posted by lcisbold at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)

Sounds v. Pictures

Number Three:

Reading Kana would be more affected by left hemisphere damage because it is based on sounds and syllables (like English). The left hemisphere is where language is laterilized. Those with damage to loss of the left side cannot speak (according to Broca). On the other hand, reading Kanji would be effected by right hemisphere because generally the right side of the brain deals with "mathematics, logic, facial recognition, and drawing." If the right side of the brain is damaged, a patient might not be able to use logic and peice the words together to form coherent sentences.

Posted by lcisyeich at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)

Brain and Language Question 3

In Japanese, kana is sound based like English is and there are symbols that correspond to syllables. Kanji is ideographic and each symbol corresponds to a word. Damage to the left hemisphere would impair someone's ability to read kana because the left hemisphere of the brain is the "verbal hemisphere" and is where we process sounds that we hear. Someone with damage to this part of their brain probably would not be able to put together the sounds that they saw on the paper since kana is made up of syllables. Damage to the right hemisphere of the brain would impair someone's ability to read kanji because the right side of our brain specializes in mathematics, logic, facial recognition, and drawing. This is the more visual side of our brain and if since kanji is made up of pictures, someone with damage to this side of the brain might not be able to put a symbol together with an actual picture of an object.

Posted by lcismardin at 07:37 PM | Comments (0)

Brain and Language Question #3

Someone with left brain damage would have difficulty in reading Kana, the phonetic language, because the left brain is typically associated with language, grammar, rhythimic perception, and mathematical thinking. Kana represents the sounds and syllables of the language which therefore can be processed better by the left side of the brain. Kanji is an ideographic language where the symbols depict the action or noun in a way that does not represent how the words are pronounced. The right brain does visual tasks such as recognizing faces and spatial orientation and someone with right brain damage would find it difficult to read Kanji because it is a language composed of visuals.

Posted by lcisfreya at 03:48 PM | Comments (0)

Chapter 2

Question #3

Kana, the phonetic language, would eb more affectd by left brain damage and Kanji, the symbolic language would be more affected by right brain damage. The left brain deals more with the verbal aspects and therefore a phonetic language like Kana or English would be hard to read if there's damage. When reading a phonetic language, the brain actually still sounds out the words in order to comprehend the reading. The right brain is more visual and would help read a symbolic language like Kanji and therefore if damaged, it would be quite difficult to make sense of the symbols.

-Jessica F.

Posted by lcisfaria at 03:01 PM | Comments (0)

Language Chapter 2: Question #1

This question is a very interesting one because it seems that the language of each aphasiac is affected differently by disease or trauma. However, some similarities can be found. For example, patients with damage to the front part of the left hemisphere, Broca’s Aphasiacs, tend to have difficulty with diction, syntax, and small function words. On the other hand, patients with damage to the back of the left hemisphere, known as Wernicke’s Aphasiacs, had difficulty with vocabulary and diction. However, their pronunciation and speaking skills were excellent.
In general, the language problems of aphasics seem to be small, but they make a big difference in language. In the examples that were given in the book, the most common problems included misuse of specific parts of speech and difficulty with word order. In general, vocabulary did not seem to pose a problem. Patients had no trouble choosing words that signified what they were trying to convey. In addition, although I was unable to study the pronunciation of the patients, there was no comment about overwhelming mispronunciation by the patients. Thus, although the language of each aphasiac is changed uniquely by trauma or disease, it seems that, in general, grammar and finer points of language are what is lost by aphasics, while a larger sense of vocabulary and general rules of language are maintained.

Posted by lciscotis at 01:55 PM | Comments (0)

Question Number 3

Question 3...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?

Reading Kana would be more difficult if a person had left brain damage. This is becuase Kana is based on the sound system of the language and the left hemisphere of the brain is superior for linguistic processing and understanding language based on words alone. With the left hempisphere damaged, people would have a hard time hearing the language and relating them to the words.

Reading Kanji would be more difficult if a person had right brain damage. This is because Kanji is based on symbols corresponding with a word and not on the sounds of the language and the right hemisphere of the brain is superior for nonverbal information, so with this hemisphere damaged, people would have a harder time putting together these symbols and relating them to words.

Posted by lcisnelson at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

September 24, 2005

Chapter 2 of Language

Question #3

Q: 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?

A:In the Japanese writing system it would be more difficult to read or understand Kana, if someone had left hemisphere damage. This would be because Kana is based on the sound system of the language (spelling corresponds to sound), and the left hemisphere of the brain deals with understanding language based on words. Written material was to be processed in the left hemisphere to be understood. This portion of the brain directly relates to linguistic naming.

Reading the Kanji language would be more difficult if a person had right hemisphere damage, because Kanji involves symbols where words are represented by pictures. This would occur, because the right hemisphere deals with interpreting visual information and making sense of it. In all actuality both hemispheres work together to interpret both visual and linguistical information.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)

Chapter 2 Question

3) The left hemisphere dominates language, rythmic perception, judgement and mathematical thinking while the right hemisphere is superior in pattern-matching, recognizing faces and spatial thinking. Since the left brain controls language functions, Kana (phonetic, like English) would be more affected by left brain damage. Additionally, the left brain is known to process letters, numbers and words. This ties to the speech aspect of the left side.

On the other hand, a patient with right brain damage would have more difficulty reading Kanji because it is symbolic and uses spatial and recognition skills. The right side of the brain is able to distinguish objects or symbols from one another. The right brain is better at processing faces, places and objects.

My answer can be backed by the apple experiment conducted with a split-brain patient. The experiment placed an apple in the left hand of the patient. The left hand was being governed by the right side of the brain (dominant in processing objects etc.). The person, with the apple in hand was able to use it, but not name it. Contrarily, when the apple was placed in the right hand (controlled by the left part of the brain) the patient was then able to name the object- apple.

Posted by lcissearls at 01:20 PM | Comments (0)