Written Language and Brain Processing

A colleague shared the following article that appeared on Science Daily with me: "Brain's Involvement in Processing Depends on Language's Graphic Symbols."

In the article, researchers claim that Arabic takes longer to process because it cannot be processed unilaterally in the brain; that is, it requires both the left and right hemispheres to communicate in order to process language. What's interesting is that the study compared English, Hebrew, and Arabic. Both Hebrew and Arabic are written from right-to-left and both omit vowels (which are represented as diacritics in the orthography) for native writing. It doesn't surprise me that perhaps English is processed differently, but it does surprise me that Hebrew and Arabic are processed differently. That leaves me to wonder if it is the actual shapes of the letters in the orthographical system that lead to different processing.

The article ends with this thought:

Thus, the question is again raised as to whether in the modern world those who speak certain languages have an advantage over those who speak other languages...

I'd think the next step is to test native Arabic speakers who are fluent (or extremely proficient) in English or Hebrew to see if they still use both halves of the brain to process a language that native speakers can process unilaterally. (And vice versa--study how native English or Hebrew speakers process Arabic.) After that, naturally, it'd be interesting to see how other orthographical systems are processed.

Creative Writing and Neurolinguistics

Livia Blackburne recently wrote an essay titled "From Words to Brain" about words' journeys from a written page to the readers' minds. The summary on Amazon is below:

What is it that transforms a page full of words into an experience that moves us and leaves us changed? Livia Blackburne explores this cognitive process, from its objective beginnings on the page to the reader's personal investment in the story. The essay, which combines scientific expertise and a flair for storytelling, weaves together current results from cognitive psychology with examples from the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood. From wolves to functional magnetic resonance imaging, the essay draws the reader through the text and ultimately beyond it. Because "the experience of reading a story does not end with the last page." That's the point at which the real development begins.

From Words to Brain is approximately 7000 words.

I highly recommend the essay for anyone interested in the connection between the page and the reader. However, I know that not all people are willing to pay $3.99 for an essay, so here are two more sources where you can find Livia's insights on the written word and its connection to the brain.

Livia also runs two blogs: A Brain Scientist's Take on Writing (for the creative writers out there) and Reading and Word Recognition Research (for the linguists out there). I am fascinated by both blogs--she does an amazing job of tackling huge scientific concepts and making them more accessible to her blog readers. She is becoming well-known in the creative writing world as a source for new ways of thinking about the art of writing and how it is, indeed, a process that affects the brain as well as the soul.

Robert Ornstein's THE RIGHT MIND

When people think of language and the brain, they often refer solely to the left hemisphere of the brain because that is where the identified language centers reside (e.g., Wernicke's Area, Broca's Area). However, it would be a mistake for anyone to think that you need only the left hemisphere to communicate and use language. Robert Ornstein's book The Right Mind reminds us why we need the right hemisphere just as much--if not, perhaps, more--than we need the left hemisphere for things like using language and making logical decisions (both aspects associated primarily with the left hemisphere).

Ornstein's style of writing is not terminology-laden, so even people who have never studied cognitive science or anatomy or neuroscience or [fill in the blank with another relevant field here] will be able to pick up the book and read about the wonders of the right hemisphere. The chapters have fun names to go with the interesting topics like "The Run of Dichotomania," "Wit or Half-Wit?" and "An Avalanche in the Human Brain."

Throughout the book, Ornstein uses examples from psychological and linguistic experiments, patients with brain damage, and general observations to demonstrate that while the left hemisphere may be responsible for language at its core, the right hemisphere is necessary for being able to understand context, which allows us to form the "big picture" of our world. In other words, the left hemisphere helps us see the individual trees, but the right hemisphere allows us to see the entire forest. Through Ornstein's examples, you begin to see that a world without context is one without true understanding.

If you're interested in understand more about how our brains process language, I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of The Right Mind.

Advantages of Multilingualism

The advantages of being able to speak more than one language have long been touted, but recently, with advances of scientific technology, the benefits of multilingualism are being studied in new ways with more specific findings of just how speaking more than one language can help us.

About a year-and-a-half ago, a study was released from Tel Aviv University that stated being multilingual helped fight off aging of the brain.  While their report doesn't list specifics, it hints that even taking the time to learn new languages in adulthood (even if you don't reach fluency) can still provide those same benefits.  Speaking more than one language basically provides exercise for your mental muscles.  If you're interested in the full article, you can find it here.

More recently, a study published in Psychological Science in January states that being multilingual helps reading skills in your native language.  The following sentence sums up the results of the study quite profoundly:

The findings suggest that after learning a second language, people never look at words the same way again.

Through eye-tracking studies, researchers found that bilingual (or multilingual) speakers took less time to process words that were cognates in their native and second languages.  This study is remarkable because it turns the metaphorical table to provide insights to how speaking more languages can lead you to being more fluent in your own, native tongue.  If you're interested in reading the full write-up published in Scientific American, you can find it here.

As I am writing this, my son is watching a bilingual show:

Both Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! provide dialogue primarily in English but have Spanish-speaking characters and include Spanish lyrics in memorable songs.  While I am glad children in America can get at least a little exposure to another language at a young age (though watching the show will, by no means, turn those children into bilingual speakers), I find myself wishing for an adult equivalent--a TV show that features a character who speaks another language so that I can get input without being completely lost in the plot.

I hope that if you have never considered learning a new language, these studies might inspire you to try to pick up a new language, whether it's through sitting in on a class or picking up a language textbook or listening to radio shows in another language online or watching movies in a foreign language.  If you are learning another language or have already learned another language, go ahead and thank yourself for taking care of your brain and allowing it to expand its neural connectivity.

Adaptation of the Brain

A recent study showed that being blind causes changes in the structure of the brain; the brain then responds by reorganizing itself, shifting what functions as what in the brain to adapt to the blindness.  This would suggest that any change in the brain could result in this reorganization.

It fascinates me how quickly our bodies can adapt to changes.  Now if only our view of language and how it "should" be used were so quick to adapt...