Post on 13-Dec-2015
Speech and Language
Three Components of Speech and Language
• 1. Morphology: rules for combining words to form bigger words– e.g.: handi+cap vs. handi+cap+able
• 2. Syntax: rules for combining words to form sentences and phrases– e.g.: nouns+verb+direct object+indirect object
• 3. Phonology: rules for combining sounds to produce words, phrases, and sentences
Theories on Language Acquisition
• 1. Nativism: born with all the words and related morphology, syntax, and phonology that we will ever acquire
• 2. Generativism: born with the three, basic concepts but acquire words from experience – chunking
• 3. Motherese: learn words and the three, basic concepts from parents
What to Learn More About Language Acquistion?
• Steven Pinker is a professor at Harvard who is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for his books “How the Mind Works” and “The Stuff of Thought”
Brain Control of Speech and Language
Temporal and Occipital Lobes + Primary Motor and Sensory
Hemispheric Localization
• Language and speech centers primarily located in the left hemisphere
Neuroanatomical Hypothesis For This Hemispheric “Imbalance”
Conservation of Speech and Language Across Species
Damage to These Neural Centers Results in Aphasias
Type Speech Skills
Comprehension
Ability to Repeat
Area Damaged
Broca’s Nonfluent, cumbersome
Mostly conserved
Impaired Broca’s area
Wernicke’s Highly fluent, articulate
Impaired Impaired Wernicke’s area
Conduction Fluent, semi-articulate
Mostly conserved
Impaired Left superior temporal and supramarginal gyrus
Global Nonfluent Impaired Impaired Perisylvian Fissure
Examples of Broca’s vs. Wernicke’s Aphasia
• Broca’s: “O, yea. Det’s a boy an’ a girl..an’…a…car….house..light po’….dog an’ a….boat. Ndet’s a ….mm..a…cofee, an’ reading. Det’s a…mm….a…det’s a boy fishin’”
• Wernicke’s: “Ah, yes, it’s, ah…several things. It’s a girl….uncurl…on a boat. A dog…is another dog…long’s…on a boat. The lady, it’s a young lady. This…a tree! A boat. No, over in here…a cake….
Neural Map of These Aphasias
Even Deaf Individuals Can Have Aphasias