Introducing Linguistics Theoretical and Applied Approaches

Chapter 15 looks at the brain’s anatomy in terms of the areas important for language. It shows that, typically, the left hemisphere is widely responsible for language competence and performance. Readers learn about common methods and technologies used to study the brain, including lesion studies and autopsies, dichotic listening and split-brain studies, neuroimaging, and studies measuring the brain’s electric and magnetic fields. These methods have provided an incredible advantage to better understanding brain and language. This is especially apparent regarding language impairments that result from acquired brain damage or injury (either instantaneous or progressive). Some impairments discussed in the chapter include forms of aphasia: non-fluent, fluent, and primary progressive along with language disturbances primarily related to reading (e.g., alexia) and writing (e.g., agraphia) abilities. Finally, the chapter discusses how neurolinguistics informs what we know about the mental lexicon—words, their sounds, and meanings—along with morphology and syntax. Research using state-of-the-art technologies has informed us about which language functions rely on which brain structures.