Language and the Brain

If you answered that language is processed in the left hemisphere of the brain, you were correct, until a few days ago.

A new study by British scientists found that the language being spoken decides which hemisphere of the brain processes it. They found that Mandarin speakers use both left and right lobes, while English speakers use only the left temporal lobe.

Until now it was believed that the left lobe of the brain is activated for decoding language and the right lobe is only involved in processing the tone of the speaker, and melody in speech and music.

Scientists used brain scans on volunteers for the study, and found that for Mandarin speakers both lobes of the brain are activated while interpreting words and intonation. This is because Mandarin uses intonation to give the correct meaning to a spoken word. For instance, the word ‘ma’ in Mandarin may mean mother, scold or horse depending on the tone.

This may be the reason why some native English speakers find it extremely difficult to learn Mandarin. Apparently, the structure of the language you learn as a child determines which lobe of the brain normally is activated to decode speech.

Resources:

Learn how the brain processes speech and translates it into understandable language.

Find out how patients re-learn language after a stroke.

Read up on the basics of the Mandarin language and its variations.

August 30, 2003