What is in your 'black box'?

Linguists would be so happy if they could only take a direct look inside your head when you are using language!  They refer to your brain as a 'black box' because it doesn't give up its secrets easily.  Where is language located? How does language happen? These questions belong to the field of neurolinguistics.

We know (or think we know!) a few facts about language and the brain.  We believe that language is located in the brain.  And because of  experiments that were done in the 19th century in Europe, we believe that certain areas in the brain may be specialized for specific language functions.

We also know that the brain is divided into two hemispheres, named 'left brain' and 'right brain'.  For most people, language is concentrated in the left hemisphere.  You may remember the terms 'left brain' and 'right brain' from pop psychology of several years ago.  Left brain people were described as analytical list makers, while right brain people were creative pattern makers.  It isn't quite that simple or neatly divided. While the left brain is very important in language comprehension and production, the right brain may also play a role.

Here is a diagram of the left brain.  There are two important areas for language.  One is Broca's area, which is the language production area.  Another is Wernicke's area, which is the comprehension area. Although these areas are specialized for language, other areas and connections may also play a role in language.

Aphasia (language loss) occurs when one of the areas is damaged.  Damage to Broca's area results in a patient who may comprehend language but whose speech is  telegraphic and agrammatic.  Only essential words are used and production of sounds may be difficult.  In contrast, damage to Wernicke's area results in a patient who has what is known as 'fluent aphasia.'  The patient can speak but cannot use the right words to create an understandable meaning.

Another interesting fact about language and the brain is that if a child is not allowed to hear language before puberty, the child will never be able to use language normally.  It is as if the brain becomes less flexible after a certain age.  This is known as the "Critical (or sometimes Sensitive) Age" hypothesis.  Fortunately, this is not the case for us "over the hill" second language learners.  It is believed that second language learning involves many areas in the brain.  What a relief!

New imaging techniques, such as fMRI's are helping linguists find out more about the 'black box.' We need to stay tuned, because we are going to learn much more in the future about language and the brain.