How does the human brain process language?
How does the human brain process language?
Learn how the brain processes language.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Transcript
NARRATOR: An African market in a German city - for many newcomers to the market, a number of the things that can be found here are unfamiliar and exotic. Language is used to discuss the meanings and significance of these things. But how is effective communication possible between the people here despite the many differences in their sociocultural backgrounds? Using words common to all participants, concepts are readily clarified and effective communication takes place. Communication using words and language is a trait exclusive to human beings. Chimpanzees for instance have an understanding of the concept of self. But they can’t put this concept into words, although they carry the same FOXP2 gene that's at the core of human speech. While our closest relatives have their larynx too high in the throat to accommodate speech, it is the structure of their brains that prevents them from putting things into words in the first place. The secret of human language is grammar. Grammar enables us to express an unlimited number of circumstances and concepts with only a limited number of words.
In the 19th century, examination of the brains of patients who had suffered from speech disorders revealed two areas of the brain that are crucial for processing speech. Both of them, Broca's area and Wernicke's area, are located in the left half of the brain.
The Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences researches the secrets behind how we process language. This has actually only become possible within the last 20 years, thanks to brain imaging technology which enables us to observe the brain at work. The research findings have overturned the previous assumption that language is only processed in the left side of the brain.
SONJA A. KOTZ: "In processing speech, both the right and left halves communicate with each other. The right side is responsible for the intonation and inflection of the language, while the more analytical aspects of the language are handled by the left side. Communication between the two brain halves is primarily conducted through the commissure that connects the two halves"
NARRATOR: Language processing is an incredibly complex procedure in which the entire brain works with parallel networks. Let's take the following spoken sentence as an example: The man says the woman can’t drive. This is registered acoustically in the primary auditory cortex. Aspects of the inflection are processed within less than 200 milliseconds in the brain's right hemisphere, because it is also possible that the exact opposite was actually meant: The man, says the woman, can't drive. At the same time, Broca's area in the left half of the brain is also analyzing the syntax, or grammar, of the sentence. Things get much more complicated from there. The intended meaning of the words has to be registered. The semantics of the words are compiled using numerous levels of meaning, memories and emotions. Will it ever be possible to discover a pattern within all of this that explains to us how language develops? It was long assumed that the semantic meaning of language is decoded in Wernicke's area.
KOTZ: "Traditionally, Wernicke's area has been associated with the understanding of language. But now differing views suggest that perhaps it is actually an overall integration area capable of merging a range of different information, such as the grammar or meaning of the language. It can also distinguish whether I have read something or heard it, so it works with a variety of modalities."
NARRATOR: Up to now we have only discovered a few details of how language is processed. For instance, we now know that Broca's area increases its activity when there is a grammatical error. This reaction happens so quickly that it seems as if the brain anticipates such mistakes. Interesting, the same thing happens if the test subjects are instructed not to pay attention to grammar.
BURKHARD MAESS: "I think it's certainly true that the brain anticipates the presented sentence before it is finished. We even think it has specific strategies to speed up the processing of simple types of sentences."
NARRATOR: Does this mean that something along the lines of a universal grammar is "built in" to the brain? The jury is still out, but a very lively debate persists. Italian researchers have conducted experiments in which audio tapes of speech were played for newborn children. The findings showed that blood circulation increased in the left areas of their brains. When the tapes were played backwards, nothing happened. The same effect occurred in adults for languages they weren't familiar with. The brain subsequently appears to automatically recognize language, whereas when sentences are played backwards, the sounds are perceived as ambient noise.
KOTZ: "I now assume that language is a highly habitual system. This means that even very early on, babies can recognize what language means or what speech is compared to a noisy signal. Whether this means that language is inherent in humans remains open."
NARRATOR: The human brain remains a black box. It seems it might be simpler to decode the structures of the cosmos than the language in our own heads.
In the 19th century, examination of the brains of patients who had suffered from speech disorders revealed two areas of the brain that are crucial for processing speech. Both of them, Broca's area and Wernicke's area, are located in the left half of the brain.
The Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences researches the secrets behind how we process language. This has actually only become possible within the last 20 years, thanks to brain imaging technology which enables us to observe the brain at work. The research findings have overturned the previous assumption that language is only processed in the left side of the brain.
SONJA A. KOTZ: "In processing speech, both the right and left halves communicate with each other. The right side is responsible for the intonation and inflection of the language, while the more analytical aspects of the language are handled by the left side. Communication between the two brain halves is primarily conducted through the commissure that connects the two halves"
NARRATOR: Language processing is an incredibly complex procedure in which the entire brain works with parallel networks. Let's take the following spoken sentence as an example: The man says the woman can’t drive. This is registered acoustically in the primary auditory cortex. Aspects of the inflection are processed within less than 200 milliseconds in the brain's right hemisphere, because it is also possible that the exact opposite was actually meant: The man, says the woman, can't drive. At the same time, Broca's area in the left half of the brain is also analyzing the syntax, or grammar, of the sentence. Things get much more complicated from there. The intended meaning of the words has to be registered. The semantics of the words are compiled using numerous levels of meaning, memories and emotions. Will it ever be possible to discover a pattern within all of this that explains to us how language develops? It was long assumed that the semantic meaning of language is decoded in Wernicke's area.
KOTZ: "Traditionally, Wernicke's area has been associated with the understanding of language. But now differing views suggest that perhaps it is actually an overall integration area capable of merging a range of different information, such as the grammar or meaning of the language. It can also distinguish whether I have read something or heard it, so it works with a variety of modalities."
NARRATOR: Up to now we have only discovered a few details of how language is processed. For instance, we now know that Broca's area increases its activity when there is a grammatical error. This reaction happens so quickly that it seems as if the brain anticipates such mistakes. Interesting, the same thing happens if the test subjects are instructed not to pay attention to grammar.
BURKHARD MAESS: "I think it's certainly true that the brain anticipates the presented sentence before it is finished. We even think it has specific strategies to speed up the processing of simple types of sentences."
NARRATOR: Does this mean that something along the lines of a universal grammar is "built in" to the brain? The jury is still out, but a very lively debate persists. Italian researchers have conducted experiments in which audio tapes of speech were played for newborn children. The findings showed that blood circulation increased in the left areas of their brains. When the tapes were played backwards, nothing happened. The same effect occurred in adults for languages they weren't familiar with. The brain subsequently appears to automatically recognize language, whereas when sentences are played backwards, the sounds are perceived as ambient noise.
KOTZ: "I now assume that language is a highly habitual system. This means that even very early on, babies can recognize what language means or what speech is compared to a noisy signal. Whether this means that language is inherent in humans remains open."
NARRATOR: The human brain remains a black box. It seems it might be simpler to decode the structures of the cosmos than the language in our own heads.