By: Celine Chin
For many of us, language is our main form of communication. Whether it be using sign language or speaking words, language can help us connect with others. There are roughly 6500 languages currently being spoken in the world today, each of them unique in their own way and reflective of their region’s culture. However, they all include the same structure and have the same basic components.
For instance, phonemes, morphemes, syntax, and context are some of the building blocks that work together with grammar, semantics, and pragmatics to make up a language. A phoneme is the smallest distinctive unit of sound that doesn’t carry any meaning, while a morpheme is the smallest unit in a word that brings meaning to a phoneme. An example of a phoneme would be the word “that”; it consists of three phonemes: “th,” “a,” and “t.” A morpheme can be an entire word or part of one; for example, “pre” in “prehistoric,” “dis” in “disregard,” “woman” in “womanly,” and even just the word “box.” Syntax refers to the set of principles by which words are combined into grammatically-correct sentences. Context refers to how the parts of a sentence work together to communicate a specific meaning.
Grammar is the structure of a language and is referred to as the “rules'' that are typically followed in the language. However, these rules are not set in stone, as language is constantly changing over time. Semantics refers to how all the parts of a sentence help create meaning, while pragmatics focuses on how language is produced and understood in different contexts.
There are many parts to a language, but there are also some medical conditions that can get in the way of understanding and communicating. One such condition is aphasia, which makes you unable to communicate effectively with others. It can impact your speaking, listening, and ability to write and understand words. There are multiple types of aphasia: expressive, comprehensive, and global aphasia. Expressive aphasia is also known as “Broca’s aphasia,” since Broca’s area in the left hemisphere of the brain is damaged, which impairs a person’s speaking. They may struggle to get certain words out and speak in short sentences that are missing words. Comprehensive aphasia is also termed “Wernicke's aphasia”, as this kind of aphasia is caused by damage to Wernicke’s area in the brain. This type of aphasia may cause a person to speak in long nonsensical sentences that may have unrecognizable or unnecessary words. A person with comprehensive aphasia may not realize that those they are speaking with aren’t able to understand them and may also have trouble understanding others. These two types of aphasia disrupt the main function of each area; for instance, Broca’s area is involved in producing speech, while Wernicke’s area is associated with the comprehension of language. Another type of aphasia, global aphasia, is the result of extensive damage to the brain’s networks that are involved with language. Having global aphasia may severely impact a person’s ability to comprehend words/language and express themselves. Two other types of aphasia are anomic aphasia and primary progressive aphasia (PPA), with anomic aphasia being characterized as a condition that causes a person to struggle naming objects when using language, and PPA disrupting one’s speech and language through neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease. The type of disturbances PPA can cause are things like fluent aphasia, in which a person may produce words at an increased rate, or non-fluent aphasia, where it becomes difficult to produce words.
So how do we even begin to understand and acquire language? Well, there are different stages that we go through as children to allow us to learn how to speak a language. At six to eight months of age, we go through the babbling stage where we mainly speak consonant and vowel sounds. At nine to eighteen months of age, we go through the one-word stage where we speak single words that are complete thoughts. For example, we might say things like “juice,” or other demands in one-word sentences. The next stage we go through at eighteen to twenty-four months is the two-word stage, where we use two word sentences- often consisting of nouns and verbs, or modifiers- to express ourselves. After two years of age, we start including multiple words in our sentences and quickly start using more complex grammatical structures as we grow older. However, studies reveal that there is a critical period for children to learn language; if a child isn’t exposed to a language by about ten years old, it is extremely difficult to become as fluent and proficient as native speakers are. Studies have also shown that the ability to learn grammar stays quite strong until a person reaches age 17 or 18, which is why it is harder for adults that have immigrated to a new country to learn a new language.
Overall, language proves to be a very crucial part of culture and everyday life; without it, we would not be able to express ourselves in matters that are important to us or build personal connections with other people. Unfortunately, some languages are less spoken and are closer to extinction, but each language helps make this world more vibrant and unique.
Questions
Q: What is aphasia?
A: Aphasia impairs a person’s language, and there are three types of it: expressive, comprehensive, and global. Expressive aphasia is caused by damage to Broca’s area, and disrupts a person’s ability to speak. Oftentimes, people with expressive aphasia are aware that they have this condition. Comprehensive aphasia is caused by damage to Wernicke’s area, and results in a decreased ability to speak understandable sentences and to understand others. Global aphasia is caused by extensive damage to language-involved networks in the brain, and severely disables a person’s ability to comprehend and express their thoughts.
Q: What is the critical period of language?
A: By 10 years of age, a person must be exposed to and start learning a language, or else they may never be able to speak it with the proficiency of a native speaker. A person’s ability to master a language’s grammar also stays strong until they reach 17 or 18 years of age. This is why adults that start learning a new language have difficulty mastering it, and may be more prone to speaking it in the accent of their native language.
Sources
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Images:
Wikimedia Commons @ Marcmiquel
Wikimedia Commons @ M. Adiputra
Wikimedia Commons @ Pereoptic