The Neurolinguistics of Bilingualism: An Introduction

by Fabbro,Franco

• ISBN13: 9780863777554
• ISBN10: 0863777554
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-02-01
• Publisher: Psychology Pres

Summary

This book introduces the reader to both neurolinguisticsper seand the neuropsychological aspects of bilingualism. Neurolinguistics may roughly be defined as a subset of neuropsychology, namely the study of the representation and processing of language in the brain. To this effect, the first chapters of the book focus on the basic neuropsychology of language processing and acquisition. The second half of the book addresses the issues of cerebral representation and processing of language in bi- or multilingual subjects. All aspects are systematically dealt with, including the definition of bilingualism; an analysis of all the issues related to bilingual aphasia, i.e. patterns of recovery of the patients' various languages in diverse populations; an investigation of the methodologies used in the study of the neuropsychological aspects of the various linguistic functions, such as comprehension, production and translation; and lastly, the issues of cerebral lateralization and neuroanatomical localizationof the numerous cortical and subcortical structures subserving the various language system components in multilingual subjects. The book is an excellent introduction to both the neuropsychology of language and the phenomena related to bilingualism. It will be of particular interest to students of language therapy, aphasiology, applied psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics and, in general, to students of medicine who wish to become more knowledgeable about the specific needs of patients in a multilingual society.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction	xi
What is language?	1	(10)
Linguistics and the study of language	2	(9)
How language sounds are produced and perceived	11	(10)
Physiology of speech production	11	(4)
Acoustic analysis of speech	15	(4)
Production and perception of vowels and consonants	19	(2)
How the brain controls vocalizations	21	(8)
Basic concepts of brain anatomy and physiology	21	(3)
Neural centers controlling vocalizations	24	(3)
Analogies between human languages and birdsong	27	(2)
Language areas in the brain	29	(10)
Pioneering studies	29	(1)
The location of articulated language	30	(2)
Cerebral lateralization of linguistic functions	32	(1)
Sensory aphasia	33	(6)
Aphasia: The undoing of language	39	(10)
Basic terminology of aphasia	39	(2)
Different types of aphasia	41	(5)
The right hemisphere and verbal communication	46	(3)
The assessment of aphasia	49	(10)
Clinical criteria	49	(2)
Aphasia tests in monolinguals	51	(2)
Aphasia tests in bilinguals	53	(6)
Methods for studying the organization of language in the brain	59	(10)
Studies on normal subjects	59	(5)
Investigation techniques for neurological patients	64	(5)
The representation of language in the brain	69	(10)
Fundamentals of neurophysiology	70	(1)
Cortical representation of language	71	(1)
Models of language processing	72	(3)
A neurofunctional model of language processing	75	(4)
The role of subcortical structures in language	79	(10)
A neuropsychological model of subcortical structures in language	82	(3)
The role of the cerebellum	85	(1)
Motor aspects of language functions	86	(3)
Memory and language acquisition and learning	89	(14)
Two general memory systems: short-term and long-term memory	92	(1)
Working memory	93	(3)
Types of long-term memory	96	(3)
The anatomy of memory	99	(1)
Types of memory involved in language acquisition and learning	100	(3)
What does it mean to be bilingual?	103	(8)
Is bilingualism useful?	106	(1)
Types of bilingualism	107	(1)
Bilingual education	108	(3)
First-language recovery in aphasics	111	(6)
Rules and exceptions in recovery patterns	113	(2)
The recovery of the first language	115	(2)
Second-language recovery in aphasics	117	(10)
Factors accounting for language recovery	120	(1)
The degree of familiarity of a language	120	(1)
The visual factor	121	(1)
Psychological and emotional factors	122	(1)
The language spoken to the patient in the hospital	123	(1)
Languages used in specific circumstances	124	(1)
Languages learnt at university	125	(1)
Linguistic factors	126	(1)
Organic factors	126	(1)
Paradoxical recovery of a language	127	(8)
Recovery of a dead language	127	(2)
Paradoxical recovery of the second language	129	(3)
The role of memory in paradoxical language recovery	132	(3)
Selective aphasia	135	(4)
A case of selective crossed aphasia	135	(2)
Possible explanations of selective aphasia	137	(2)
Differential aphasia	139	(4)
Pathological switching and mixing	143	(16)
Switching disorders	144	(7)
Pathological mixing	151	(4)
Neurolinguistic models of language mixing	155	(4)
Alternating antagonism	159	(6)
A case of a double dissociation in linguistic behaviour	159	(2)
Recent cases of alternating antagonism	161	(4)
Subcortical aphasia in bilinguals	165	(8)
Thalamic aphasia in monolinguals	167	(1)
Thalamic aphasia in bilinguals	167	(2)
Basal ganglia aphasia in monolinguals	169	(1)
Basal ganglia aphasia in bilinguals	170	(3)
Aphasia in bilingual children	173	(8)
Acquired aphasia in children	173	(2)
Acquired aphasia in bilingual children	175	(1)
Neurolinguistic analysis of aphasia in a bilingual child	175	(6)
Aphasic syndromes with altered states of consciousness	181	(4)
Altered states of consciousness during epileptic fits	181	(2)
Psychiatric reactions in bilingual patients with cerebral lesions	183	(2)
Rehabilitation of bilingual aphasics	185	(4)
Electric stimulation studies in bilinguals	189	(8)
Cortico-electrical stimulation in bilinguals	189	(3)
Unilateral electroconvulsive therapy in bilinguals	192	(5)
A neurolinguistic theory of translation	197	(10)
Aphasia with inability to translate	198	(1)
Spontaneous translation	199	(1)
Translation with comprehension deficits	200	(1)
Paradoxical translation	201	(1)
A neurolinguistic model of simultaneous interpretation	202	(5)
The neuropsychology of bilingualism	207	(8)
Cerebral organization of languages	207	(2)
Cerebral lateralization of languages	209	(2)
Models of language production in bilinguals	211	(4)
Forgotten and invented languages	215	(6)
The comeback of a forgotten language	216	(2)
Invented languages	218	(3)
Languages and biological diversity	221	(4)
Linguistic and genetic diversity	222	(3)
Conclusions	225	(2)
References	227	(16)
Author Index	243	(6)
Subject Index	249