Brains Perception of Language Effects - Coursework Example

Brain’s Perception of Language & Effects of Boca’s Aphasia Brain’s Perception of Language & Effects of Boca’s Aphasia The brain can be considered as the central point of processing sound into language. Therefore, the process of the brain perceiving language starts with the sound signal levels then the audition processing. This leads to the production of the initial auditory signals that are further processed into speech sounds. The processed speech sound often leads to further processing of extract phonetics and acoustic cues information. The developed speech information can now be used to process high level language (Honjo, 1999). Therefore, the brain must receive sound signals to process them into recognizable languages. The signals of the speech sound usually contain numerous acoustic cues that are vital in speech perception. The clues are significant in helping in separating or differentiating sound speeches that belong to different phonetic categories. For instance, the study of the voice onset time (VOT) in the determination speech cues have revealed that VOT is a primary cue that helps in differentiating sounds produced at different articulated places and the manner such sounds are articulated. It is worth noting that VOT helps in determining the difference between voiceless and voiced plosives, such as ‘p’ and ‘b’. Therefore, the combination of these speech cues help in determining different categories of particular speech sound that is often regarded as the abstract phonemes’ representation. The combination of these representation are significant in word recognition among other language formation or perception processes. Despite knowing how the brain perceives language, it is practically impossible to identify specific acoustic cues that the listeners are sensitive to while perceiving particular speech sound. However, in a particular aspect, the acoustic waveforms can identified to a specific linguistic unit. This can be ascertained using different and numerous tests on speech synthesizers(Honjo, 1999). The number of tests must be sufficient to enable the determination of a cue or a number of cues. Nonetheless, despite using a significant number of tests in determining these clues, the entire determination process is often subject to two main and significant challenges: The acoustic aspect of signals of speech may differ linguistically but in a relevant dimension. For instance, duration taken by English vowels may indicate whether or not such vowels need to be stressed or whether a syllable ends with a voiceless or voiced consonant. Using this perception, it clear that this mode of identification can be applied easy in identification vowels of certain languages easily than others. This explains why brain perceive different languages differently. One language may have cues with several acoustic properties. In this case, different listeners will perceive some composition of the same language differently. Listeners usually perceive speech in a discrete stream units (that is in terms of words, syllables, and phonemes); however, such linearity may be practically impossible to visualize in the signals of the physical speech. This phenomenon depicts that sounds do follow each other consistently, but they rather overlap. The effective or constructive speech sounds are usually formulated the preceding sounds and with those that follow. Despite the having the knowledge of distributing linearity, the speech sounds are often difficult to segment. In other words, determination of speech signal stretch of a single perceptual unit is usually difficult to be determined by brain(Honjo, 1999). This can be explained by the fact that the properties of acoustic, particularly of phoneme/d/ often depend on the production of the vowel that recedes. This phenomenon is attributed for by coaticulation. The brain perception of language may lack invariance a fact that is usually contributed to by factors including context – induced variation, differing speech conditions, and different speaker identity. The context – induced variation is usually facilitated by phonetic environment that affects the acoustic sound speech properties. For instance, in English, /u/ is usually fronted when coronal consonants surrounds it. In general, this variation usually emerge when VOT defining the boundary betwixt voiceless and voiced plosives differ for alveolar, velar, and labial plosives. Additionally, the same condition is real when these plosives can only shift under immense pressure and this usually occurs depending on the syllable’s position within the physical speech. Differing speech conditions usually affects the rate of speech(Honjo, 1999). Varying rates often affect the degree of perception of such sounds or language. The speech production and structure usually depend of physical and psychological properties manifesting on an individual speakers. Different speakers have different pitches due to difference in vocal track. This factor affects sound recognition. Moreover, variation in dialect as well as foreign accent also lead to variations due to changes in speaker and listener characteristics. It should be noted that all these factors affect brain’s perception to physical speed should; thus, language. The perception of speech may also be affected by disability of the brain usually defined as receptive aphasia. Aphasia is regarded as an acquired communication inability especially in using elements of communication including speech, writing, and or sign language. People suffering from aphasia usually experience difficulties in writing and reading(Honjo, 1999). Furthermore, it is worth noting that aphasia may lead to interpersonal or psychological complications for the victims as their friends and families. Despite suffering from aphasia, the victims usually know that they are suffering from the condition and that they have limitations to communication among other language barrier. With such knowledge, such persons tend to be embarrassed, depressed, and having relationship problems(Higgins and George, 2013). Aphasia is usually prompted by stroke, brain tumour, head injuries, degenerative diseases, and or other brain infections. These infections usually cells of the brain area controlling language. Aphasia is commonly caused by stroke. The condition can be corrected through treatments and therapies with some patients responding to treatment spontaneously while others taking much longer time. Aphasia are of different types including the Broca’s aphasia. The Broca’s aphasia is associated with severely reduced speech output that may lead the patient to only short utterances to less than four words. It limits individual’s vocabulary and sound formation making people suffering from the same to be clumsy and laborious. This condition usually halters individual’s quality of speech(Higgins and George, 2013). Aphasia in prompted by the damage of the brain’s frontal lobe making the affected to have short speeches but speaks frequently with great efforts involved in producing meaningful speeches. Therefore, Broca’s aphasia is a nonfluent type of aphasia. Victims of Broca’s aphasia are capable of understanding speeches from others suffering the same condition of aphasia but to a varied degree. This is because they are usually aware of difficulties their counterparts have(Higgins and George, 2013). The victims of Broca’s aphasia can become frustrated speaking very easily due the speaking problems involved. These people are also associated with right sided weaknesses that affect their legs and arms this is because the brain’s frontal lobe is significant for the body movement. Broca’s aphasia may lead to mental illness since it affects the brain and mental illnesses are associated with brain illnesses. Mental illness usually lead to behavioral change that may lead to inability for function normally thereby affecting the affected person’s ordinary life (Thompson, 2007). As described above, Broca’s aphasia affects normal function of an individual right from speech to movement since it affects the part of the brain the control speech and movement. The difficulties in speech and communication by the persons suffering from Broca’s aphasia often make them agitated thereby altering their behaviors from the normal and these may be regarded or categorized as mental illness (Higgins and George, 2013). Therefore, it can be stated categorically that Broca’s aphasia leads to mental disorder or the damage of brain frontal lobe leads to Broca’s aphasia that before it is treated it leads to psychiatric disorder that is equivalent to mental illness. References Higgins, E. S., & George, M. S. (2013). Neuroscience of clinical psychiatry: The pathophysiology of behavior and mental illness. Honjo, I. (1999). Language viewed from the brain. Basel [u.a.: Karger. Thompson, M. L. (2007). Mental illness. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. Read More