Aphasia- a loss or reduction of language following brain damage typically a result of a stroke. Chapter 3 discusses the different areas of the brain associated with language. To my surprise, there is more than one area affiliated with language in the brain. For example, the Broca's area is located in the frontal lobe and is responsible for speech production while the Wernicke's area, which is in the temporal lobe, is responsible for understanding speech. Why would language function in two separate lobes? It would seem sufficient that one function would be located in one specific part of the brain. Perhaps there is a deeper reason for the brain set up.
Two years ago, a Hebrew elementary teacher I knew, suffered a stroke. He began experiencing symptoms of Aphasia and was unable to communicate coherently in English, however he was able to speak and understand Hebrew. Perhaps, primary language is developed in one part of the brain while secondary language is developed in a different part. The implications of such a study could have huge effects. Over one million people in the U.S. suffer from Aphasia today and learning a secondary language might be the best solution. However with all considerations, one must still remember that this is just a case study and there are many other victims who were not as fortunate. If we could replicate this transaction and record similar results, this hypothesis would be much stronger. Overall, there is much to learn in this topic and this case study should be further investigated.
? חושבים אתם מה (What do you think?)
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