The Neurolinguistics of Bilingualism: An Introduction

by Franco Fabbro

Overview

This book introduces the reader to both neurolinguistics per se and 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, namely the definition of bilingualism; an analysis of all the issues related to bilingual aphasia, i.e. patterns of recovery of the patients' carious languages in diverse population; 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 localization of the numerous cortical and subcortical structures subserving the various language system components in multilingual subjects. It is an excellent introduction to both the neuropsychology of language and the phenomena related to bilingualism. This book 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134840212
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/24/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Fabbro, Franco

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. What is Language? Linguistics and the Study of Language. Phonetics and Phonology. Syntax. Morphology. Semantics. Chapter 2. How Language Sounds are Produced and Perceived. Physiology of Speech Production. Acoustic Analysis of Speech. Production and Perception of Vowels and Consonants. Chapter 3. How the Brain Controls Vocalizations. Basic Concepts of Brain Anatomy and Physiology. Neural Centers Controlling Vocalizations. Analogies Between Human Languages and Bird Song. Chapter 4. Language Areas in the Brain. Pioneering Studies. The Location of Articulated Language. Cerebral Lateralization of Linguistic Functions. Sensory Aphasia. The Control of Voluntary Movement According to Wernicke. The Language Scheme in the Brain. Clinical Cases. Chapter 5. Aphasia: The Undoing of Language. Basic Terminology of Aphasia. Different Types of Aphasia. The Right Hemisphere and Verbal Communication. Chapter 6. The Assessment of Aphasia. Clinical Criteria. Aphasia Tests in Monolinguals. Aphasia Tests in Bilinguals. Chapter 7. Methods for Studying the Organization of Language in the Brain. Studies on Normal Subjects. Dichotic Listening. The Verbal-Manual Interference Paradigm (Finger-tapping). Tachistoscopic Viewing. Recording the Electrical Activity of the Brain. Functional Brain Imaging. Investigation Techniques for Neurological Patients. Carotid Sodium Amytal Injection (Wada test). Electric Stimulation of the Brain. Computerized Axial Tomography. Magnetic Resonance Imagining. Chapter 8. The Representation of Language in the Brain. Fundamentals of Neurophysiology. Cortical Representation of Language. Models of Language Processing. A Neurofunctional Model of Language Processing. Chapter 9. The Role of Subcortical Structures in Language. A Neuropsychological Model of Subcortical Language Structures. The Role of the Cerebellum. Motor Aspects of Language Functions. Chapter 10. Memory and Language Acquisition and Learning. Two General Memory Systems: Long Term and Short Term Memory. Working Memory. Types of Long Term Memory. Explicit Memory. Implicit Memory. The Anatomy of Memory. Types of Memory Involved in Language Acquisition and Learning. Chapter 11. What Does it Mean to be Bilingual? Is Bilingualism Useful? Types of Bilingualism. Bilingual Education. Chapter 12. First Language Recovery in Aphasics. Rules and Exceptions in Recovery Patterns. The Recovery of the First Language. Chapter 13. Second Language Recovery in Aphasics. Factors Affecting Language Recovery. The Degree of Familiarity of a Language. The Visual Factor. Psychological and Emotional Factors. The Language Spoken to the Patient in the Hospital. Languages Used in Specific Circumstances. Languages Learnt at University. Linguistic Factors. Organic Factors. Chapter 14. Paradoxical Recovery of a Language. Recovery of a Dead Language. Recovery of Languages Used in Liturgy. Recovery of a 'Classical' Language. Paradoxical Recovery of the Second Language. The Role of Memory in Paradoxical Language Recovery. Chapter 15. Selective Aphasia. A Case of Selective Crossed Aphasia. Possible Explanations of Selective Aphasia. Chapter 16. Differential Aphasia. Chapter 17. Pathological Switching and Mixing. Switching Disorders. Pathologic Fixation on One Language. Spontaneous Switching. Hypotheses on the Neurological Mechanisms of Language Switching. Pathological Mixing. Neurolinguistic Models of Language Switching. Chapter 18. Alternate Antagonism. A Case of a Double Dissociation in Linguistic Behaviour. Recent Cases of Alternate Antagonism. Chapter 19. Subcortical Aphasia in Bilinguals. Thalamic Aphasia in Monolinguals. Thalamic Aphasia in Bilinguals. Basal Ganglia Aphasia in Monolinguals. Basal Ganglia Aphasia in Bilinguals. Chapter 20. Aphasia in Bilingual Children. Acquired Aphasia in Children. Acquired Aphasia in Bilingual Children. Neuroli

Editorial Reviews

4 Stars! from Doody

This is a well-written, single-authored textbook that clearly and concisely explores the neurolinguistics of bilingualism. The purpose is to explore the problem of how language is organized in the brains of bilinguals. This text is aimed at neurolinguistic specialists, neurologists, and psychologists with an interest in neurolinguistics or aphasia, as well as speech pathologists. In preliminary chapters, the author succinctly reviews the nature of language, its localization in the brain, and its dissolution in aphasia. In later chapters, he specifically examines language localization and recovery from aphasia in bilinguals. This book is a labor of love by an author who has researched the problem of the neurolinguistics of bilingualism meticulously. The book stands out for its scholarship, clarity, and completeness. It will serve as a standard for many years.

Daniel B. Hier

Fabbro Writes a very concise and detailed volume. Furthermore, unlike other volumes, he spends a substantial portion of the book introducing the basics of psychology, linguistics, neuropsychology, and aphasia research. This book is a delight to read and is an accurate rendering of the field of billingual neurolinguistics which should be accessible to experts and novice readers alike.

Arturo E. Hernandez

Reviewer: Daniel B. Hier, MD (University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine)
Description: This is a well-written, single-authored textbook that clearly and concisely explores the neurolinguistics of bilingualism.
Purpose: The purpose is to explore the problem of how language is organized in the brains of bilinguals.
Audience: This text is aimed at neurolinguistic specialists, neurologists, and psychologists with an interest in neurolinguistics or aphasia, as well as speech pathologists.
Features: In preliminary chapters, the author succinctly reviews the nature of language, its localization in the brain, and its dissolution in aphasia. In later chapters, he specifically examines language localization and recovery from aphasia in bilinguals.
Assessment: This book is a labor of love by an author who has researched the problem of the neurolinguistics of bilingualism meticulously. The book stands out for its scholarship, clarity, and completeness. It will serve as a standard for many years.

Doody's Review Service

'I could find no serious omissions in a book that currently has no competitors.' - Lance Workman, University of Glamorgan, The Times Higher Education Supplement

'... For anyone who wishes to learn what is known about the neurolinguistics of bilingualism and polyglossia, Franco Fabbro's new book is the ideal companion.' - John C. Marshall, University Department of Clinical Neurology, Oxford, Neuropsychologia

'The past few decades have seen our exposure to multiple languages continuously increasing. In this sense, Franco Fabbro's Neurolinguistics of Bilingualism, dealing with the representation and processing of multiple languages in the brain, meets an urgent need. this interesting and very clearly written book provides a good introduction to the way in which multiple languages are represented in the brain based on what we know from brain-lesioned patients. After reading it, an enthusiastic neurolinguist or neuroscientist willl look forward to the next volume, elucidating bilingualism from studies on the healthy human brain.' - Risto Naataned and Teija Kujala, University of Helsinki, Finland, Nature 1999

'This book is a good introduction to the study of neuropsychology and neurolinguistics of bilingualism, and will be of particular interest to researchers and students in the fields of linguistics, neurolinguistics, aphasiology, language therapy, speech pathology, and, in general, to all those who want to become more knowledgeable about the specific needs of bilingual patients in our increasingly multilingual world.' - Dr Aneto Pavelenko, Temple University, Philadelphia

'This book is a delight to read and is an accurate rendering of the field of bilingual neurolinguistics which should be accessible to experts and novice readers alike.' - Arturo E. Hernandez, University of California, APA Review of Books

'The present book is valuable for providing the unskilled reader with all the main topics of neurolinguistics and of the neurolinguistics of polyglossy, in particular. Apart from being of some interest for everybody, this book can be very useful for people who work in the field of language teaching. Moreover, given the rigorous analysis of data presented in the literature, the book can be appreciated also by neuropsychologists who are not directly involved in the neurolinguistics of polyglossy.' - Sergio Zanini, International School for Advanced Studies, Trieste, Italy

'This book is a crucial addition to the library of anyone who has an interest in the neuroscience of bilingualism. In fact, it would even be a valuable addition to the library of anyone who is bilingual. It provides all of the background necessary to understand the basic issues in the neurolinguistics of bilingualism.' - Lidia Artiola i Fortuny, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

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