[language] [Fwd: [evol-psych] Brain buzz that proves Chinese is harder to learn than English]

[H.M.Hubey]

<><><><><><><><><><><><>--This is the Language List--<><><><><><><><><><><><><>




-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [evol-psych] Brain buzz that proves Chinese is harder to learn
than English
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 10:34:48 +0100
From: Ian Pitchford <ian.pitchford at scientist.com>
Reply-To: Ian Pitchford <ian.pitchford at scientist.com>
Organization: http://human-nature.com
To: evolutionary-psychology at yahoogroups.com



Brain buzz that proves Chinese is harder to learn than English

Tim Radford, science editor
Monday June 30, 2003
The Guardian

It's official: Chinese is more difficult than English.

The Chinese need both sides of the brain to grapple with challenges of
Mandarin, but English speakers listen with only half their minds on the job.

Sophie Scott, a psychologist at the Wellcome Trust, and colleagues from
hospitals in Oxford and London performed brain scans on volunteers as they
listened to their native languages.

When English speakers heard the sound of Mockney, Mersey or Geordie, their left
temporal lobes lit up on screen. When Mandarin Chinese speakers heard their
native tongue, there was a buzz of action in both the right and left temporal
lobes.

"We were very surprised to discover that people who speak different sorts of
languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways, said Dr Scott.
"It overturned some long-held theories."

The left temporal lobe is normally associated with piecing sounds together into
words; the right with processing melody and intonation.

Full text
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,987745,00.html




News in Brain and Behavioural Sciences - Issue 101 - 29th June, 2003
http://human-nature.com/nibbs/issue101.html
Human Nature Review http://human-nature.com/
Evolutionary Psychology http://human-nature.com/ep/

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/





---<><><><><><><><><><><><>----Language----<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Copyrights/"Fair Use":  http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
The "fair use" exemption to copyright law was created to allow things
such as commentary, parody, news reporting, research and education
about copyrighted works without the permission of the author. That's
important so that copyright law doesn't block your freedom to express
your own works -- only the ability to express other people's.
Intent, and damage to the commercial value of the work are
important considerations.

You are currently subscribed to language as: language at listserv.linguistlist.org
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-language-4283Y at csam-lists.montclair.edu
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/language/attachments/20030630/c232e132/attachment.htm>