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Constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages
What constitutes a language? Natural languages share some features with other domains: from math, to music, to gesture. However, the brain mechanisms that process linguistic input are highly specialized, showing little or no response to diverse non-linguistic tasks. Here, we examine constructed lang...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
2023
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10402139/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37546901 http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.28.550667 |
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author | Malik-Moraleda, Saima Taliaferro, Maya Shannon, Steve Jhingan, Niharika Swords, Sara Peterson, David J. Frommer, Paul Okrand, Marc Sams, Jessie Cardwell, Ramsey Freeman, Cassie Fedorenko, Evelina |
author_facet | Malik-Moraleda, Saima Taliaferro, Maya Shannon, Steve Jhingan, Niharika Swords, Sara Peterson, David J. Frommer, Paul Okrand, Marc Sams, Jessie Cardwell, Ramsey Freeman, Cassie Fedorenko, Evelina |
author_sort | Malik-Moraleda, Saima |
collection | PubMed |
description | What constitutes a language? Natural languages share some features with other domains: from math, to music, to gesture. However, the brain mechanisms that process linguistic input are highly specialized, showing little or no response to diverse non-linguistic tasks. Here, we examine constructed languages (conlangs) to ask whether they draw on the same neural mechanisms as natural languages, or whether they instead pattern with domains like math and logic. Using individual-subject fMRI analyses, we show that understanding conlangs recruits the same brain areas as natural language comprehension. This result holds for Esperanto (n=19 speakers)— created to resemble natural languages—and fictional conlangs (Klingon (n=10), Na’vi (n=9), High Valyrian (n=3), and Dothraki (n=3)), created to differ from natural languages, and suggests that conlangs and natural languages share critical features and that the notable differences between conlangs and natural language are not consequential for the cognitive and neural mechanisms that they engage. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10402139 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-104021392023-08-05 Constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages Malik-Moraleda, Saima Taliaferro, Maya Shannon, Steve Jhingan, Niharika Swords, Sara Peterson, David J. Frommer, Paul Okrand, Marc Sams, Jessie Cardwell, Ramsey Freeman, Cassie Fedorenko, Evelina bioRxiv Article What constitutes a language? Natural languages share some features with other domains: from math, to music, to gesture. However, the brain mechanisms that process linguistic input are highly specialized, showing little or no response to diverse non-linguistic tasks. Here, we examine constructed languages (conlangs) to ask whether they draw on the same neural mechanisms as natural languages, or whether they instead pattern with domains like math and logic. Using individual-subject fMRI analyses, we show that understanding conlangs recruits the same brain areas as natural language comprehension. This result holds for Esperanto (n=19 speakers)— created to resemble natural languages—and fictional conlangs (Klingon (n=10), Na’vi (n=9), High Valyrian (n=3), and Dothraki (n=3)), created to differ from natural languages, and suggests that conlangs and natural languages share critical features and that the notable differences between conlangs and natural language are not consequential for the cognitive and neural mechanisms that they engage. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 2023-07-28 /pmc/articles/PMC10402139/ /pubmed/37546901 http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.28.550667 Text en https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) , which allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. |
spellingShingle | Article Malik-Moraleda, Saima Taliaferro, Maya Shannon, Steve Jhingan, Niharika Swords, Sara Peterson, David J. Frommer, Paul Okrand, Marc Sams, Jessie Cardwell, Ramsey Freeman, Cassie Fedorenko, Evelina Constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages |
title | Constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages |
title_full | Constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages |
title_fullStr | Constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages |
title_full_unstemmed | Constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages |
title_short | Constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages |
title_sort | constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10402139/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37546901 http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.28.550667 |
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