Language Development and Disorders Individuals have wondered for a very long time whether language was uniquely a human trait Our closest relative is the chimp but their vocal chords aren t the same so they can t produce sounds like us We also know that animals communicate with each other but can they communicate with us in a way that shows they understand us Do animals understand us From early on researchers started working with primates chimps There ve been several famous chimps over the years Washoo learned a 130 different signs in sign language Other researchers have taught chimps to use keys as a method of communicating These animals would only use this form of communication to ask for something They would never communicate spontaneously If humans mixed up language to ask questions the primate had no idea what was happening So there were arguments against animals understanding communication A little later researchers were working with a particular Barnoba primate trying to teach her sign language Mathasa had two children who hung out with her They caught on to the sign language very well despite not being taught They used the symbols to communicate These two primates used the symbols to simply chat with each other They used language to explain the past which never happened before Alex is an African grey parrot owner was convinced Alex could talk But even she backed off a little bit in later years But Alex couldn t talk good at concept formation As far as our language goes there are two theories One is that language is simply a by product of overall brain development Other hypothesis is that language developed as an extra specialized function of the brain didn t just happen it developed specially Is language a by product of overall brain development It is known that there s a particular genetic disorder that renders patients to have normal brain size and normal intelligence but they can t produce normal language The opposite problem also exists There is a particular genetic disorder that is called Williams syndrome that has a chromosome 7 anomaly people with this syndrome are profoundly affected they can t care for themselves But they are really good at reading others expressions but where they shine is in language Given the amount of retardation they have their language abilities are phenomenal Other hypothesis is that language is an extra part of the brain evolved specially More researchers think that this is the case They think we have a so called language acquisition device The language acquisition device isn t exactly a structure but they think we just have an innate mechanism for acquiring language One theory relates to poverty of the stimulus argument Most children early on learning language they just know certain grammatical rules Children seem to produce grammar and learn skills they ve never heard before This is the poverty of the stimulus argument They just seem to know these skills Another thing is the ease with which we acquire language Even Deaf children learn sign language and will make their own up if they re not taught something Is there a certain period we need to see development of language or will there be trouble Earlier is better Start children in first grade for a second language There are very few cases of Deaf individuals that have been isolated from all language In those very few cases in those individuals there s good evidence that they can t learn sign That s the best evidence we have of a critical period for language Interesting with children who are reared in bilingual household They can speak two languages very well One sees thicker frontal and temporal cortexes in both hemispheres of these children This kids have been born and raised in these households if they don t learn a second language before age six it s all left hemisphere if one learns a second language Don t learn language until 12 then you will never be as good as a native speaker As far as language goes in adults we know what we know from individuals with brain damage This is how we know what areas of the brain are important for language Aphasia is trouble with language If transient person will regain speech Complete person will never speak again If someone has aphasia and one autopsies the person one will find damage in a particular area of the frontal lobe near the motor cortex left hemisphere that area is called Broca s area If just Broca s area is damaged the aphasia will be transient If it includes Broca s area and other surrounding areas it s going to be complete People with transient Broca s aphasia can speak but it s not normal speech Difficulty with language production Speak slowly difficulty expressing themselves difficulty writing Can use gestures to explain themselves Individuals who are Deaf can t sign anymore These individuals will also exhibit telegraphic speech Amend words like and or but speech is telegraphic It s in the meaning not the pronunciation They have difficulty with phonetical reading Finally they have better language comprehension than production can understand what is being said to them Another language related disorder that can occur Damage to left temporal cortex Suffer from Wernicke s aphasia Wernicke s is near the auditory part of the left hemisphere If someone has Wernicke s they can produce language very well but they can t understand a single thing that is being said to them Can t understand verbal or written language produced by others Articulation is great but they speak fluent nonsense People with Wernicke s also suffer from anomia which is difficulty in recalling the names of objects These two areas are connected Language does occur in every human culture Same thing can be said for music No other species has developed these as we know them Data say we use language areas when we compose music Different cultures prefer music that match the rhythm and tones of their language For English speakers we have about 0 5 0 7 seconds between stressed syllables We prefer music with the same pattern between beats There are other things about music that are universal All cultures use an increase in volume for affect Interestingly professional musicians and even music students learn a second language more easily than non musicians Another language disorder is dyslexia Defined it s a difficulty in reading while visual and academic skill are adequate There does seem to be a slight genetic component more common in males than females Exists worldwide more cases