What are the common disorders that may accompany or be confused as aphasia?  by Sim

Aside from brain injuries that cause aphasia, others such as stroke, brain trauma, brain tumours and progressive neurological disease can also be included. Moreover, various disorders of communication that may be due to paralysis, weakness, or incoordination of speech can also be defined as aphasia. Because of that, they may accompany or be confused with aphasia: 

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(a) Apraxia 

• Collective term used to describe impairment in carrying out purposeful movements 

• Unable to perform common expressive gestures on request (wave good-bye, saluting, brushing teeth), also known as limb apraxia 

• Primarily affect oral, non-speech movements (pretend to cough, blow out a candle), also known as facial apraxia 

• However, it is not very apparent unless is asked to perform or imitate a pretended action 

• People with severe aphasia are usually extremely limited in their non-verbal communication, except for expressions of emotion 

• Thus, it underlies the limited ability of people with aphasia to compensate for the speech impairment using informative gestures 

 

(b) Apraxia of Speech 

• An impairment in the voluntary production of articulation and prosody (the rhythm and timing) of speech 

• Highly inconsistent speech errors 

 

(c) Dysarthria 

• A group of speech disorders resulting from weakness, slowness or incoordination of speech mechanism due to damage to any of the specific points in the nervous system 

• May involve disorders to some or all the basic speech processes: respiration phonation, resonance, articulation, prosody 

• It is a disorder of speech production, NOT language 

• Highly consistent speech errors 

 

(d) Dementia 

• A condition of impairment of memory, intellect, personality, and insight resulting from brain injury or disease 

• Some forms of dementia are progressive (Alzheimer’s disease, Picks disease, some Parkinson’s disease) 

• Language impairments are shown in dementia but are usually overshadowed by a more widespread intellectual loss 

• Since dementia is a progressive disorder, it is different from aphasia 

 

(e) Dysphagia 

• Patients who have difficulty swallowing and may experience pain while swallowing 

• Some may be completely unable to swallow or may have trouble swallowing liquids, foods, or saliva 

• Patients having dysphagia are unable to take in enough calories and fluids to nourish the body 

 

(f) Brain Trauma 

• Aphasia is sometimes caused by brain injury and may accompany damage after head trauma 

• People with aphasia after a head injury can see some improvements as the brain heals, speech-language therapy will also help in treating any lingering aphasia 

 

(g) Stroke 

• Number 1 cause for aphasia (25% - 40% of stroke survivors develop aphasia) 

• Bleeding in the left side of the brain can cause aphasia as the blood affects language centres in the brain 

• Fortunately, the brain can form new channels of communication after sustaining damage in a section, accompanied by speech-language therapy to help patients regain communication skills 

 

It is essential to distinguish these related disorders from aphasia because the treatments for each disorder are different. 

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Does second-language acquisition change the structure of our brains?  by Rachel

(a) Changes in grey and white matter

• These modifications are seen more prominently in adults rather than children.

• Volume and grey matter density are greater in areas highly associated with languages such as bilateral inferior frontal gyrus pars triangularis, inferior parietal lobule, anterior cingulate cortex, caudate and putamen. 

• These structural changes appear only after prolonged exposure to two or more languages. 

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(b) Age, when a second language was acquired, determines the structural changes

• If a second language was acquired simultaneously with the first language, there would be no effect on brain development.

• If a person learns a second language after being proficient in their native language, changes towards the brain structure will occur.

• The later a second language is learnt, the thickness of the left inferior frontal cortex will be greater.

• The left inferior frontal and parietal cortex undergoes modifications to stimulate new neural growth and connections when learning a new language.

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Do humans have a predisposition to learn a language?  by Wong

The answers for this question have a lot of controversies that created by the issue of whether language has a genetic component to it and if we are conditioned to acquire language by our environment. But according to Chomsky, a well-known linguist, he supported the idea that people have genetic predisposition to learn language.

 

He believed that all people had in-born mental that will store knowledge about Universal Grammar in brain. The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) is the name for this faculty. This evidence suggests that some environmental input is required to activate this LAD. The poverty of the stimulus argument states that the amount of input does not correlate with the language output produced by children. This argument suggests that children's first language instruction is often incomplete or incorrect, but it is still sufficient for them to learn their native language properly and completely. Chomsky theorized that we are born with an inherent understanding of language structure.

 

However, although researchers have found some evidences that we are born with the ability to learn languages, they have not discovered any genetic components supporting the acquisition of speech and language. Researchers didn't know what role genes played in the development of language until 2001. FOXP2 is the gene that was discovered to be linked to language, but it also has several other functions that are unrelated to language.

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Why does language die? by Kelly

A language is often declared to be dead when the last native speaker of the language has died. In Malaysia, there are six extinct languages which are Kenaboi, Wila', Seru, Lelak, Lengilu and Sabüm. These languages have no more native speakers exists in Malaysia. There are some reasons which cause language death. First, physical, environmental disasters including plagues, earthquakes, droughts, and other disasters have the possibility to kill or replace vulnerable communities that are in delicate equilibrium with the environment. These environmental changes are often caused by the actions of humans. Next, language death is also caused by socio-political factors. The minorities are forced into assimilation with foreign culture. These events are scattered throughout history. For example, the devastation of Native Americans by British and Europeans, and the conquest of Spanish indigenous peoples of Peru, Colombia, and other Latin American countries. Last but not least, governmental actions on the part of the dominant society also affect the existence of a language. Culture, identity, and solidarity are the reasons why dominant groups want to eradicate indigenous languages. Indigenous languages ​​are often compromised by shame, rebuke, and "folklore." The language has lost its reputation from the speakers themselves, especially among the younger generation. (Thompson et al., 2001)

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