PSYCHOLINGUISTICS

(Neurological Base in Language)

Lecturer in Charge: Dwi Eka Putra, S.Pd.,M.Hum.

Created By:

Ni Nyoman Ayu Anggita Kusuma

18.3.005

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

SEKOLAH TINGGI KEGURUAN DAN ILMU PENDIDIKAN
(STKIP) AGAMA HINDU AMLAPURA
OCTOBER 2021
 PREFACE
Thank to Almighty God for the blessing and grace for the writers, so that the writers
can finish this paper on time. On this occasion, the writers would like to thank profusely to
Mr. Dwi Eka Putra, S.Pd.,M.Hum as lecturer in Psycholinguistics subject.
This paper is written to complete the assignment of Psycholinguistics subject. In
this paper discuss about one scope of Psycholinguistics, which is Neurological base in
language. The writer is fully aware that the many flaws in the writing of this paper, in terms
of material, technical and material presentation. Therefore, the writer expects criticism and
constructive suggestions to further refine the writing of this paper. Finally, the writer hopes
that the writing of this paper can be useful for readers.

Amlapura, October 2021

The writers

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE................................................................................................................................ i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................... ii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background of the Problem .......................................................................................... 1
1.2 Problem Formulations ................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Purposes of the Paper .................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER II DISCUSSION .................................................................................................. 3
2.1 Neurological Base in Language ................................................................................... 3
2.2 Human Language and Animal Language ..................................................................... 3
2.3 The Evolution of Human Brain ..................................................................................... 4
2.4 The Difference of Human Brain and Animal Brain ...................................................... 5
2.5 The Relationship Between Brain and Language ........................................................... 9
2.6 Aphasia (Communication Disorder) .......................................................................... 10
CHAPTER III CLOSSING .................................................................................................. 13
3.1 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 13
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 14

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 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Problem
Human understanding of language is influenced by biological and neurological
factors. These factors that differentiate human and animal language. Human language
development is closely related with biological development. Factors that are also very
important in language mastery is a neurological factor, it is the relationship between the
human brain and language.
Neurological factors discuss the relationship between the human brain and
language. Neurology is closely related to language because of human abilities use
language not only because of the environment but also because of the neurological
nature brought from birth. The brain has a huge role in the acquisition, understanding
and use of language. The language process starts from the semantic encoding,
grammatical encoding, and phonological encoding, then followed by phonological
decoding, grammatical decoding, and ends with semantic and even pragmatic decoding.
In this occasion, the structure and organization of the human brain will be presented to
provide knowledge of the problems of acquiring, understanding, and using language as
well as the consequences that will arise if there is a disturbance in the brain.

1.2 Problem Formulations

Based on the background described above, several problems can be formulated, as
follows :
1.2.1 What is the neurological base in language?
1.2.2 Why is human language different from animal language?
1.2.3 How did the human brain evolve?
1.2.4 What is the difference between the human brain and the animal brain?
1.2.5 What is the relationship between brain and language?
1.2.6 What is aphasia and what are its types?

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1.3 Purposes of the Paper
1.3.1 To know the neurological base in language.
1.3.2 To know why is human language different from animal language.
1.3.3 To know the evolution of the human brain.
1.3.4 To know the difference between human brain and animal brain.
1.3.5 To find out the relationship between the brain and language.
1.3.6 To find out the meaning and types of aphasia.

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 CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION

2.1 Neurological Base in Language

Neurology is a branch of science in medicine that focuses on the brain and
nervous system. A doctor who specializes in treating diseases and all types of treatment
for disorders of the brain and nervous system, commonly known as neurologists.
According to Umar (2014:66), Neurology is a science that focuses on the biological
basis language and brain structures that underlie acquisition and use of language.
A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human
communication (Wardhaugh, in Ramelan, 1984). In sociolinguistics, language is a
system, symbol, sound, arbitrary, productive, dynamic, diverse, and human.
Therefore, Language is a system. It means, language is formed by a number of
components which is patterned and has meaning.
As mentioned earlier, the brain has an important role in language. The
factors that affect one's language mastery not only on the environment, culture, and
so on, but also influenced by someone's brain. The human brain consists of two
parts. Those are the brain stem and cerebral cortex. brain stem has functions for the
physical functions of the body and the cerebral cortex has function for intellectual
and language. Cortex of the human brain consists of two parts, namely the left
hemisphere and the right hemisphere. The left hemispher controls the right hand side
of the body, controlling speech, language, and recognition of words, letters, and
numbers. While the right hemispher controls the left hand side of the body,
controlling creativity, context and recognition of faces, places, and objects.

2.2 Human Language and Animal Language

Human language and animal language are definitely different. There are several
things that distinguishes language from other communication, such as barking dogs,
waggle dance, and many others. There are several opinions about these differences.

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 According to Bernstein Ratner there are some special characteristics that only found in
human language. These characteristics include:
1. Human language has a hierarchical structure. Message (in human language) can be
divided into smaller units of analysis.
2. Human language has infinite creativity. Language users can produce and
understand sentences in their language without limited. Different from animals
that can only produce limited language.
3. Human language can express the experience of language users even if the
experience is abstract. It is does not found in animal language. They can only
reveal things that are only in front of them. If the object is not there, then they
(animals) cannot convey same message.
4. Language is a rule-governed system of behavior. There is no right or wrong in
barking dogs. Dogs can bark as they wish. However, in human language there are
certain systems that make a word/sentence acceptable or rejected.
5. Language is arbitrary. English, or other languages for instance, languages has
conventions regarding the placement of words in sentences.
The difference in communication systems between humans and animals is
caused by differences in structure mouth, tongue, and brain organization. Human
brain and animals brain both structure and organization are very different. Because of
this difference in neurological factors that is why humans able to speak while animals
cannot.

2.3 The Evolution of Human Brain

Humans grew gradually from one form to another over millions of years. One
of the growths that has been investigated by palaneurologists shows that the evolution
of the brain from the primates of Austropolopithecus to humans today has taken place
about 3 million years. this can be seen at least in the size of the brain which increased
from 400 milligrams to 1400 milligrams in the period 3-4 million years ago. From the
emergence of Homo Erectus to the existence of Homo Sapiens about 1.7 million

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 years ago the size of the human brain has almost doubled, from 800 milligrams to
1,500 milligrams.
Brain development can be divided into four stages (Holloway in Dajowidjoja
2005.202). The first stage is the stage of size development as mentioned above. This
stage is seen in Homo Erectus found on Java and in China. The second stage is brain
reorganization. There is a valley in the brain that shifts so that it expands other areas
such as an area called the parietal area. This change occurs in Preaustrolopithecus to
Austrolopithecus Afarensis. The third stage is the emergence of different fiber
systems in certain areas through the corpus callosum. This fiber is likened to an
electric cable that provides an electric current to move or do something. The final
stage is the appearance of two asymmetrical hemispheres. These last two
developments (the third and fourth) occurred during the transition from Homo
Erectus to Homo Sapiens. Thus, the human brain has evolved (changes in brain
function slowly) from the simplest to the most complex.

2.4 Human Brain and Animal Brain

Humans and animals are certainly different. In addition to their physical
differences, Humans and animals also have differences in their brains. According to
Dardjowidjojo (2012:202), the volume of human brain is indeed larger than animals
brain, but what makes the difference between humans and animals, especially in
terms of the use of language is not brain size and weight. Humans are different with
animals because the structure and organization of the brain are different, so that their
functions and uses are also different in terms of language thing. In this case, humans
have more abilities than others creatures, especially in terms of language. Here are the
differences between the human brain with animal brain :
2.4.1 Human Brain
The brain is the nerve center for humans. The brain sucks up 15% of whole
blood circulation to the heart and requires 20% of the human metabolism
(Dardjowidjojo, 2012: 203). This proves that the human brain requires more
attention than any other organ. In terms of size, the weight of the human

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brain is 1 to 1.5 kilograms with an average of 1330 grams according to
Halloway (Dardjowijdjojo, 2012:203). So, it shows that the human brain is
different from other creatures in terms of its form and function.
All of the human nervous system consists of two main parts: (a) the
backbone that consisting of a series of vertebrae (spinal cord) and (b) brain.
In general, the brain itself consists of two parts. (i) brain stem and (ii)
cerebral cortex.

The brain stem consists of parts called the medulla, pons, midbrain
and cerebellum. These sections are related to function physical body,
including breathing, heartbeat, movement, reflexes, digestion, and the
emergence of emotions according to Steinberg (Dardjowidjojo, 2012:203).

Cerebellum

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 According to Dardjowidjojo (2012:203), the cerebral cortex handles intellectual
functions and language, the human cerebral cortex is made up of two parts. Those are
left hemisphere and right hemisphere. These two hemispheres are connected by about
200 million fibers is called the corpus callosum. So, the left and right hemispheres are
one unit but separated by the corpus callosum which serves as a liaison and
coordinates the left and right hemispheres. The left hemisphere controls all the limbs
on the right side, including the right side of the face. In contrast, the right hemisphere
controls limbs and left face (Dardjowijojo, 2012: 204). So, between the left and right
hemispheres both control each other in terms of controlling movement and human
behavior, while the corpus callosum as liaison between the left and right hemispheres
in charge of integrating and coordinate what the two hemispheres do. When humans
are born there is no division of function between the hemispheres. However, before
the child reaches the age of about 12 years, there is a division a function called
lateralization (Dardjowijojo, 2012: 205).

Basically the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere is the reflection of the
mirror, both of which are interrelated can not be separated. In relation to language,
the part that plays the most important role is the left hemispher, According to
Geschwind (Dardjowidjojo, 2012:206). Further, he said the left hemisphere consists
of four lobes named:

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 a. The frontal lobe which functions to take care of related matters with cognition
such as thinking, memory, behaviour and movement.
b. The temporal lobe is in charge of taking care of things that are related to hearing,
learning and feelings.
c. The occipital lobe is responsible for dealing with vision.
d. The parietal lobe is in charge of managinglanguage, and somaesthetic taste, such
as feel the touce in hands, feet, face, etc.

2.4.2 Animal Brain

Human brains and animal brains are different, not only in its form, but also
in its functions. According to Dardjowidjojo (2012:208) on creatures such as
fish, mice, and birds for example, its cerebral cortex are not visible. whereas in
humans, the cortex is highly developed and most of the human brain is used for
mental processes, including linguistic processes. This proves the neurological
differences that make humans can speak while animals do not.
Humans can speak, while animals cannot. According to Chaer (2009:140)
language and using language are two different things. Animals that are trained,
like in a circus, do understand language because they (animals) can do what they

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 are ordered to do. However, their understanding is actually not because they
understand the language, but as a result of conditioned responses. It's different
with parrots that can talk, it's not because of the parrots can talk but the parrots
has an articulation tool that can imitating human speech that is heard or
practiced. It can be concluded that animals cannot speak, and the parrots can only
say the words they have heard and they can not talk with a new sentence before
the sentence was heard.

2.5 The Relationship Between Brain and Language

The brain plays a very important role in language. It has been stated
previously that certain nerves in the brain are related to language functions, both
spoken and written. It can be proven that there is a language disorder for people
who have brain damage or accidents that hit the head. In addition, experiments on
the nerves in the brain for healthy people are also carried out. The nerves in the
brain related to language function are Broca's area, Wernicke's area, and the
superior speech cortex or supplementary motor area. Based on the three neural
regions, it can be said that there are certain parts of the nerves in the left human
brain that influence humans to produce speech to speak and communicate with
others.
If the input is in spoken form, then the sounds are responded to in the
temporal lobe, specifically by the primary auditory cortex. After the sound is
received, digested, and processed, the incoming language sound is sent to
Wernicke's area for interpretation. In this area, the sounds are sorted into syllables,
words, phrases, clauses, and finally into sentences. After the sound has been given
meaning and the contents are understood, there are two possible paths. If the input is
just information that does not need to be responded to, then the input is simply
stored in memory. However, if the input needs a verbal response, the interpretation
is sent to Broca's area via the arcuate fasciculus.
In Broca's area the response process begins after it is decided what the verbal
response sounds like, then Broca's area instructs the motor cortex to carry out the

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 process. Execution in the motor cortex is also not simple. For an utterance there are
at least 100 muscles and 140,000 neuromuscular circuits involved. This process is
shown in the picture below (1b).

If the input is not in spoken form, but in written form, then the processing
path will be different. As shown in the picture above (1a).
Input is not responded to by the primary auditory cortex, but by the visual cortex in
the occipital lobe. This input is not sent directly to Wernicke's area, but must pass
through the angular gyrus which coordinates the comprehension area with the
occipital area. After this stage, the process is the same, that is, the input is
understood by Wernicke's area, then sent to Broca's area if a verbal response is
needed.

2.6 Aphasia (Communication Disorder)

Aphasia is a communication disorder that leaves patients unable to effectively
express or understand spoken or written language. Aphasia is always due to injury to
the brain-most commonly from a stroke, particularly in older individuals. But brain

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injuries resulting in aphasia may also arise from head trauma, from brain tumors, or
from infections.
Aphasia hinders a person's ability to communicate, but it does not impair
intelligence. People who have aphasia may have a hard time speaking and finding the
"right" words to complete their thoughts. They may also have problems understanding
conversation, reading and comprehending written words, writing words, and using
numbers. People with aphasia may also repeat words or phrases. There are different
types of aphasia. Each can cause impairment that varies from mild to serious. Common
types of aphasia include the following:
1. Expressive aphasia (non-fluent).
With expressive aphasia, the person knows what they want to say, yet has a
hard time communicating it to others. It doesn't matter whether the person is
trying to say or write what they are trying to communicate.
2. Receptive aphasia (fluent).
With receptive aphasia, the person can hear a voice or read the print, but may
not understand the meaning of the message. Oftentimes, someone with
receptive aphasia takes language literally. Their own speech may be disturbed
because they do not understand their own language.
3. Anomic aphasia.
With anomic aphasia, the person has a hard time finding words. This is called
anomia. Because of the difficulties, the person struggles to find the right words
for speaking and writing.
4. Global aphasia.
This is the most severe type of aphasia. It is often seen right after someone has
a stroke. With global aphasia, the person has a hard time speaking and
understanding words. In addition, the person can’t read or write. With a stroke,
aphasia may improve with proper therapy.
5. Primary progressive aphasia.
Primary progressive aphasia is a rare disorder where people slowly lose their
ability to talk, read, write, and comprehend what they hear in conversation over

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a period of time. There’s no treatment to reverse primary progressive aphasia.
People with primary progressive aphasia are able to communicate in ways other
than speech. For instance, they might use gestures. And many benefit from a
combination of speech therapy and medications.

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 CHAPTER III
CLOSSING
3.1 Conclusion
The factors that affect someone's language mastery not only on the
environment, culture, and so on, but also influenced by someone's brain. Brain
evolution is a gradual change in brain function, both internal and external the process
of recognition, emotion, memory, motor learning which is a change traits that are
inherited from previous generations that take place continuously gradually. This proves
the neurological differences that allow humans to speak while animals do not.
In general, human brain consists of two parts. (i) brain stem and (ii) cerebral
cortex. The brain stem consists of parts called the medulla, pons, midbrain and
cerebellum. While the human cerebral cortex is made up of two parts. Those are left
hemisphere and right hemisphere. Each hemisphere of the brain dominates the other in
activity, but both involved in almost all thought processes. Right hemisphere and left
hemisphere both have an important role to complement each other.
The brain plays a very important role in language. Certain nerves in the brain are
related to language functions, both spoken and written. The nerves in the brain related
to language function are Broca's area, Wernicke's area, and the superior speech cortex
or supplementary motor area. Based on the three neural regions, it can be said that
there are certain parts of the nerves in the left human brain that influence humans to
produce speech to speak and communicate with others. However, if there is a problem
with the brain, especially those related to language functions, it will cause language
disorders that called aphasia. Aphasia is a communication disorder that leaves patients
unable to effectively express or understand spoken or written language. There are
different types of aphasia. Those are expressive aphasia, receptive aphasia, anomic
aphasia, global aphasia. and primary progressive aphasia. Each can cause impairment
that varies from mild to serious

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