Language production consists of materializing signs (sound or written) that symbolize objects, ideas, etc., according to a convention specific to a linguistic community.
(Lecours et al., 1979)
Within language there are several processes that can be affected:
- Expression: the ability to formulate meaningful and grammatically correct ideas.
- Comprehension: the ability to understand the meaning of words or ideas.
- Vocabulary: knowledge of the lexicon.
- Naming: the ability to name objects, people or events.
- Fluency: the ability to produce linguistic content quickly and effectively.
- Discrimination: the ability to recognize, differentiate and interpret language-related content.
- Repetition: the ability to produce the same sounds that are heard.
- Writing: the ability to transform ideas into symbols, characters and images.
- Reading: the ability to interpret symbols, characters and images and transform them into speech.
Total or partial impairment of language is generally called aphasia, but there are many types depending on which specific aspects are impaired. Thus, some language disorders related to expression are mutism, anomia and agrammatism. If comprehension is affected, we can speak of disorders such as word deafness or, if the person has writing problems, agraphia. These are just a few examples, but there is a wide variety of language disorders since, as we have said, it is a very complex function.
What is language for?
Human beings are social by nature, and language allows us to communicate in any of its forms (spoken or written).
For this reason, and since we now live immersed in the information society, problems in this area translate into limitations in a person’s daily life at different levels. Can you imagine not being able to say what you think? Surely it has happened to you that you cannot remember the exact word you want to say; well, that would only be the tip of the iceberg. And besides communicating what we want or need, it is also essential to understand what others tell us. Imagine yourself in a country where people speak a language you do not know and you are unable to understand anything. Or not being able to read a sign because you mix up the letters, or to write your shopping list on a note. As you can see, language is fundamental in our daily lives.
Components of language
In addition to the processes above, linguistics and speech-language pathology describe language through its components, which can be impaired separately:
- Phonology: the sounds of a language and the rules for combining them.
- Morphosyntax: how words are formed and ordered in a sentence.
- Semantics: the meaning of words and sentences.
- Pragmatics: the use of language according to context, intention, and listener.
Language areas in the brain
In most people, language depends mainly on the left hemisphere. The classic model places production in Broca’s area, in the frontal lobe, and comprehension in Wernicke’s area, in the temporal lobe, linked by the arcuate fasciculus. Current models, such as the dual-stream model of Hickok and Poeppel (2007), describe a wider network: a dorsal stream, which connects sounds to articulation, and a ventral stream, which connects sounds to meaning. The right hemisphere is involved in intonation and in understanding irony, metaphor, and the overall sense of discourse.
Language disorders
Language disorders can be acquired, when they appear after an injury, or developmental. The main ones are:
- Aphasia: total or partial loss of language due to a brain lesion, most often a stroke. It may mainly affect expression (Broca’s aphasia), comprehension (Wernicke’s aphasia), or both (global aphasia).
- Anomia: difficulty finding words. It is the most common symptom of aphasia and appears early in Alzheimer’s disease.
- Alexia and agraphia: loss of the ability to read or write after an injury.
- Developmental language disorder (DLD): persistent difficulty acquiring language with no other cause to explain it.
- Dyslexia: a specific difficulty in learning to read accurately and fluently.
They should not be confused with speech disorders, such as dysarthria or apraxia of speech, in which articulation fails, not language.
How language is assessed
Assessment goes through the processes one by one: spontaneous speech and fluency, comprehension, naming, repetition, reading, and writing. The pattern of preserved and impaired processes makes it possible to identify the type of aphasia. Widely used tests include the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, the Boston Naming Test, verbal fluency tasks, and the Token Test. NeuronUP Assessment offers a digital version of the Token Test to assess verbal comprehension.
How language is trained in rehabilitation
Language therapy works. The Cochrane review by Brady et al. (2016), with 57 trials, concludes that speech and language therapy improves functional communication, comprehension, and expression in people with aphasia after stroke, and that results are better when therapy is intensive and sustained over time. Cicerone et al. (2019) recommend it as a practice standard.
Intervention combines exercises that work on each process (naming with phonological or semantic cues, following commands, building sentences) with communication training in real situations and, when needed, augmentative and alternative communication systems.
NeuronUP exercises to rehabilitate language
At NeuronUP we have many activities for language rehabilitation, such as hangman, a fun game for working on vocabulary that involves guessing hidden words by choosing the letters that form them one by one.
To work on naming, an ideal exercise is naming objects with the help of phonological cues.
As for comprehension, the activity shown below involves saying whether a series of sentences are correct or incorrect in relation to the situation shown in a picture. This activity, for example, has two modes, one in which the sentences are presented verbally and another in which they appear in writing, since not all patients have the same type of deficit.
These are some of the NeuronUP activities for working on the different language processes:
True or False (Auditory)
Comprehension
Say whether the sentences you hear are true or false for the picture shown.
Matching Nouns to Images
Vocabulary
Match each noun to the picture that represents it.
Differentiate numbers
Discrimination
Choose the number you hear from several options.
What’s its name?
Vocabulary
Match each noun to the picture that represents it.
What Number Do You Hear?
Discrimination
Choose the number you hear.
Frequently asked questions about language
What is language in cognitive functions?
Language is a high-level cognitive function involving processes of symbolization related to encoding and decoding. It encompasses the production of spoken or written signs that symbolize objects, ideas, and more, according to the conventions of a linguistic community.
What are the key components of language?
The key components of language include expression, comprehension, vocabulary, naming, fluency, discrimination, repetition, writing, and reading.
Why is language important?
Language is essential for communication, allowing individuals to express thoughts, understand others, and engage effectively in daily life. Difficulties in language can lead to challenges in various aspects of personal and professional interactions.
What are common language disorders?
Common language disorders include aphasia, mutism, anomia, agrammatism, verbal deafness, and agraphia, each affecting different components of language function.
How does NeuronUP assist in language rehabilitation?
NeuronUP offers various activities for language rehabilitation, such as ‘Hangman’ to enhance vocabulary, naming objects with phonological cues to address naming deficits, and tasks involving sentence verification to improve comprehension.
What are the language areas of the brain?
The best known are Broca’s area, in the left frontal lobe, related to production, and Wernicke’s area, in the left temporal lobe, related to comprehension. We now know that language depends on a wider network connecting frontal, temporal, and parietal regions, with a contribution from the right hemisphere.
What is the difference between language and speech?
Language is the ability to understand and formulate messages using symbols: words, sentences, and meanings. Speech is the motor act that produces the sounds. A person with aphasia has impaired language; a person with dysarthria has impaired speech but preserved language.
Can language be recovered after a stroke?
In many cases yes, at least in part. Most recovery takes place in the first months, but improvement can continue for years with therapy. Studies show that intensive speech and language therapy improves communication in people with aphasia.
References
- Brady, M. C., Kelly, H., Godwin, J., Enderby, P., & Campbell, P. (2016). Speech and language therapy for aphasia following stroke. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016(6), CD000425. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD000425.pub4
- Cicerone, K. D., Goldin, Y., Ganci, K., Rosenbaum, A., Wethe, J. V., Langenbahn, D. M., Malec, J. F., Bergquist, T. F., Kingsley, K., Nagele, D., Trexler, L., Fraas, M., Bogdanova, Y., & Harley, J. P. (2019). Evidence-based cognitive rehabilitation: Systematic review of the literature from 2009 through 2014. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 100(8), 1515–1533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2019.02.011
- Friederici, A. D. (2011). The brain basis of language processing: From structure to function. Physiological Reviews, 91(4), 1357–1392. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00006.2011
- Hickok, G., & Poeppel, D. (2007). The cortical organization of speech processing. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8(5), 393–402. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2113
