Biological Perspectives on Language (New Liberal Arts Series)

Profoundly influenced by the analyses of contemporary linguistics, these original contributions bring a number of different views to bear on important issues in a controversial area of study. The linguistic structures and language-related processes the book deals with are for the most part central (syntactic structures, phonological representations, semantic readings) rather than peripheral (acoustic-phonetic structures and the perception and production of these structures) aspects of language. Each section contains a summarizing introduction. Section I takes up issues at the interface of linguistics and neurology: The Concept of a Mental Organ for Language; Neural Mechanisms, Aphasia, and Theories of Language; Brain-based and Non-brain-based Models of Language; Vocal Learning and Its Relation to Replaceable Synapses and Neurons. Section II presents linguistic and psycholinguistic issues: Aspects of Infant Competence and the Acquisition of Language; the Linguistic Analysis of Aphasic Syndromes; the Clinical Description of Aphasia (Linguistic Aspects); The Psycholinguistic Interpretation of Aphasias; The Organization of Processing Structure for Language Production; and The Neuropsychology of Bilingualism. Section III deals with neural issues: Where is the Speech Area and Who has Seen It? Determinants of Recovery from Aphasia; Anatomy of Language; Lessons from Comparative Anatomy; Event Related Potentials and Language; Neural Models and Very Little About Language. The book is in the series, Studies in Neuropsychology and Neurolinguistics.