【574期 英語時間】Your brain on language
發佈時間：00:00 2021-05-27
Which do you think is easier to learn – the Chinese or English language? Did you know that we actually use different areas of our brains to process the two languages?
| Reading Chinese | Reading English | |
| Which part of the brain is mainly responsible? | 1. Left middle frontal area (in the front part of the brain) | 1. Left temporal-parietal area |
| Why are different parts involved? | 1. Chinese is logographic 2. Each character is made up of strokes 3. Good visual-spatial processing is required for understanding the square-shaped characters | 1. English is alphabetic 2. Each word is made up of letters 3. Good sound awareness is required for understanding the letters and words |
| How can we learn the language more effectively? | 1. Focus more on handwriting skills 2. Because the premotor region (for writing) is just next to the key region for Chinese language | 1. Focus more on listening skills 2. Because the auditory region (for hearing) is close to the key region for English language |
One more interesting fact:
THE Japanese writing system consists of both Kanji (eg, 漢字) and Kana (eg, ひらがな；カタカナ). Hence, when reading Japanese, the brain gets busy juggling the two kinds of scripts. In other words, when reading Kanji, people use the Chinese pathway; when reading Kana, they use the English pathway instead.
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