Bilingual Brains Share a Single 'Grammar Engine' for All Languages
Research featured in the Journal of Neuroscience on July 1 indicates that the brain employs identical neural processes for grammar across various languages. A team from New York University studied 23 highly skilled English-Spanish bilinguals, utilizing magnetoencephalography (MEG) to observe brain activity in real-time as participants formed singular and plural nouns in both languages, including cognates and pseudowords. The results revealed consistent brain activity patterns, suggesting a common 'grammatical engine.' These findings reflect a growing trend in bilingualism studies towards frameworks that view grammar as a flexible, language-agnostic system. Co-author Esti Blanco-Elorrieta remarked that this could ease language acquisition, although researchers warn that these results may not apply to more distinct language pairs, warranting further investigation.
Key facts
- Study published in Journal of Neuroscience on July 1.
- 23 highly proficient English-Spanish speakers participated.
- MEG tracked brain activity during noun pluralization tasks.
- Similar neural patterns found for both languages.
- Cognates and pseudowords did not alter the overlap.
- Suggests a single 'grammatical engine' for all languages.
- Co-author: Esti Blanco-Elorrieta (NYU).
- Mirjana Bozic (Cambridge) called findings 'highly informative'.
Entities
Institutions
- New York University
- University of Cambridge
- Journal of Neuroscience
- New York Times
- Cell
- Science
Locations
- New York City
- England