SCIENTISTS SAY LEARNING HINDI IS GOOD FOR YOUR BRAIN *** Jai Maharaj posts
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Learning Hindi is good for your brain
By Dinesh C. Sharma
India Today
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Indraprasth aka New Delhi, November 4, 2009 - Learning Hindi has an
advantage over English -- it exercises more areas of the brain
compared to the Queen's language.
In a first-of-its-kind study in the country, scientists have
discovered that reading Hindi involves more areas of human brain than
English.
Scientists at the Manesar-based National Brain Research Centre (NBRC)
have for the first time studied the processing of an Indian script --
Devanagari -- in the human brain using functional Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (fMRI).
In Devanagari, consonants are written in a linear left-to-right order
and vowel signs are positioned above, below or on either side of the
consonants.
As a result, the vowel precedes the consonant in writing certain
words but follows it in speech making it a unique script.
"Our results suggest bilateral activation-participation from both
left and right hemispheres of the brain-for reading phrases in
Devanagari," said Nandini Chatterjee Singh, who led the multi-
disciplinary team of researchers.
The human brain does not have dedicated neurological circuits
specifically meant for reading.
Therefore, reading involves restructuring of the existing neural
architecture or activation of certain areas of the brain depending on
the script one is reading.
English, which uses the Roman script, is alphabetic. That is, it has
vowels and consonants that are written linearly from left to right.
Reading English-and other alphabetic languages-involves activation of
areas in the left hemisphere of the brain.
In contrast, Devanagari has the properties of both alphabetic and
syllabic scripts. Scientists have found reading the language involves
activation of the left and right hemisphere.
The result of the study has recently appeared in journal Current
Science. Researchers used the fMRI technique to record images of a
working brain while reading Hindi. The study was conducted with
individuals who primarily read Devanagari.
"While it is difficult to find in India a population that reads only
Hindi and no English, we could manage to find individuals who
primarily read Hindi and have been doing so for the last 20 years,"
Singh said.
In India, she said, children usually learn to read two scripts (often
English and a regional language) almost simultaneously in school.
"If this is the best way to teach our children still remains to be
determined. What the implications of this are for dyslexia is also
something we are investigating. The practical implications of our
studies will hopefully emerge in the next few years," Singh added.
Courtesy: Mail Today
More at:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/69218/LATEST
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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benl...@ihug.co.nz
In other words it has a more complicated writing system, so your brain
has to work harder while reading. That this is "good for your brain"
is an unproven assumption. If it is, learning Chinese or Japanese
ought to be even better.