The Interplay of Language and Psychology

By: Jayita Bandargal 

Introduction 

Language is a structured system of communication using symbols and rules to convey meaning and expression. Communication is the process of exchanging information between organisms. 

Language and communication are the ways humans can be social creatures. They help us express emotions, ideas, and thoughts. We all have a certain ‘mother tongue’ we speak at home, like English, Swedish, Thai, Hindi, etc., which we were brought up with. That language is ingrained in us. 

Our Brain 

Learning a new language (at any age) is an excellent mental activity for your brain. It exercises the mind and creates more neuronal connections, increasing neuroplasticity (a process involving adaptive structural and functional changes to the brain (M. Puderbaugh and D. Emmady, 2023). 

The Brocas area (associated with speech function) and Wernicke’s area (associated with language comprehension) are also enhanced in the left hemisphere. Language also helps adolescents gain a sense of self-identity, as language is strongly associated with culture, which plays a significant role in everyone's life. Studies have also shown that speakers of several languages have a higher density of grey matter in the brain regions related to language and cognitive control. This is associated with an improved ability to process information and solve problems (British School of Barcelona, 2024). 

Our Emotions 

Words help us communicate or understand how we feel, connecting our emotions to that particular term. There is growing evidence for the CATs, a medical imaging technique that uses X-rays and computer technology to create detailed images of the inside of the body, predicting that concept knowledge supported by language plays a constitutive role in emotions (A. Lindquist, K. MacCormack, and H. Shablack, 2015). Without access to the meaning of emotional words such as “disgust,” vs. “anger,” vs. “fear,” vs. “sadness,” individuals perceive posed emotional facial expressions such as wrinkled noses, scowls, wide eyes, and frowns, as merely unpleasant (Lindquist et al., 2014). These findings suggest that access to the meaning of emotional words and the concepts they represent is an essential component of understanding the discrete meaning of emotional facial expressions (A. Lindquist, K. MacCormack, and H. Shablack, 2015). The words we use can shape what we feel inside. For example, our hearts race when we see someone we like or have to do something we do not like, categorizing these feelings as excitement or anxiety.

References 

Puderbaugh, M., & Emmady, P. D. (2023, May). Neuroplasticity. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557811/ 

British School of Barcelona. (n.d.). Neuroscience and language learning: Benefits for the brain. https://www.britishschoolbarcelona.com/blog/neuroscience-and-language-learning-benefits-for-t he-brain/ 

Lindquist, K. A., MacCormack, J. K., & Shablack, H. (2015). The role of language in emotion: Predictions from psychological constructionism. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 121301. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00444