Author: Dinesh C. Sharma
Publication: India Today
Date: November 4, 2009
URL: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/69218/LATEST%20NEWS/Learning%20Hindi%20is%20good%20for%20your%20brain.html
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.
