Article:Really? Really. How Our Brains Figure Out What Words Mean Based On How They're Said

Hi Marcus, I had a bit of a giggle when I read this.As a former primary school teacher I had quite a few students that had problems underatnding if soemthing was a question or a statement. The use of high rise intonation on so many tv shows had a lot to answer for both in the students' understanding and their speech (it was alos soemthing I studied as part of my linguistics course which probably made me more aware of it). Now, after my stroke, I know that I sometimes don;t undersatnd the meaning behind what soemone is saying and I'm sure it is down to my changed hearing. Music sounds different to me  so no wonder the intonations of speech can get lost when trying to hear the words and putting them into context. It has led to some humourous moments...though some have nto shwon their funny moment until later

Toni

Hi Toni

 Nice to meet you and  thank you for finding this article interesting.   I too was an originally elementary school teacher  before I went to Japan teaching university. 

 After I didn't have problems with intonation,  but I found it very difficult to listen to some peoples conversations  because their intonation.  If  they were flat then I just couldn't understand what they were talking about and remember  what they had said.   The conversations were just  like water on

the beach, they just disappeared. 

 Have had some  very situation when I teach for a year. In my blog in EnableMe,  I recall two or three situations where I just didn't  know what  students were talking recall the word.   If you have time please you might find it quite funny. 

Marcus

Hi Marcus, I did read your blog re finding the correct words and it was a funny read. I can have a lot of trouble talking on the phone both when spaking and listening. The doctors have deiceded that I must do  a bit of lip reading when talking face to face which obvioulsy I can;t do on the phone so my undersatnding is affected. Coupe this with the effort the brain has to go through to listen, undersatnd and come up with a response and it can all become too much. Thank goodness for email and texting :) Have a lovely weekend

Toni

Hi Toni

I  nearly never talk on the telephone but  because I lost my Japanese listening skills.  My English is pretty good but if it's a long conversation I start losing the plot. 

 I still have to sound out words before reading it.  If a word is difficult, I have to say the first letter to remember how to write a word. That is, 'w' for water, so  I can spell 'whisper'. 

Also,  I always read aloud by myself because it helps me to sound the words correctly.  I can read now very well but I have to check  difficult or long words.  

 Aphasia is a bastard but little by little I'm getting better.  In September I am back to work so I will see if I can do with it again. 

Marcus

Marcus, One thing I find amazing the mroe I read everyone's different stroke stories is how much we can have the same expeirences yet have such different ones as well. I can read words without any problem but since my stroke I have been unable to reada  book. Newspaper articles are okay though i may not remeber details. I now read a few articles and then try to tell my husband the details of one of them.  I struggle reading aloud. From being someone who used to love reading stories to children and putting on a variety of voices, I have lost my sense of timing, fluency and expression. But who knows, with time things may improve.

Hi Toni

I had my stroke three years but only in the last 3-4 months have been able to read a novel, enjoy and completely understand.  

I tried to read but it has some difficult, missing words, losing the plot, and cognitive fatigue. So,  don't be hard on yourself.  

I use this site from some of my classes, but it is excellent for stroke survivors who need listening, comprehension, and reading. These are a huge number of activities in the full site, or you can just the short two-page articles. 

My friends helped me with my rehab and this site was very useful.  If you have time, check it out. 

Aphasia takes time, patience, and a lot of hard boring work, but this is the only way. 

 Have a good day! 

Marcus