Issues in Applied Linguistics

Brain-based discussion of language has classically centered around models focused on Broca's and Wernicke's areas. Recent neurobiological research indicates that such models may be oversimplified. The present paper attempts to propose a model in which afar greater number of brain structures are involved in language functions. To demonstrate this model, three areas of the brain rarely associated with language, the anterior cingulate gyrus, the prefrontal cortex, and the basal temporal language area (fusiform gyrus) are examined. Recent neurobiological research linking these areas to language function will be reviewed to illustrate that a whole-brain view of language is both more feasible and better supported by data than the idea of a language specific brain system, such as the Wernicke-Geschwind model.