New research from MIT neuroscientists suggests the human brain processes constructed languages such as Esperanto and Klingon in much the same way it handles widely spoken natural languages. Using functional MRI, the team found that core language regions activate when proficient speakers listen to sentences in these invented languages.<\/p>\n
The study focused on the brain\u2019s established language network, a set of areas that reliably responds when people hear their native tongue or another language they know well. Researchers say the findings help clarify what makes something count as language in the brain, beyond history, popularity, or cultural reach.<\/p>\n
To test the idea, MIT convened speakers of several constructed languages for a weekend data-collection event in November 2022. Participants included people proficient in Esperanto, Klingon from Star Trek, Na\u2019vi from Avatar, and High Valyrian and Dothraki from Game of Thrones.<\/p>\n
In total, 44 speakers underwent fMRI scanning while listening to sentences in a constructed language they knew. For comparison, they also listened to or read sentences in their native language and completed nonlinguistic tasks designed to separate language processing from general effort.<\/p>\n
Across participants, the same language-selective brain regions were engaged for constructed languages and native languages. The researchers interpret this as evidence that linguistic meaning and structure, not a language\u2019s natural evolution, are key to recruiting the language network.<\/p>\n
The findings also sharpen a contrast the team has reported in earlier work on programming languages. While code is an invented symbolic system, prior neuroimaging results indicate it relies more heavily on the brain\u2019s multiple demand network, which supports effortful reasoning and problem solving.<\/p>\n
MIT researchers argue the difference may come down to what kinds of meaning are expressed. Natural and constructed languages can describe objects, events, and internal states, whereas programming languages tend to operate as more self-contained, highly abstract systems.<\/p>\n
That distinction suggests a practical test for what the brain treats as language: whether it supports open-ended communication about the inner and outer world. It also implies that a relatively new language with a modest number of speakers can still be fully language-like to the brain if people become proficient in it.<\/p>\n
The team says future work will probe additional constructed languages, including Lojban, which was designed to reduce ambiguity through highly explicit grammar and logic-oriented design. Researchers hope this will further narrow which properties are necessary to activate the language network.<\/p>\n
Beyond conlang communities, the results may inform broader debates in cognitive science about language, meaning, and human learning. They may also help separate language processing from other complex symbol systems, a distinction with implications for education and human-computer interaction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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