Language and Speech Production

The other day I was thinking about writing a small research proposal around the idea of studying neurological basis for accent and language production. There were a few interrelated reasons for which this came to my mind. First is based on the observation that some people have a natural talent for adapting themselves to various accents. I have personally met some people who can change from a very crude Punjabi accent to a very polite Urdu accent in a fraction of a second. It was also very cool to observe a few people whose native language was Mewaati and they used to change between swinging Mewaati and plain Urdu in a fraction of a second. Same can be said about multilingual people who can speak languages other than Urdu, such as Siraaiki, Potowaari, Punjabi and possibly also English.  Indeed, I have seen people who can copy accents very fast and can have a wide variety. There are people who can mimic a plethora of lingual accents and dialects. Many comedians and actors fall under this category.

The other reason was based on the observation that some people are more prone to speaking in a harsh and impolite manner. Indeed, swearing is very common in Pakistan. I am not sure but I think that the tendency to swear is related to the idea that a person appears to be more masculine and virile if he does so. I am not sure if swearing is considered a crucial positive aspect in grooming and upbringing of an adolescent boy. Moreover, most of this profanity loving psychology is inherited from Bollywood movies too.  Swearing and the use of obscene expression can be very common in Pakistan. When you have a problem, you swear. When you are happy, swearing can sometimes be the best way to express that joy.

On the other hand, I have also had a chance to come across many very soft-spoken people both in Pakistan and abroad. There are languages and dialects that may be considered very euphonious and sweet sounding. Indeed, the way you speak or the way you are addressed can have a great impact on your personality. However, this may not be claimed that people who are more likely to use rough and obscene language are indecent, less effective or less loved in any way. On the contrary, a sweet sounding person can sometimes be considered weak and worthless as opposed to a person who uses whatever words that come to his mouth and somehow manages to achieves his objectives, such as developing a domineering aura around himself.

But I think that it is worthwhile to study the neurological basis for accent and language production. To this end, it can be a good idea to study how people learn to speak from an early age and how they develop one way of speaking or the other. It would also be a nice idea to see the social and psychological factors that affect the speech related affairs of human personality. Along with that it would also be interesting to study the neurological basis for language. It would be interesting to see what parts of the brain play an important role in language production. Similarly, to see how the human ability to speak evolve over the course of his/her life, and whether it is a adaptable trait. It would also be very interesting to study the benefits multilingual people can have over people who speak only one or two languages. And most importantly, I wonder that what are the benefits and pitfalls of speaking in one way or the other.