The Oxford Handbook of

Neurolinguistics Greig I. De Zubicaray

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 THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF

NEUROLINGUISTICS
THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF

NEUROLINGUISTICS

Edited by
GREIG I. DE ZUBICARAY
and
NIELS O. SCHILLER
 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: De Zubicaray, Greig, editor. | Schiller, Niels Olaf, 1969– editor.
Title: The Oxford handbook of neurolinguistics / edited by Greig de Zubicaray & Niels O. Schiller.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018013813 (print) | LCCN 2018032934 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190672034 (updf) |
ISBN 9780190672041 (online content) | ISBN 9780190914868 (epub) | ISBN 9780190672027 (cloth :
alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Neurolinguistics.
Classification: LCC QP399 (ebook) | LCC QP399.O94 2018 (print) | DDC 612.8/2336—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018013813
 CONTENTS

Preface
G I. Z N O. S
List of Contributors

1. Neurolinguistics: A Brief Historical Perspective

S E. B

PART I. THE METHODS

2. Neurolinguistic Studies of Patients with Acquired Aphasias
S M. W
3. Electrophysiological Methods in the Study of Language Processing
M L K D. F
4. Studying Language with Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
S H K S
5. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Study the Neural Network Account
of Language
T S
6. Magnetoencephalography and the Cortical Dynamics of Language
Processing
R S ,J K , M L
7. Shedding Light on Language Function and Its Development with Optical
Brain Imaging
 Y M A C
8. What Has Direct Cortical and Subcortical Electrostimulation Taught Us
about Neurolinguistics?
H D
9. Diffusion Imaging Methods in Language Sciences
M C S J. F

PART II. DEVELOPMENT AND PLASTICITY

10. Neuroplasticity: Language and Emotional Development in Children with
Perinatal Stroke
J S. R L R. P
11. The Neurolinguistics of Bilingualism: Plasticity and Control
D W. G J F. K
12. Language and Aging
J E. P
13. Language Plasticity in Epilepsy
J R. C M J. H
14. Language Development in Deaf Children: Sign Language and Cochlear
Implants
A J. N

PART III. ARTICULATION AND PRODUCTION

15. Neuromotor Organization of Speech Production
P T ,I D , A S D
16. The Neural Organization of Signed Language: Aphasia and
Neuroscience Evidence
D P. C L A. L
17. Understanding How We Produce Written Words: Lessons from the Brain
B R J P
18. Motor Speech Disorders
W Z ,T S ,I A , A
S
19. Investigating the Spatial and Temporal Components of Speech
Production
G I. Z V P
20. The Dorsal Stream Auditory-Motor Interface for Speech
G H

PART IV. CONCEPTS AND COMPREHENSION

21. Neural Representations of Concept Knowledge
A J. B M A. J
22. Finding Concepts in Brain Patterns: From Feature Lists to Similarity
Spaces
E M S L. T -S
23. The How and What of Object Knowledge in the Human Brain
F E. G B Z. M
24. Neural Basis of Monolingual and Bilingual Reading
P M. P -A ,M O ,I Q ,
M C
25. Dyslexia and Its Neurobiological Basis
K J N L
26. Speech Perception: A Perspective from Lateralization, Motorization,
and Oscillation
D P ,G B. C ,I D , A
F
27. Sentence Processing: Toward a Neurobiological Approach
I B -S M S
28. Comprehension of Metaphors and Idioms: An Updated Meta-analysis of
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies
A M R
29. Language Comprehension and Emotion: Where Are the Interfaces, and
Who Cares?
J J. A. B

PART V. GRAMMAR AND COGNITION

30. Grammatical Categories
D K
31. Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Agrammatism
C K. T J E. M
32. Verbal Working Memory
B R. B
33. Subcortical Contributions to Language
D A. C A J. A
34. Lateralization of Language
L V H Q C
35. Neural Mechanisms of Music and Language
M O L. R S

Index
 PREFACE
GREIG I. DE ZUBICARAY AND NIELS O. SCHILLER

NEUROLINGUISTICS is a highly interdisciplinary field, with influences from

psycholinguistics, psychology, aphasiology, (cognitive) neuroscience, and
many more. A precise definition is elusive, but often neurolinguistics is
considered to cover approximately the same range of topics as
psycholinguistics, that is, all aspects of language processing, but approached
from various scientific perspectives and methodologies. Twenty years ago,
when the first Handbook of Neurolinguistics, edited by Harry Whitaker and
Brigitte Stemmer, was published, it was relatively easy to identify the
contributions from individual disciplines, with the dominant evidence base
and approach being clinical aphasiology. Today, neurolinguistics has
progressed such that individual researchers tackle topics of interest using
multiple methods, and share a common sense of identity and purpose,
culminating in their own society and annual conference. The Society for the
Neurobiology of Language will have its tenth anniversary in 2018, and its
annual meeting now regularly exceeds 700 attendees.
When we first proposed to collate and edit this Handbook of 35 chapters,
we knew we were undertaking a challenging task given the rapid expansion
of the field and pace of progress in recent years. We envisaged a mix of
chapters from established and emerging researchers, with contributions
covering the contemporary topics of interest to the field of neurolinguistics.
We wanted more than the mere acknowledgment of the multilingual brain
featured in previous handbooks, and to encourage varied perspectives on
how language interacts with broader aspects of cognition and emotion.
Responses to our invitations were mostly generous. By and large, we believe
we have achieved much of what we set out to accomplish.
The scope and aim of this new Oxford Handbook of Neurolinguistics is to
provide students and scholars with concise overviews of the state of the art
in particular topic areas, and to engage a broad audience with an interest in
the neurobiology of language. The chapters do not attempt to provide
exhaustive coverage, but rather present discussions of prominent questions
posed by a given topic.
Following an introductory chapter providing a brief historical perspective
of the field, Part I covers the key techniques and technologies used to study
the neurobiology of language today, including lesion-symptom mapping,
functional imaging, electrophysiology, tractography, and brain stimulation.
Each chapter provides a concise overview of the use of each technique by
leading experts, who also discuss the various challenges that neurolinguistic
researchers are likely to encounter.
Part II addresses the neurobiology of language acquisition during healthy
development and in response to challenges presented by congenital and
acquired conditions. Part III covers the many facets of our articulate brain, its
capacity for language production—written, spoken, and signed—again from
both healthy and clinical perspectives. Questions regarding how the brain
organizes and represents meaning are addressed in Part IV, ranging from
word to discourse level in written and spoken language, from perception to
statistical modeling. The final Part V reaches into broader territory,
characterizing and contextualizing the neurobiology of language with respect
to more fundamental neuroanatomical mechanisms.
Our thanks go to the authors of the chapters, without whom the Handbook
would not have been possible. Their commitment, expertise, and talent in
exposition are rivaled only by their patience with the editorial process.
Thanks also go to Peter Ohlin, Hannah Doyle, and Hallie Stebbins at Oxford
University Press, who encouraged and ensured the publication of The Oxford
Handbook of Neurolinguistics.
 Contributors

Ingrid Aichert, PhD, is a speech-language pathologist. She works as a

Research Associate in the Clinical Neuropsychology Research Group (EKN)
at the Institute of Phonetics and Speech Processing, University of Munich,
Germany. Her main areas of research are apraxia of speech and phonological
disorders.
Anthony J. Angwin is a Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology at the
University of Queensland. His research, focused primarily within the field of
Language Neuroscience, uses neuroimaging and behavioral paradigms to
advance current understanding of language processing and language learning
in healthy adults and people with neurological impairment.
Andrew J. Bauer received his PhD at Carnegie Mellon University and is
currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto. His research
uses machine learning techniques applied to fMRI data to understand where
and how knowledge is neurally represented in the brain, and how the brain
changes with learning new concepts.
Sheila E. Blumstein is the Albert D. Mead Professor Emerita of Cognitive,
Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences at Brown University. Her research is
concerned with delineating the neural basis of language and the processes
and mechanisms involved in speaking and understanding, using behavioral
and neural measures of persons with aphasia and functional neuroimaging.
Blumstein’s research has focused on how the continuous acoustic signal is
transformed by perceptual and neural mechanisms into the sound structure of
language, how the sound structure of language maps to the lexicon (mental
dictionary), and how the mental dictionary is organized for the purposes of
language comprehension and production.
Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the
School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy at the University of
South Australia in Adelaide. She was previously Professor of
Neurolinguistics at the University of Marburg, Germany, and Head of the
Max Planck Research Group Neurotypology at the Max Planck Institute for
Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany. Her main
research interest is in the neurobiology of higher-order language processing.
Bradley R. Buchsbaum is an Associate Professor in the Department of
Psychology at the University of Toronto and a scientist at the Rotman
Research Institute at Baycrest. His research focuses on the cognitive
neuroscience of memory and language, with special focus on how memory
emerges from neocortical representations that underlie perceptual and motor
cognition.
Qing Cai is a cognitive psychologist and Professor of Psychology at East
China Normal University. Her research focuses on the neural basis of speech
and reading, their acquisition in typical and atypical development, as well as
their relation to learning, memory, music, and other higher-order cognitive
functions.
Manuel Carreiras, PhD, is the Scientific Director of the Basque Center on
Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), Ikerbasque Research Professor,
Honorary Professor of the University College of London, and Visiting
Professor of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). His research
focuses on reading, bilingualism, and second-language learning. He has
published more than 200 papers in high-impact journals in the field. His
research has been funded by various research agencies, including the
European Research Council.
Marco Catani is Professor of Neuroanatomy and Psychiatry at King’s
College London and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the Maudsley
Hospital. He has contributed to the development of diffusion tractography
methods applied to the study of white matter connections in the normal brain
and in a wide range of neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders.
Gregory B. Cogan is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Duke
University. His research focuses on the neural underpinnings of speech and
auditory cognition.
Jeffrey R. Cole is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology in
the Department of Neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, and
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia
University – Teachers College. His clinical practice and research interests
focus on patients with complex and medically refractory epilepsies, Wada
testing, and cortical language mapping.
David A. Copland is a University of Queensland Vice Chancellors Fellow
and speech pathologist. He is active in the fields of psycholinguistics,
language neuroscience, and clinical aphasia management. He has particular
interests in determining the neural mechanisms underpinning aphasia
recovery and treatment, in developing better interventions for aphasia, and
understanding subcortical contributions in language as observed in stroke and
in Parkinson’s disease.
David P. Corina is a Professor in the Departments of Linguistics and
Psychology at the University of California, Davis. He is the Director of the
Cognitive Neurolinguistics Laboratory at the Center for Mind and Brain. His
research interests include the neural processing of signed and spoken
languages and neural plasticity as a function of linguistic and altered sensory
experience.
Alejandrina Cristia received her PhD in Linguistics from Purdue University
in 2009 and did postdoctoral work on neuroimaging at the Max Planck
Institute for Psycholinguistics before joining the French CNRS (Centre
national de la recherche scientifique) as a Researcher in 2013.
Ido Davidesco is a Research Assistant Professor at the Teaching and
Learning Department at New York University. His research focuses on how
brain oscillations become synchronized in classrooms.
Greig I. de Zubicaray is Professor and Associate Dean of Research in the
Faculty of Health at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane,
Australia. His research covers brain mechanisms involved in language and
memory and their disorders, neuroimaging methodologies, the aging brain
and cognitive decline, and most recently, the emerging field of imaging
genetics.
Isabelle Deschamps is a Professor at Georgian College, Orillia, Ontario,
Canada, and a Researcher in the Speech and Hearing Neuroscience
Laboratory in Québec City. Her research focuses on the neural correlates of
phonological processes during speech perception and production.
Anthony Steven Dick is Associate Professor of Developmental Science and
Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Program in the Department of
Psychology at Florida International University, Miami. His research focus is
on the developmental cognitive neuroscience of language and executive
function.
Hugues Duffau (MD, PhD) is Professor and Chairman of the Neurosurgery
Department in the Montpellier University Medical Center and Head of the
INSERM 1051 Team at the Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier
(France). He is an expert in the awake cognitive neurosurgery of slow-
growing brain tumors. For his innovative work in neurosurgery and
neurosciences, he was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa five times, and he
was the youngest recipient of the prestigious Herbert Olivecrona Award from
the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. He has written four textbooks and over
370 publications for a total of more than 25,000 citations and with an h-index
of 85.
Kara D. Federmeier is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the
Neuroscience Program at the University of Illinois and a full-time faculty
member at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology,
where she leads the Illinois Language and Literacy Initiative and heads the
Cognition and Brain Lab. Her research examines meaning comprehension
and memory using human electrophysiological techniques, in combination
with behavioral, eye-tracking, and other functional imaging and
psychophysiological methods.
Adeen Flinker is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the New York
University School of Medicine. He is the Director of Intracranial
Neurophysiology Research at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. His
research focuses on the temporal dynamics of speech production and
perception.
Stephanie J. Forkel is an Honorary Lecturer at the Departments of
Neuroimaging and Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences at the Sackler
Institute of Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry,
Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London. She has a
background in psychology and neurosciences, which she currently applies to
identify neuroimaging predictors of language recovery after brain lesions
using diffusion imaging.
Frank E. Garcea completed his PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience in the
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester in
July 2017. He is now a postdoctoral research fellow at the Moss
Rehabilitation Research Institute, where he studies language and action
representation in brain-damaged individuals.
David W. Green is an Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Brain Sciences at
University College London. Theoretical work and neuroimaging research
with neurologically normal participants from young adults to the elderly have
been combined with applied research into the neural predictors of speech
recovery post-stroke in monolingual and multilingual individuals with
aphasia.
Marla J. Hamberger is a Professor of Neuropsychology in the Department
of Neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, and Director of
Neuropsychology at the Columbia Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. Her
research focuses on brain organization of cognitive mechanisms supporting
word production using electrocortical stimulation mapping and behavioral
techniques in patients who require brain surgery involving eloquent cortex.
Stefan Heim is a cognitive neuropsychologist and neurolinguist. He did his
PhD thesis at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain
Sciences in Leipzig, Germany. He is now Professor and Chair of the
academic programs for Speech-Language Therapy (BSc, MSc) at Rheinisch-
Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen University, Germany.
His main research focus is on the connectivity, and plasticity of the language
network in the human brain.
Gregory Hickok is Professor of Cognitive Sciences and Language Science
at the University of California, Irvine. He is Editor-in-Chief of Psychonomic
Bulletin & Review and author of The Myth of Mirror Neurons 2014.
Kaja Jasińska is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics and Cognitive
Science at the University of Delaware. Dr. Jasińska studies the neural
mechanisms that support language, cognitive, and reading development
across the lifespan using a combination of behavioral, genetic, and
neuroimaging research methods. Her research aims to understand how early
life experiences can change the brain’s capacity for language and learning,
with particular focus on understanding development in high-risk
environments.
Marcel A. Just, D. O. Hebb Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at
Carnegie Mellon and Director of its Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging, uses
fMRI to study language-related neural processing. The research uses machine
learning and other techniques to identify the semantic components of the
neural signature of individual concepts, such as concrete objects (e.g.,
hammer), emotions (e.g., sadness), and quantities (e.g., three). The projects
examine normal concept representations in college students, as well as
disordered concepts in special populations, such as patients with autism or
suicidal ideation.
David Kemmerer’s empirical and theoretical work focuses mainly on how
different conceptual domains are mediated by different cortical systems. He
is especially interested in the relationships between semantics, grammar,
perception, and action, and in cross-linguistic similarities and differences in
conceptual representation. He has published over 60 articles and chapters,
and also wrote an introductory textbook called Cognitive Neuroscience of
Language 2015.
Judith F. Kroll is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of
California, Riverside, and former Director of the Center for Language
Science at Pennsylvania State University. Her research takes a cognitive
neuroscience approach to second-language learning and bilingualism.
Jan Kujala is a Staff Scientist at the Department of Neuroscience and
Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland. He has introduced and
actively develops magnetoencephalography (MEG)-based methods for
investigating cortico-cortical connectivity and applying them in the language
domain.
Nicole Landi is an Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences at the
University of Connecticut and the Director of EEG Research at Haskins
Laboratories. Dr. Landi’s research seeks to better understand typical and
atypical language and reading development using cognitive neuroscience and
genetic methodologies.
Laurel A. Lawyer is a Lecturer in Psycholinguistics at the University of
Essex. Her work has looked at the intersection of phonological theory and
speech perception, as well as aspects of deaf language processing. Her
current work investigates morphological decomposition in speech
perception, and ambient language processing in children with cochlear
implants and normal hearing adults.
Michelle Leckey is a PhD candidate in the Psychology Department at the
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. As a member of the Cognition and
Brain Lab, her research uses electrophysiological methods to investigate
syntactic processing across the life span, as well as individual differences
that impact lateralization of language processing.
Mia Liljeström received her doctoral degree from Aalto University,
Finland. She is currently working at the Department of Neuroscience and
Biomedical Engineering at Aalto University, Finland, where she combines
magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) to study large-scale functional networks underlying language and
speech.
Jennifer E. Mack is an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Communication Disorders at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. Her
research focuses on the neural and cognitive basis of sentence processing
impairments and recovery in aphasia, using methods such as eye-tracking and
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Bradford Z. Mahon is an Associate Professor in the Department of
Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of
Cognitive Neuropsychology. His research program uses structural and
functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and behavioral testing in
patients with acquired brain lesions to test cognitive and neural models of
normal function, and to develop prognostic indicators of long-term recovery.
Yasuyo Minagawa is a Professor of the Department of Psychology at Keio
University. She received her PhD in medicine from the University of Tokyo
in 2000. Her research examines the development of perception and cognition,
with a focus on speech perception, social cognition, and typical and atypical
brain development.
Elizabeth Musz is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the
Psychological and Brain Sciences Department at Johns Hopkins University.
Her research uses neuroimaging to study how conceptual information is
represented in the brain. She received her PhD in Psychology at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Aaron J. Newman, BA (Winnipeg), MSc, PhD (Oregon), is a Professor in
the Departments of Psychology & Neuroscience, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and
Surgery at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. His research focuses on
the use of behavioral, neuropsychological, and multi-modal neuroimaging
methods to study neuroplasticity in language and related systems. He is
actively involved in training and research initiatives involving applications
and commercialization of neuroscience.
Mattson Ogg is a PhD student in the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science
Program at the University of Maryland, College Park. His background as a
musician and recording engineer informs his approach to the study of music
and language. His specific interests center around how listeners recognize
sound sources.
Myriam Oliver, PhD, is a cognitive neuroscientist who obtained her PhD at
the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL). Currently, she
works at the Hoeft Lab for Educational Neuroscience at University of
California, San Francisco. The main aim of her research is to understand
how reading modulates structurally and functionally the neural networks in
healthy bilinguals and monolinguals.
Pedro M. Paz-Alonso, PhD, is the Principal Investigator leading the
Language and Memory Control research group at the Basque Center on
Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL). He received his training at the
Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis, and at the
Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.
He uses functional and structural MRI to further understand the
neurobiological basis of reading, language control, and memory processes
and their development over childhood. He has been recently awarded with
the Ramón y Cajal research fellowship.
Jonathan E. Peelle is in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington
University in Saint Louis. His research investigates the neuroscience of
speech comprehension, aging, and hearing impairment using a combination of
behavioral and brain imaging methods.
Vitória Piai is an Associate Principal Investigator at the Donders Institute for
Brain, Cognition and Behaviour of Radboud University and Radboud
University Medical Center. Her research focuses on language function in
healthy populations as well as populations with speech or language
impairment. She works with a range of behavioral and neuroimaging methods
and pays special attention to the intersection of language and other functions,
such as executive control, (semantic) memory, and motor control in the case
of speaking.
David Poeppel is the Director of the Department of Neuroscience at the
Max-Planck-Institute (MPIEA) in Frankfurt, Germany, and a Professor of
Psychology and Neural Science at New York University. His group focuses
on the brain basis of hearing, speech, language, and music processing.
Lara R. Polse received her PhD and training in Speech Language Pathology
from the San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego,
Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders. She is
currently a Speech Language Pathologist in Davis, California.
Jeremy Purcell is a cognitive neuroscience Research Scientist in the
Cognitive Science Department at Johns Hopkins University. His research
uses both cognitive neuropsychology and neuroimaging methods to study the
neural bases of orthographic representations in both reading and spelling.
Ileana Quiñones, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Basque Center on
Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL). Her main research interests focus on
the characterization of the brain dynamics underlying language
comprehension, a theoretical problem with a direct impact on education and
social policies. Her research experience includes studies with healthy
participants and atypical populations, with different paradigms and with a
varied of behavioral and neuroimaging techniques (e.g.,
electroencephalographic, MRI, fMRI and DTI).
Alexander Michael Rapp, PhD, MD, is a Psychiatrist and Researcher at the
University of Tübingen, Germany. His research interests include the
functional neuroanatomy of non-literal language in healthy subjects and
patients with psychiatric diseases.
Brenda Rapp is a Professor of Cognitive Science at Johns Hopkins
University and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Cognitive Neuropsychology.
Her research focuses on understanding the nature of the cognitive and neural
bases of the orthographic representations and processes that support reading
and spelling. To this end, she applies the methods of cognitive
neuropsychology, psycholinguistics, and neuroimaging.
Judy S. Reilly, PhD, is a developmental psycholinguist who has worked on
affect and language development (spoken and written) in both typical and
atypical populations.
Riitta Salmelin is Professor of Imaging Neuroscience at the Department of
Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland. She
has pioneered the use of magnetoencephalography (MEG) in language
research, and has a strong track record in multidisciplinary neuroscience
research and training. She has edited the handbook MEG: An Introduction to
Methods (Oxford University Press 2010) and serves as Associate Editor of
the journal Human Brain Mapping.
Niels O. Schiller is Professor of Psycho- and Neurolinguistics at Leiden
University. He is Academic Director of the Leiden University Centre for
Linguistics (LUCL) and serves on the board of the Leiden Institute for Brain
and Cognition (LIBC). His research areas include syntactic, morphological,
and phonological processes in language production and reading aloud.
Furthermore, he is interested in articulatory-motor processes during speech
production, language processing in neurologically impaired patients, and
forensic phonetics.
Matthias Schlesewsky is a Professor in the School of Psychology, Social
Work and Social Policy at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. He
was previously Professor of General Linguistics at the University of Mainz,
Germany, and, prior to that, one of the first “Junior Professors” in the
German Academic System, with a position at the University of Marburg. His
main research interests are in the neurobiology of language and changes in
language processing over the life span.
Theresa Schölderle, PhD, is a Research Associate in the Clinical
Neuropsychology Research Group (EKN) at the Institute of Phonetics and
Speech Processing, University of Munich, Germany. Her main area of
research is early-acquired dysarthria. Moreover, she works as a speech
therapist in an institution for children and adults with multiple disabilities.
Teresa Schuhmann is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at
Maastricht University. Her research focuses on applying various noninvasive
neuromodulation techniques in cognitive and clinical neuroscience. Dr.
Schuhmann is one of the pioneers in the combination of neuroimaging and
neuromodulation techniques for studying the network dynamics underlying
language production.
L. Robert Slevc is an Associate Professor of Psychology, part of the
program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, and a member of the
Maryland Language Science Center at the University of Maryland, College
Park. His research focuses on the cognitive mechanisms underlying language
processing, music processing, and their relationships in both normal and
brain-damaged populations.
Karsten Specht is a cognitive neuroscientist. He is a Professor at the
Department of Biological and Medical Psychology at the University of
Bergen, Norway, where he became head of the Bergen fMRI group, and he
also holds a guest professorship at the Arctic University of Norway in
Tromsø. His main research focus is on clinical multimodal neuroimaging,
auditory perception of speech and music, connectivity and plasticity of the
language network, and rehabilitation from speech and language disorders.
Anja Staiger, PhD, is a speech therapist and neurophonetician. She works as
a Research Associate in the Clinical Neuropsychology Research Group
(EKN) at the Institute of Phonetics and Speech Processing, University of
Munich, Germany. Her main areas of research are speech motor disorders
(apraxia of speech and dysarthria).
Cynthia K. Thompson is a Ralph and Jean Sundin Distinguished Professor
of Communication Science, Professor of Neurology, and Director of the
Center for the Neurobiology of Language Recovery (CNLR) at Northwestern
University. Her work, supported by the National Institutes of Health
throughout her academic career, examines normal and disordered sentence
processing (and recovery in aphasia), using online (i.e., eye-tracking),
multimodal neuroimaging, and other methods. She has published her work in
more than 150 papers in referred journals, numerous book chapters, and two
books.
Sharon L. Thompson-Schill is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished
Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and the founding
Director of mindCORE, Penn’s hub for the integrative study of the mind.
Thompson-Schill’s lab studies the biological bases of human cognitive
systems. She uses a combination of psychological and neuroscientific
methods, in both healthy and brain-damaged individuals, to study the
psychological, neurological, and genetic bases of complex thought and
behavior, including topics in perception, attention, memory, language, and
decision-making.
Pascale Tremblay is Associate Professor of Speech-Language Pathology at
Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada, Researcher at the CERVO Brain
Research Center, and Director of the Speech and Hearing Neuroscience
Laboratory. Her research focuses on the cognitive neuroscience of speech
perception and production and on cognitive aging.
Jos J. A. van Berkum is Professor in Communication, Cognition and
Emotion at Utrecht University. His research explores the pragmatic aspects
of language comprehension, with a particular focus on affective and social
factors.
Lise Van der Haegen is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of
Experimental Psychology (Ghent University, Belgium), funded by the
Research Foundation Flanders. Her research focuses on (a)typical
lateralization of language and face processing in left-handers and bilinguals.
Stephen M. Wilson is Associate Professor of Hearing and Speech Sciences
at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His research interests are aphasia
and neuroimaging of language processing.
Wolfram Ziegler, PhD, is Professor of Neurophonetics and Head of the
Clinical Neuropsychology Research Group (EKN) at the Institute of
Phonetics and Speech Processing, University of Munich, Germany. His main
areas of research are speech motor control and disorders.
 CHAPTER 1

NEUROLINGUISTICS
A Brief Historical Perspective

SHEILA E. BLUMSTEIN

THE past 50 years have witnessed a revolution in our understanding of how

the faculties of mind intersect with the brain. A major piece of this endeavor
is neurolinguistics, the study of the neural mechanisms underlying language.
The scientific field of neurolinguistics was originally defined by Harry
Whitaker and remains the centerpiece of the journal Brain and Language,
which he founded in 1974. However, the spirit of neurolinguistics predates
the 1970s and has been and continues to be the subject of study under the
guise of a number of other disciplines, including neuropsychology,
aphasiology, psycholinguistics, and the cognitive neuroscience of language.
While it is beyond the scope of this chapter to chart the complete history of
the study of the brain and language, it will provide a retrospective view,
focusing on the foundations from which our current knowledge and questions
derive, the theoretical underpinnings that still guide much of our current
research, what we have learned, and what questions and challenges remain
for the future.

N L B
N
There is a long history examining the effects of brain injury on language.
From the work of Paul Broca and Carl Wernicke, it was shown that lesions to
particular areas of the brain had specific and different consequences on
language behavior. Indeed, classical aphasiology, exemplified by the works
of Kurt Goldstein (1948), Henry Head (1926), and Alexander Luria (1966),
to name a few, provided detailed descriptions of the clinical syndromes that
emerged pursuant to lesions to particular areas of the brain. These clinical
syndromes identified a constellation of impaired and spared language
abilities centering on the following: speech output, its fluency and
articulation; auditory comprehension of sounds, words, sentences; naming;
repetition of words and sentences; and secondary language skills including
reading and writing. Among these syndromes, it is the language behavior of
patients who were clinically classified as Broca’s, Conduction, and
Wernicke’s aphasia that served as the primary foundation for the detailed
examination of the nature of the underlying language deficits.
From this work emerged the view that language for most individuals was
left- hemisphere dominant, and that there was a direct relation between
neural areas and language function (i.e., one could “predict” the aphasia
syndrome based on lesion site and vice versa). Indeed, the seminal
monograph Disconnexion Syndromes in Animals and Man, written by
Norman Geschwind (1965), built on the classical work of the nineteenth- and
twentieth-century “diagram makers.” The diagram makers, led by Wernicke
and Ludwig Lichtheim, identified brain regions that were “centers”
specialized for particular language functions, and they mapped out, in the
form of diagrams, these centers and the connections between them. In this
view, damage to these functional centers or to the connections between them
gave rise to the classical aphasia syndromes (for a detailed review, see
Levelt, 2013). Lesion localization was limited by the technology of the day,
and, as we will see, with increased advances, the accuracy of lesion-
symptom mapping could not be sustained in its entirety. Nonetheless, the
notion that there were functionally specialized neural centers with white and
gray matter connections between them was a major advancement in the field,
as it became the working model characterizing language deficits in aphasia
and language-brain relations more broadly.
While the aphasia syndromes provided a rich tapestry of spared and
impaired language abilities, they beg the question of what aspects of
linguistic function may be compromised. In particular, linguists have long
assumed that language is broken down into a hierarchy of structural
components, including sounds (phonetics and phonology), words (the
lexicon), sentences (syntax), and meaning (semantics). Each of these
components has its own set of properties or representations.
Considering language deficits in aphasia from this linguistic perspective, a
different set of questions arise, one that more directly addresses the nature of
language deficits in aphasia. Here, for example, one can ask whether the
basis of the auditory comprehension deficit in Wernicke’s aphasia is due to
an impairment in processing the sounds of speech, in mapping sounds to
words, in processing the meanings of words, or whether the nonfluent, often
agrammatic production deficit of Broca’s aphasics is due to an
articulatory/phonological impairment, a syntactic impairment, or simply to an
economy of effort. And more generally, one can ask whether linguistic
deficits in aphasia reflect impairments to representations or to the processes
that access them. This is not to say that there was no attempt by the early
aphasiologists to “explain” the nature of the deficits giving rise to aphasia.
For example, Broca proposed that the third frontal convolution (i.e., Broca’s
area) was the “center for articulated speech” and Wernicke proposed that the
auditory comprehension impairment of Wernicke’s aphasics was due to a
deficit in “auditory images.” However, what distinguished these classical
approaches to the syndromes of aphasia and the more modern era was that
the functional centers were defined descriptively absent a linguistic
theoretical framework, and the hypothesized functions were based on clinical
observations rather than being tested experimentally.
The beginning of the modern era in neurolinguistics began with linguistic
approaches to aphasia. There were two pioneers, Roman Jakobson and
Harold Goodglass, who most clearly led this new approach to the study of
the brain and language. Roman Jakobson was perhaps the first linguist to
consider the aphasias from a linguistic perspective, suggesting that the
breakdown of speech in aphasia and its development in children reflect
phonological universals of language (Jakobson, 1941, translated 1972), and
proposing that the output deficits in Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasia reflect
impairments in syntagmatic and paradigmatic axes of language, with a
syntagmatic deficit giving rise to Broca’s aphasics’ syntactic deficit and a
paradigmatic deficit giving rise to Wernicke’s aphasics’ paragrammatic
deficit (Jakobson, 1956). Interestingly, in present-day parlance, this
distinction reflects a sequencing disorder for Broca’s aphasics and a word
selection disorder for Wernicke’s aphasics. Harold Goodglass, who
established the Boston Aphasia Research Center along with the neurologist
Norman Geschwind and led it from the mid-1960s to 1996, was among the
first to apply experimental methods drawn from psycholinguistics and
cognitive psychology to systematically examine the nature of linguistic
deficits in aphasia (Goodglass, 1993). It is this multidisciplinary approach,
focusing on the confluence of the study of the classical aphasia syndromes
with theoretical approaches to language and experimental methodology, that
gave birth to what we now call neurolinguistics.

E A S
L D A
Neurolinguistic approaches to the study of aphasia were guided by the view
that language is hierarchically organized into structural components and that
these structural components mapped directly to functionally defined neural
regions. Thus, the focus was on conducting parametric studies of linguistic
features of the classical aphasias. For Broca’s aphasics, the emphasis was on
potential syntactic impairments and phonetic/phonological deficits. Early
results suggested that indeed Broca’s aphasics not only had agrammatic
deficits in production, but also displayed auditory comprehension
impairments when the only cues available were syntactic in nature (Zurif &
Caramazza, 1976; Zurif, Caramazza, & Myerson, 1972). Moreover, studies
of the acoustic properties of speech production suggested that these patients
had articulatory/phonetic planning impairments (see Blumstein, 1981, for
review). For Wernicke’s aphasics, the question was whether their auditory
comprehension impairments were due to phonological deficits where
phonemic misperceptions might give rise to selecting incorrect words (e.g.,
hearing bear and pointing to pear) or were due to semantic impairments
reflecting deficits in the underlying meaning representations of words or in
accessing the meaning of words. Early results suggested that although these
patients do have deficits in perceiving phonological contrasts, it did not
predict the severity of their auditory comprehension impairments (Basso,
Casati, & Vignolo, 1977; Blumstein, Baker, & Goodglass, 1977; but see the
following section, “The Modern Era,” in this chapter). Those studies
examining word meaning indicated that the underlying representations of
words appeared to be relatively spared in aphasia, while access to meaning
and the time course of mapping sounds to word meanings was impaired
(Milberg & Blumstein, 1981; Swinney, Zurif, & Nicol, 1989; but see the
following section, “The Modern Era,” in this chapter). A broad range of
behavioral paradigms have been used in these studies, including
discrimination, identification, and psychophysical experiments of speech,
word and/or picture matching, lexical decision, hierarchical clustering, and
grammaticality judgments, to name a few.
Nonetheless, this approach using aphasia syndromes as a basis for
neurolinguistic investigations was not without its critics. They came from
two directions. One reflected a challenge to group studies using the classical
aphasia syndromes, and the other reflected a challenge to one-to-one
mapping between aphasia syndrome and lesion localization. With regard to
the former, it was proposed that clinical syndromes do not necessarily cut
across linguistic domains, and hence the study of patients grouped by aphasia
syndrome may not provide a window into the particular linguistic deficit
(Caramazza, 1984, 1986). Moreover, classification is a “messy” thing; there
is variability in severity across patients within the defining properties of the
syndrome, and some patients do not have all of the symptoms included in the
classification schema. Hence, in this view, group studies using the classical
aphasia syndromes are by their very nature fundamentally flawed (Schwartz,
1984).
To mitigate this concern, these researchers took a single case study
approach where detailed analyses were conducted of particular linguistic
deficits. The overarching goal was to use the effects of brain damage as a
window into current linguistic theories and theories of language processing
(Caramazza, 1986). However, in contrast to classical neuropsychological
case studies that described unique behavioral patterns in relation to lesion
localization, this approach was typically agnostic with respect to the lesion
status of the patient. Hence, while it provided interesting insights into the
linguistic nature of deficits in aphasia (see Rapp & Goldrick, 2006, for a
review), this case study approach did not consider the neural systems
underlying such deficits, and hence provided limited insight into the relation
between brain and language.
Turning to lesion localization of the aphasia syndromes, technological
advances in neuroimaging over the past 20 years have provided a cautionary
tale for the view that there is a one-to-one mapping between aphasia
syndrome and lesion. First, the lesions associated with the classical aphasias
were typically described incorrectly as only cortical. However, in fact,
lesions of patients commonly include both cortical and subcortical structures
(see Copland & Angwin, Chapter 33 in this volume). Second, lesions of
patients with aphasia are rarely focal; rather, they tend to be large,
encompassing a number of neural regions. If the lesions are focal, patients
typically present with transient aphasias, not the chronic syndrome profile of
the classical aphasias. Third, there is variability across lesion profiles. As
one might expect, no aphasic has exactly the same lesion profile. As a result,
there are differences across aphasics in the degree of damage in a particular
area, as well as in the extent to which a lesion extends to other areas of the
brain. Finally, research has shown that there is not a one-to-one relation
between aphasia syndrome and lesion localization. For example, not all
Broca’s aphasics have lesions in Broca’s area (BA45), nor do all patients
with damage in Broca’s area present with Broca’s aphasia (see Dronkers,
2000).
These issues notwithstanding, neurolinguistic investigations using the
aphasia syndromes have provided the basis for much of the modern era
spanning the last 20 years. The aphasia syndromes have provided a
theoretical framework for examining linguistic deficits, suggesting that the
temporal lobe is involved in accessing the meanings of words, that the
superior temporal gyrus is involved in auditory processing of speech, that
posterior temporal areas are involved in integrating auditory and articulatory
processes, and that the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is involved in processing
syntax and articulatory planning as well as in selection processes for words.
Critically, these studies have shown, across patient groups and lesion sites,
similar patterns of performance as a function of linguistic structural
complexity. For example, for all patients, structurally more complex
sentences are more difficult to comprehend and also to produce, and the
perception and production of phonologically similar words result in
increased errors compared to words that share few phonological attributes.
Despite claims that deficits are “selective” to a particular component of the
grammar (e.g., syntax), nearly all aphasics, regardless of syndrome, display
impairments that affect multiple linguistic components of language, although
the severity of the impairment and the underlying functional impairment may
differ.
Taken together, these studies were among the first to suggest that neural
systems underlying different components of the grammar are broadly tuned,
recruiting neural systems rather than functionally encapsulated neural regions
(see the following section, “The Modern Era,” for further discussion).
Nonetheless, although patients across syndromes may appear to share a
common impairment to a particular aspect of language, the patterns of
performance of the patients may differ, suggesting that different functional
impairments emerge as a function of lesion site. For example, both Broca’s
and Wernicke’s aphasics show lexical processing impairments. However,
examining access to words that share phonological attributes and hence are
lexical competitors (e.g. hammer vs. hammock), lexical candidates appear to
stay active longer than normal for Wernicke’s aphasics. In contrast, Broca’s
aphasics fail to select the target from among competing lexical alternatives
(Janse, 2006; Utman, Blumstein, & Sullivan, 2001; Yee, Blumstein, &
Sedivy, 2008). These findings support the structural integrity of the lexical
system in these two groups of patients since lexical access is influenced by
whether lexical items are competitors or not, but suggest different processing
impairments in each group, presumably reflecting the distinct functional roles
of temporal and frontal lobe structures in lexical access.

T M E
It is difficult to demarcate when the “modern era” began, as science typically
progresses incrementally. Nonetheless, there are a number of factors that
contributed to what characterizes today’s approach to neurolinguistics. One
has to do with the increased influence of computational models that focus on
the nature of information flow in the language system (cf. Dell, 1986;
Marslen-Wilson, 1987; McClelland, 1988). These models enriched earlier
structural models in which components of the grammar were separate,
encapsulated modules (cf. Fodor, 1983). Additionally, computational models
have been used to characterize language impairments in aphasia in terms of
processing deficits (Dell, Schwartz, Martin, Saffran, & Gagnon, 1997;
McNellis & Blumstein, 2001; Mirman, Yee, Blumstein, & Magnuson, 2011;
Rapp & Goldrick, 2000).
Neurobiologically inspired computational models, beginning with the
Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP) models of the 1980s (Rumelhart &
McClelland, 1986) and continuing through contemporary models
(Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Schlesewsky, Small, & Rauschecker, 2015;
Horwitz, Friston, & Taylor, 2000; Wennekers, Garagnani, & Pulvermuller,
2006), are a major advance as they seek to develop neurally plausible
models of how the brain processes speech and language. For example, the
use of neuron-like elements allow for graded responses to stimulus input, and
Hebbian learning mechanisms can characterize word learning (Garagnani,
Wennekers, & Pulvermuller, 2007). Hebbian learning has also been used to
simulate lexically guided tuning effects on speech perception (Mirman,
McClelland, & Holt, 2006).
Without question, the single most important factor that has influenced the
current state of the art in neurolinguistics research is technological advances
that have revolutionized our ability to map structural and functional
properties of the brain. It is beyond the scope of this introductory chapter to
review all of the methods, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and
their contributions to our understanding of the neural basis of language, but
suffice to say they provide a broad spectrum of tools that afford different
sources of information about neural activity. To briefly consider a few,
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has had perhaps the greatest
influence because it is a noninvasive procedure that allows for examining
neural activation patterns with parametric manipulations of linguistic
constructs (see Heim & Specht, Chapter 4 in this volume). Other important
methods that are now a part of the toolbox of the neurolinguist include
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) that allows for the creation of
“virtual lesions” (see Schuhmann, Chapter 5 in this volume), and
electrophysiological measures such as event-related potentials (ERPs; see
Leckey & Federmeier, Chapter 3 in this volume) and
magnetoencephalography (MEG; see Salmelin, Kujala, & Liljeström,
Chapter 6 in this volume) that provide crucial information about the time
course (in ms) of processing. Enhanced structural information comes from
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which has provided advances in
understanding the structural properties of the normal brain and in mapping
lesions using voxel-based lesion mapping (Bates, Wilson, Saygin, Dick,
Sereno, Knight, & Dronkers, 2003; see Wilson, Chapter 2 in this volume).
Additional insights come from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which
measures white matter fiber tracts and connections between different parts of
the brain (see Catani & Forkel, Chapter 9 in this volume).
 These technological advances have enriched and deepened the ability to
study the neural processing of language and have opened up new avenues of
research, including examining neural systems underlying language processing
in the normal brain, comparing the relation between language processing in
the normal brain with that of the diseased brain, charting potential changes in
the neural systems underlying language across the life span, and investigating
the plasticity of the neural system in persons under conditions of natural
recovery or as a result of rehabilitation techniques. These research areas are
by no means all inclusive, but they underscore how technological advances
can open up new and critically important avenues of research that hold the
promise of providing deeper insights into our understanding of language and
the brain. Let us consider a few of these as a window into the
neurolinguistics of today.
There is a vast literature that has examined the neural substrates of
language using fMRI. Among the many contributions of functional
neuroimaging studies, there are two sets of findings that have challenged
earlier theoretical assumptions. The first concerns the extent to which the
organization of language is strictly modular, with components of the grammar
having a distinct neural locus, and the second concerns the nature of
information flow between and among components of the grammar.
Turning to the modularity of components of language, fMRI studies
investigating the neural areas involved in processing different components of
the grammar have shown that the neural substrates of phonetics/phonology,
the lexicon, syntax, and meaning do not recruit a single neural area dedicated
to its processing, but rather each recruits a broadly distributed network or
processing stream (for reviews, see Binder, Desai, Graves, & Conant, 2009;
Hickok, 2009; Hickok & Poeppel, 2007; Kaan & Swaab, 2002; Blumstein &
Myers, 2013; Price, 2012). Thus, the brain is not divided into functionally
dedicated “linguistic” modules. For example, although the superior temporal
gyrus and superior temporal sulcus appear to be recruited in the early
auditory processing of the speech signal, neural activation occurs in other
areas, including the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), parietal areas including
the angular gyrus (AG) and supramarginal gyrus (SMG), and frontal areas
including the IFG (e.g., Hickok & Poeppel, 2007; Scott & Wise, 2004).
Although they appear to have different functional properties, these neural
areas work together as part of a single system involved in the perception of
speech. Similar findings have emerged in examining neural activation
patterns of the lexicon, syntax, and semantics (Vigneau, Beaucousin, Herve,
Duffau, et al., 2006). Interestingly, precursors to these fMRI findings are
found in the behavioral studies of the aphasia syndromes. Here, Broca’s and
Wernicke’s aphasics display impairments in multiple components of the
grammar, including speech, lexical, syntactic, and semantic processing,
although the severity and the functional basis of the deficit appear to differ
across these groups (Blumstein, 1995).
The fMRI findings have also shown that information flow between
components of the grammar is interactive such that activation in one
component of the grammar directly influences activation in other components
of the grammar. Thus, for example, the lexical structure of words has a
modulatory effect not only on neural areas involved in lexical access (SMG),
but also in areas involved in phonological and phonetic processing (IFG and
pre-central gyrus) (Peramunage, Blumstein, Myers, Goldrick, & Baese-Berk,
2011). Such evidence is consistent with cascading models of language
processing in which information at one level of processing influences
processing downstream from it. Such findings challenge those models in
which processing within one component of the grammar is separate from and
independent of processing in other components (e.g., Levelt, Roelofs, &
Meyer, 1999).
An important, relatively new direction that the field has taken is to
examine the neural systems underlying language using more than one
neuroimaging and/or electrophysiological method. As indicated earlier, the
lesion method has limitations because lesions tend to be very large, making it
difficult to assess what neural areas contribute to, or are “responsible” for,
the particular language impairment. Related issues arise from fMRI studies
(see Heim & Specht, Chapter 4 in this volume). Typically, multiple neural
areas show activation, and researchers infer the functional role of these
areas, often drawing from current models of the neural architecture of
language. Thus, it is not clear what actual role these areas may play, or if
they are even involved in the linguistic “function” under investigation (Price,
Mummery, Moore, Frackowiak, & Friston, 1999; Rorden & Karnath, 2004).
Moreover, areas other than the classical language areas may be activated.
However, it is not known what role, if any, these play in language processing.
Two methods have provided a critically important window into this potential
challenge. The first is to couple fMRI results with MRI analyses of lesion
data, and the second is to couple fMRI with TMS. In both cases, it would be
expected that either a real or “virtual” lesion to a particular neural region
that was activated under normal conditions using fMRI would result in a
behavioral deficit or a decrement in processing.
Finally, the modern era has witnessed a renewed interest in localization
using voxel-based lesion mapping to examine the effects of brain injury on
language processing (Bates, Wilson, Saygin, Dick, Sereno, Knight, &
Dronkers, 2003; see Wilson, Chapter 2 in this volume). With greater
precision in quantitatively identifying and measuring the location, size, and
extent of lesions, new results extend and clarify past findings. In particular, in
contrast to earlier findings, it has been shown that phonological perception
impairments predict auditory language comprehension deficits in Wernicke’s
aphasics, although these patients may also display deficits in accessing word
meaning (Robson, Keidel, Lambon Ralph, & Sage, 2012). Furthermore,
contrary to the view that the lexical-semantic network is preserved in
aphasia, degradation of semantic structure does occur in aphasic patients
with lesions extending to the anterior temporal lobe (Jeffries & Lambon
Ralph, 2006; Walker, Schwartz, Kimberg, Faseyitan, et al., 2011).
Neurolinguistics in the modern era has also begun to play a central role in
the adjudication and development of a number of competing theories of
language. Here, the notion is that activation of particular neural areas will
distinguish between/among the claims made by these theories. For example,
there are current opposing views as to whether lexical representations are
“embodied” or symbolic (amodal) (for reviews, see Jirak, Menz, Buccino,
Borghi, & Binkofski, 2010; Kiefer & Pulvermuller, 2012). If embodied,
reflecting our experience with words and the sensorimotor systems that are
activated in the use of these words, then there should be activation in the
particular sensorimotor system that is represented in that concept when
hearing or using a word (for example, to “pick up” a paper requires hand
motor activity, whereas to “kick” a ball requires foot motor activity; see
Pulvermüller, Shtyrov, & Ilmoniemi, 2005). If symbolic, there would not be a
systematic relation between a word’s meaning and activation of the
sensorimotor systems it relates to, and amodal neural areas would be
activated.
There are a number of other questions raised by competing theories that
are currently being “tested” using neuroimaging techniques. These include the
following:
 • Are speech perception representations motor (articulatorily or
gesturally based) consistent with claims of the motor theory of speech
perception (Liberman, Cooper, Shankweiler, & Studdert-Kennedy,
1967; for neural evidence, see Fadiga, Craighero, Buccino, &
Rizzolatti, 2002; Wilson, Saygin, Sereno, & Iacoboni, 2004), or
acoustic (auditorily based) consistent with early distinctive feature
theories and the acoustic theory of speech perception (Jakobson, Fant,
& Halle, 1961; Stevens & Blumstein, 1981; for neural evidence, see
Chang, Rieger, Johnson, et al., 2010; Cheung, Hamilton, Johnson, &
Chang, 2016; Lotto, Hickok, & Holt, 2009)?
• Is the influence of contextual factors on degraded speech perceptual
(Marslen-Wilson & Tyler, 1980) or post-perceptual (Norris, McQueen,
& Cutler, 2000)?
• Is language modular (Federenko & Thomspon-Schill, 2014), or is it
built on domain general functions, processes, and/or computations
(Blumstein & Amso, 2013; Kelly & Martin, 1994)?

While the jury is still out, and the debates continue, further evidence from
neurolinguistics using state-of-the-art imaging and analysis techniques holds
the promise of not only distinguishing among the claims made by these
theories, but potentially developing new and unique theories.

F D C
While it is clear that the processing of language recruits a broad network of
areas, the functional role of these areas needs to be more clearly delineated,
as typically the functional role of these regions is inferred, based on
traditional models of the neural organization of language. A focus on
networks examining functional and/or effective connectivity (Friston, 1994;
Horwitz, Friston, & Taylor, 2000), rather than individual neural regions, is a
critical next step for understanding the complexities of language processing.
Moreover, while it is clear that components of the grammar activate a neural
processing stream, the direction of information flow has not been fully
mapped out (for overviews of grammatical processing, see, in this volume,
Kemmerer, Chapter 30; Thompson & Mack, Chapter 31). Indeed, as
described earlier, there is an ongoing debate in the literature about the extent
to which information flow is bottom-up, with contextual influences on
sensory processes reflecting executive decision-related processes, or
whether information flow is also top-down, with higher-level information
sources influencing lower levels of sensory processing (Guediche,
Blumstein, Fiez, & Holt, 2013). Here, functional connectivity analyses and
methods sensitive to the time course of processing, such as MEG and ERP,
coupled with the good spatial resolution afforded by fMRI, hold the promise
of providing useful insights. Further questions along these lines are to
understand how linguistic information across modalities is integrated. How
do production (articulatory) processes influence perception (auditory)
processes (see, in this volume, Hickok, Chapter 20; Poeppel, Cogan,
Davidesco, & Flinker, Chapter 26)? How does visual information in speech
production integrate with auditory information in speech perception? (see, in
this volume, Newman, Chapter 14; Corina & Lawyer, Chapter 16; Rapp &
Purcell, Chapter 17)? How does literacy (reading) affect the neural
organization of language (access to speech, words, meaning) (see, in this
volume, Paz-Alonso, Oliver, Quiñones, & Carreiras, Chapter 24; Jasinska &
Landi, Chapter 25)?
A yet unanswered question is what role the right hemisphere plays in
linguistic processing. Contradictory information comes from fMRI and lesion
studies. In particular, fMRI studies commonly show activation not only in the
left hemisphere, but also in homologous areas of the right hemisphere during
linguistic tasks. And yet, patients with right hemisphere lesions do not
typically display linguistic deficits (although they do show impairments in
the pragmatics of language and discourse processing). Current findings using
fMRI to examine neural changes during recovery in aphasia suggest that
initially aphasics with unilateral left hemisphere lesions show increased
activation of right hemisphere structures. However, those who recover the
best show progressively less right hemisphere activation with increased
activation in perilesional areas of the left hemisphere (Pizzamiglio, Galati, &
Committeri, 2001). How then can fMRI findings be reconciled with lesion
results to determine the role of the right hemisphere in linguistic processing
(see Van der Haegen & Cai, Chapter 34 in this volume)?
Finally, a major challenge for the field is to resolve what appear to be
contradictory claims about the functional role of certain neural areas, as
different linguistic and/or cognitive “functions” have been attributed to the
same neural areas. For example, the IFG has been implicated in speech
production and perception (Hickok & Poeppel, 2007; Price, 2012), phonetic
categorization (Myers, Blumstein, Walsh, & Eliassen, 2009), syntactic
processing (Grodzinsky & Friederici, 2006), semantic processing (Binder,
Desai, Graves, & Conant, 2009), and executive decision-making (Badre &
Wagner, 2007; Thompson-Schill, D’Esposito, Aguirre, & Farah, 1997).
Similarly, the superior temporal sulcus has been implicated in speech
perception and in a broad range of cognitive domains, including face
processing, biological motion, social perception, theory of mind, and
audiovisual integration (Hein & Knight, 2008).
One yet unanswered question is whether the field of neurolinguistics will
ultimately lead the way to the development of new models and theories of
language processing. The intersection of mind (language) and brain is
uniquely the purview of neurolinguistics, and understanding brain
organization, function, and processes provides constraints on models and
theories of language. Here, there is room for cautious optimism. If, for
example, evidence shows that language is built on more general domain
computations, then it may provide the impetus to develop new models of
language processing that do not rely on “specialized” vocabularies or
representations at each level of the grammar.
Neurobiologically plausible computational models will undoubtedly play
an even greater role than they do currently. As described earlier, such efforts
have already begun. However, to provide new insights into the neural basis
of language, these models will also need to reflect the complexities inherent
in language processing. That is, they will need to be able to not only reflect
the functional architecture inherent within a linguistic level (e.g., the
phonological and statistical properties giving rise to lexical density), but
also model how such information affects processing throughout the system.
Further, such models will also need to consider how new words are added
throughout the life span without destabilizing the network. For example, they
will need to differentiate a production of a word that is idiosyncratic (i.e.,
produced in a nonstandard way by a speaker) from one that is a new entry,
and they will have to allow for creating a new representation of a word as it
is being introduced into the lexicon. At early stages, its frequency of
occurrence would be greater than zero but still of a very low frequency, and
thus the word would be potentially incorrectly classified as a nonword.
Finally, computational models will need to be able to scale up, including a
large number of stimuli and a broad range of linguistic parameters that not
only respect the functional architecture of the language system, but also cut
across levels of linguistic processing.
One area where contributions from neurolinguistics may be unique and
critically important is in the area of language rehabilitation. Basic
understanding of the theoretical foundations of language and its neural
instantiation provides a critical bridge to rehabilitation. As we understand
the functional role that particular areas play within the neural system,
targeted rehabilitation treatments may be developed that more likely tap the
underlying deficit. That is, rather than treating a particular language
impairment in aphasia as a unitary deficit across patients who have varying
lesion profiles and symptom complexes, different rehabilitation programs
should be developed that reflect the functional role of the neural areas that
are lesioned. Thus, as described earlier, although damage to either temporal
or frontal structures results in deficits in lexical selection, damage to
temporal structures appears to result in a failure to inhibit lexical
competitors, whereas damage to frontal structures appears to result in an
inability to select among competing alternatives. Although both types of
aphasics then display lexical access impairments, the deficits are not the
same, and the nature of therapy developed for these patients should
presumably differ.
Additionally, as it becomes clearer that language shares more general
processes with other cognitive domains, rehabilitation programs can apply
general cognitive principles to language rehabilitation strategies. Some
recent results suggest that such approaches have potential to enhance
language recovery. For example, variability of linguistic input is the norm in
real-world environments and appears to enhance language communication.
Experimental studies and rehabilitation programs, however, typically remove
such variability; they present stimuli controlling for variability in order to
home in on the particular linguistic parameter being targeted for rehab. There
are some hints in the literature that aphasic participants’ performance is
facilitated when presented with stimuli that are not typical or that may vary
from the norm. As an example, Kiran and Thompson (2003) showed that
exposure to atypical exemplars of words in a semantic category generalized
to naming of both atypical and typical members of the category in aphasic
participants; exposure to typical members did not generalize to atypical
members or other members of the category.
 Finally, theoretical approaches to language generally consider it to be
static—never changing either within the environment, within the individual,
or across the life span. We know that this is not correct. Language is
processed under multiple conditions of variability—the environment is noisy,
there is variability in speech production of individuals as well as in their
perceptual “acumen,” and there are changes in language processing over
time. Yet, both speakers and listeners maintain stability in processing under
such “adverse” conditions. We know little about how the neural system
accommodates these multiple sources of variability, and what conditions
give rise to changes to the neural substrate in development, aging, or pursuant
to brain injury. Ultimately, theories of language will have to account for such
variation, and neurolinguistics is positioned to provide the foundation for the
development of these new models.
In summary, the history of research in neurolinguistics has provided an
evolving picture of the neural basis of language. We have witnessed how the
field has progressed from a singular focus on the aphasias to the application
of a broader palette of methodologies. These methods, in conjunction with
the lesion method, have enriched and revolutionized our understanding of
language and its neural basis and have provided both new insights and new
challenges. No doubt new technological advances will be developed in the
next decade, as will richer computational models of language processing.
Together, they will enhance neurolinguistics, leading us to a deeper
understanding of language—its representations, organization, and processes
—and the neural systems underlying it—their structure, connections,
computations, and intersection with other cognitive domains.

A
This research was supported in part by National Institutes of Health (NIH)
grants R01 DC006220 and R21DC013100. The content is solely the
responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official
views of the NIH or the National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders.
R
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 PART I

THE METHODS
 CHAPTER 2

NEUROLINGUISTIC STUDIES OF PATIENTS

WITH ACQUIRED APHASIAS

STEPHEN M. WILSON

I
OUR earliest insights into the neural underpinnings of language came from
studies of patients with acquired aphasia, that is, deficits in producing and/or
comprehending language, due to brain damage. Descriptions of aphasia can
be found in the medical literature dating back to about 400 B.C.E. (Benton &
Joynt, 1960), and there is even a possible reference to aphasia with right
hemiplegia in the Bible, dating back to a similar time: “If I forget you,
Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof
of my mouth if I do not remember you” (Psalm 137:5–6, New International
Version). The association of aphasia with a motor deficit in the right hand
could conceivably reflect an understanding that language is localized to the
left hemisphere (Benton, 1971). In the early nineteenth century, physicians of
the phrenological school, including Gall, Spurzheim, and Bouillaud,
postulated that language was a function of the frontal lobes, based in part on
observations of patients with frontal lobe damage and deficits in speaking
(Bouillaud, 1825; Gall, 1825; Spurzheim, 1815). In 1836, Marc Dax, a
French neurologist, even prepared a paper in which he observed an
association between aphasia and damage to the left hemisphere (Dax,
1836/1865); however, there is no evidence that the paper was actually
presented at the conference for which it was prepared (Levelt, 2013).
The modern field of neurolinguistics began in earnest with a series of
papers by Paul Broca in the first half of the 1860s. Broca’s first paper was a
case report of a patient who could not produce spoken language, and who
came to autopsy just a few days after Broca examined him (Broca, 1861).
Broca found that although the patient’s brain was damaged quite extensively,
the epicenter of the damage appeared to be the inferior frontal gyrus of the
left frontal lobe, leading him to hypothesize that this brain region is
responsible for our ability to speak aloud. Broca’s claim generated great
interest, and before long, numerous similar cases had been described. A few
years after his first case, Broca observed the striking fact that virtually all
reported cases of aphasia involved damage to the left hemisphere, almost all
involved concomitant paralysis of the right hand, and aphasia rarely occurred
after damage to the right hemisphere. From these observations, he concluded
that language must be localized in the left hemisphere (Broca, 1865).
Ten years later, Carl Wernicke, a young German physician, reported two
patients with damage to the posterior superior temporal lobe and deficits in
language comprehension (Wernicke, 1874), suggesting for the first time that
there was not a single language area, but multiple language areas with
distinct functions. Wernicke developed an extraordinarily prescient theory of
the neural organization of language. Ludwig Lichtheim, a German
neurologist, refined and expanded on Wernicke’s model (Lichtheim, 1885),
laying a firm foundation for the field of neurolinguistics as we know it today
(Caplan, 1987; Levelt, 2013).
Three main approaches to patient studies can be identified in the literature.
In the first, which we will call the cognitive neuropsychological approach,
researchers undertake comprehensive investigations of single patients in
order to document patterns of impaired and spared functions in one or more
components of the language system, and make inferences about the normal
functional architecture of the language system. In the second approach, which
we call the syndromic approach, researchers study groups of patients
defined by sharing a clinical syndrome (e.g., Broca’s aphasia) or a clinical
feature (e.g., agrammatism), in order to characterize the precise nature of
linguistic deficits, co-occurrence of symptoms, patterns of recovery, and so
on. The third approach we will call the lesion-deficit correlation approach.
Here, researchers investigate the relationships between damage to different
brain regions and different kinds of language deficits, so as to uncover the
functional neuroanatomy of the language system. Some studies blend aspects
of more than one of these three approaches. All three approaches assume that
language functions as a modular system, the components of which can be
Another random document with
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small sponge cakes. I was not a little surprised at their mode of
cooking a cauliflower which I had inquired for; after a great many
“toute a l’heure’s,” it made its appearance, boiled as soft as batter,
and mixed up with oil, vinegar, and pepper, like a salad!

The wine was excellent, and the glass circulated freely. Who
thought I, would not travel in a voiture, to live thus cheerily, and at so
trifling an expense, for it will scarcely appear credible, that the
proprietor had engaged to convey me to Toulouse, a distance of one
hundred and twenty-five miles, occupying five days on the journey,
and providing me with every necessary, beds included, for thirty-five
francs, equal to about five shillings and ten pence English money per
day!

Our supper party consisted of nine or ten persons, not indeed of

the most select kind, but I had no right to complain, as with a view of
avoiding trouble, and imposition, and at the same time, with some
prospect of deriving gratification from the melange of characters I
expected to meet with, I had engaged to put up with the general fare.

My companions appeared to enjoy their repast, and every

additional glass evidently produced increased animation, as they
talked louder and faster. They were, however, particularly attentive to
myself, my want of sight probably exciting their sympathy.

At length, fatigued with the scene, I gave them to understand that I

wished to retire, and was conducted to a chamber which was
furnished with several beds, and had the pleasure of finding the one
that had been selected for my repose, good and commodious. But
an important dilemma now presented itself: taking the fille-de-
chambre by the hand, in order to ascertain that she was carrying the
candle away with her, a point I am always particular in attending to,
as, when it has been left behind, I have occasionally burnt my
fingers, and once even made an extinguisher of my chin; and then
making a motion to lock her out, that I might, according to the
especial clause in my agreement to that effect, appropriate the room
entirely to myself, I was surprised to find her as strenuously oppose
this measure, as most of the fair sex, I have no doubt, would an
attempt to lock them in. It was useless endeavouring to comprehend
her meaning, and only by returning to the supper-room, did I learn,
that the room in question, was intended for the accommodation of
the whole party. It is not easy to conceive the confusion which
ensued, on my evincing a steady determination not to pass the night
by the side of the conducteur, or even the ladies of our party; I
persisted, however, in my resolution, and folding my arms, and
closing my eye-lids, reclined, in the posture of repose, in a large
easy chair in which I happened to be placed.

At length, the bootmaker’s wife, taking me by the hand, conducted

me to a single-bedded room, from which, after having assisted in my
arrangements, and warmed my bed, she permitted me to lock her
out.

I cannot but express myself grateful, for the interest this kind-
hearted woman evinced in my favour, on the present occasion; but
this is not the only time, that I have been indebted for support and
success, to a fair advocate.

At four in the morning we were summoned by the conducteur, and

the soldier’s wife kindly came to assist me down stairs. The party
were assembled in the parlour, and fortifying themselves, against the
fatigues of the day, with bread and brandy, but I gave the preference
to some grapes. At eleven, we halted for breakfast, and, according to
the usual custom, rested two hours in the middle of the day; after this
we pursued our journey, the conducteur mounting under cover in
front of the voiture, to protect him from the rain, which was falling
heavily. About three o’clock, while proceeding so quietly, that it might
almost be presumed, that not only the conducteur and his
passengers, but the horses themselves were fast asleep, we were
aroused by the very interesting incident of our whole equipage,
including the horses, being overturned into a deep ditch. I shall not
attempt to describe the noise and confusion which succeeded; the
party were almost frantic with terror; at length, having succeeded in
extricating ourselves from this unpleasant situation, I was placed for
shelter under a large tree, while the rest assisted the conducteur in
raising up the coach and horses. This operation took up half-an-hour,
during which, I could hear our guide contributing abundantly, both
with his whip and imprecations.

Fortunately no serious injury was sustained, and I felt strong

reason to congratulate myself, for I had heard in the morning, that
we were to cross the Garonne this afternoon, and my first impression
was, that we were falling into this river; nor had I forgotten my
adventures on the Dordogne.

The carriage being at length righted, the conducteur urged forward

his jaded horses with little mercy, probably stimulated by revenge for
the late occurrence, which was mainly attributable to his own
negligence. At six o’clock we crossed the Garonne, and in
consequence of delays and accidents, did not arrive at our auberge
until eight o’clock, when we dispatched a hasty supper, and retired to
bed. I here found the advantage of my resolution on the preceding
evening, having an undisputed bed-room to myself.

We resumed our journey at the usual hour in the morning. Before

we set out, the conducteur requested me to advance him a part of
his fare, and which I believe is usual, if not generally necessary, as
these people are so miserably poor, that, otherwise, they would be
unable to bear the unavoidable expenses of the journey; but in my
case, as it was agreed that he should be paid by my banker, on my
safe arrival at Toulouse, he had no right to expect the indulgence.
This arrangement had been adopted from my wish to have it
supposed that I was travelling without money, notwithstanding, I had
the precaution, as a resource against accidents, not only to have a
few napoleons in my portmanteau, but also some in a girdle round
my waist, so that I had a double chance of not being left destitute.

In the present case, in order to put this surly fellow into good
humour, I thought well to advance him a couple of five franc pieces,
but without producing the effect I had anticipated; for finding myself
suffering from headach, which I attributed to want of due exercise, I
made signs for him to halt, while I might get out of the coach, with
the intention of walking for a time; he only, however, replied, with
much coolness, “toute a l’heure;” and notwithstanding my repeated
request, was quite indisposed to accommodate me, until I
manifested my intention of jumping out: he now thought well to stop
his horses, and proffer his assistance; however, I refused it, and
succeeded in finding the back part of the coach, where I secured my
hold by means of a piece of cord (which when travelling I make a
rule to carry always in my pocket), and which, in the present
instance, served me as a leading string; I then followed, in this way,
on foot for several miles, to the no small amusement of the villagers,
who laughed heartily, and even shouted after me. I had, however,
the satisfaction of getting rid of my headach, and succeeded in
completely tiring myself. We did not reach our breakfast point before
two o’clock, and proceeding again at four, arrived proportionately late
at the end of the day’s journey.

The succeeding morning proved remarkably fine, and we

prosecuted our journey with additional pleasure. I found the
conducteur more humble, and my companions, in general, more
attentive to me than usual. The advantage I had derived from
exercise on the preceding day determined me to walk again, and the
bootmaker civilly offered me his arm. After proceeding some
distance, he proposed entering a wine-shop, to which I assented; we
tried three, however, before we found any wine to our taste: in
consequence of the time thus lost, the voiture got considerably the
start of us, so that we were obliged to exert ourselves to regain it.

On producing our wine, the provision-bags were also brought

forward; we became merry as gypsies, and my cocked-hat friend
particularly facetious. Soon after one o’clock, we arrived, in high
glee, at our breakfasting-place, where we found a voiture full of
students, on their way to the university of Toulouse. These young
gentlemen paid me a marked attention during our repast, assisting
me liberally to the produce of the table, and replenishing my glass
before it was empty. When the voiture was ready, I walked forward
with the soldier’s wife, who appeared a far more respectable woman,
than from her situation in life might have been expected. I now
learnt, partly by words, and partly by signs, the situation and
circumstances of her husband; that subsequently to the peace, he
had attempted to support himself in Germany by his trade; but
difficulties arising, he was removing to Toulouse, her native place, in
hopes of proving more successful.

In the course of our walk, we ascended a considerable hill, from

which, my companion informed me, the prospect was most extensive
and beautiful. The air at this spot I found so soft, balmy, and
exhilarating, that I felt assured I had now reached the south of
France. After crossing a river, at seven o’clock we reached our
quarters for the evening. The students had preceded us, and in
consequence of their occupying the attention of the house, we had to
wait a long time for our supper.

On the following morning we resumed our journey in high spirits,

from the prospect of arriving at Toulouse in the evening. We reached
Agen for breakfast, which I understood to be a very fine city: I was at
this place so much charmed with the manners and attentions of
some young ladies at the inn, that I admit I did not depart without
regret. Had I the same talents for acquiring languages, as Joseph
Scaliger, who was a native of this place, possessed, I might by this
time have known sufficient of the French to have benefitted by the
agreeable conversation of these ladies. At six in the evening we
entered Toulouse, and were set down at a miserable inn, termed the
Three Mules.

While our supper was getting ready, I went, under protection of the
soldier’s wife, to call upon Mrs. W⸺, a lady who had kindly offered
to assist in procuring me a reception, for the winter, in some
respectable French family. I was fortunate enough to find her at
home; when she expressed much surprise at the manner in which I
had travelled so far, and informed me, that preparatory
arrangements had been made for my residence in the family of
Colonel du B⸺. In returning to the inn we experienced some
embarrassment; for my conductress had been so long absent from
her native city, that we had much difficulty, in consequence of the
narrowness and intricacy of the streets, in finding our way back to
the inn.

After supper I was conducted to one of the most comfortless

rooms that could be imagined; every thing felt so damp, so
antiquated, and dusty: some of the chairs were without legs, others
without backs; and the windows were broken: but as there was no
remedy, I was obliged to make the best of it, and congratulated
myself on having reached my destined winter residence, and thus
far, negatived the doubts, and kind apprehensions of my friends.
 CHAP. V.
TOULOUSE.

On the following morning, Mr. F⸺, a friend of Mrs. W⸺’s,

called upon me, to state the full particulars of the arrangements for
my reception into the family of Colonel du B⸺, to whom I was to
be introduced on the morrow; and in the evening, this kind lady sent
two gentlemen to conduct me to her residence, when I had the
pleasure of being introduced to a small circle of her acquaintance.

In the morning, Mr. F⸺ called upon me, in company with Colonel

du B⸺, when it was settled, that I was to become an inmate, in the
family of the latter, on the following day. These gentlemen did me the
favour to settle for my journey with the voiturier, and gave him a
severe reprimand for his want of humanity; and I took the opportunity
of convincing the soldier’s wife, who was present, of my sense of her
kindness.

I now soon found myself happily situated in the house of Colonel

du B⸺, with whom I proposed to remain, until the approach of
spring might invite me to pursue my tour, and under the expectation,
in the interim, of improving my health, and acquiring a knowledge of
the French language. The former point was admirably promoted by
the kind attentions, and domestic arrangements, of Madame du B
⸺; the latter would not fail to result from so extended a residence
in a family wholly unacquainted with English, and where necessity,
and the force of habit, must concur in instructing me. I cannot,
however, but acknowledge the patient assistance which I received
from the whole family; and my views were also promoted by a pretty
regular attendance on the lectures delivered at the royal college of
this place.
 Our domestic circle consisted of M. and Madame du B⸺, their
two sons and daughters, with the father and a sister of Madame B
⸺. Madame B⸺ was what, in England, we should call a notable
woman, who superintended personally the arrangements of
housekeeping. The colonel possessed a mechanical taste, which
with reading constituted his leading pursuit; he was a hearty feeder,
with, however, a supposed indifferent appetite; for instance, he
would breakfast, about noon, upon an immense quantity of bread
and cold meat, hard dried sausages, or rich fromage de cochon, with
a large bottle of wine, and afterward complain of a disinclination for
his dinner.

But perhaps the more interesting feature of the family group, was
Mademoiselle la Sœur. This lady, somewhat advanced beyond the
noontide of life, was a diminutive woman, with one eye, and largely
attached to the charms of tabac, which contributed to give her voice
a strong nasal tone; but in addition to this penchant for snuff, she
enjoyed also the pleasures of the table; was fond of high-seasoned
dishes, onions, garlic, and wine; her converse was of the merry kind;
she was fond of whispering into one’s private ear; and with these
talents, seemed also wonderfully adapted for sociality, as she
cultivated a large circle of acquaintance in the town, and made it a
rule to return with a whole budget full of news for our amusement.

Toulouse, in point of extent, is considered the third town in France,

but in proportion to that extent, far less populous than many other of
its cities: it possesses some good public buildings, as well as
modern private houses, but the general appearance is very
antiquated; the streets are narrow and dirty, and what is a great
annoyance in walking along them, when it rains you are almost sure
to be spouted upon from the tops of the houses, in consequence of
pipes sticking out to conduct the water towards the middle of the
streets.

There are in this city some good squares, particularly the Place
Royal, in which are situated the town-house and theatre; the Place
St. George; the Place St. Stephen, containing the cathedral; and
also the Place de Bourbon, which with its neighbourhood is the more
eligible point for the residence of a stranger.

Some of the walks around the town are very fine, but the access to
them unpleasant, in consequence of the offensive smells proceeding
from the narrow streets in their vicinity; this is particularly the case as
you approach the fine bridge over the Garonne.

Lodgings, such as they are, are reasonable, and the necessaries

of life, of all kinds, abundant, good, and cheap. The town is supplied
with water from the river; this indispensable article being carted
about in casks through the streets at all hours. The stranger will also
notice a number of asses, which are driven about the town, to supply
invalids with their milk.

I declined participating much in the society of the place, but both

the French and English residents are sociably inclined. It is not,
however, the fashion among the former, to make morning visits, or
give dinner parties, but their houses are open for their friends every
evening, and on appointed nights they visit in large parties, and
amuse themselves with conversation, singing, cards, or dancing.

A theatre was open during a part of the winter, and we had two or
three public concerts, as well as a variety of private ones by amateur
performers, particularly during the season of the carnival, which
finished on the 14th of February, and exhibited all its usual variety of
masks, grotesque characters, and buffoonery; these concerts were
only given on the Sunday afternoon.

There are a few customs, and points of etiquette, which it may be

interesting to notice.

When a stranger arrives at Toulouse, and wishes to enter into

society, he leaves his card with the prefect, who, after returning his
call, sends him invitations to the public parties, which he gives once
or twice in the week, when he has the opportunity of seeing the best
company of the place.
 On new-years-day, it is the custom (although I believe the same is
common to most parts of the continent) to call on all friends, and
present the ladies with fruits, toys, trinkets, or bon-bons, under some
ingenious deceptions, and which it is generally expected, will be
accompanied by a salute; therefore if you have an extensive
acquaintance, it is indispensable to set out, at an early hour, loaded
with smiles, compliments, and presents.

I scarcely feel competent to speak of the various ceremonies of

the Gallican church here, but when an Englishman dies, it is
customary to send the following notice, to the various residents from
his country, requesting their attendance at the funeral.

“M⸺

Vous êtes prié par M⸺ et M⸺ de leur faire l’honneur

d’assister à l’inhumation de M⸺ qui aura lieu le ⸺ à ⸺
heure du ⸺. Le convoi sortira de sa maison d’habitation.

Pax illi ⸺”

There is only one burial ground for Protestants, at Toulouse,

situated at some distance from the city.

Early in February, the news arrived of the death of our late

venerable and beloved king; the intelligence was received by the
English in this place, with every possible mark of respect, and a
public mourning immediately took place.

Soon afterward, the city of Toulouse was thrown into a high state
of consternation, in consequence of the assassination of the Duc de
Berri; the imaginations of the inhabitants recurred to the sanguinary
scenes of the French revolution, in which this town had no small
share, and anticipated a return of its horrors. After this event, the
following invitation was addressed to the various English residents:
 “Eglise reformée de Toulouse. Nos tres chers frères en Jesus
Christ.

Vous avez tous gémis sur l’horrible attentat commis sur la

personne de S. A. R. Monseigneur Le Duc de Berri, attentat
qui a privé la France et l’auguste famille des Bourbons, de
leur espoir le plus précieux; nous vous invitons à vous rendre
vendredi 24 de ce mois, à onze heure du matin, dans le
temple, pour exprimer, devant Dieu, la vive douleur que nous
en èprouvons.

Les Membres du Consistoire.

CHABRAND, President, &c. &c. &c.”

Toulouse, le 22 Mars, 1820.

This city abounds with beggars, many of them objects of real

charity; as it is impossible that persons with limited incomes, can
afford a sous for each, it is not unusual to give them one, and take
change out of it.

The winter proved unusually severe; from the middle of November

to the end of December, it continued wet; from this time to the latter
part of February, it was excessively cold; and at the end of January,
the ground was covered with snow for a fortnight together. For an
uninterrupted week, during some part of the twenty-four hours,
Fahrenheit’s thermometer stood at from 9° to 11° below Zero. The
Garonne for the first time for thirty years, was frozen over, the ice
being found to the thickness of nine inches. The end of March, and
beginning of April, however, became so fine and warm in the middle
of the day, as to make walking irksome.

I now began to contemplate breaking up my winter quarters, in

order to proceed to Montpellier. On inquiry, I found two modes of
conveyance to this place, one by the Grand Canal de Languedoc,
the other by diligence; and having made my arrangements for being
conveyed by the latter, I prepared, on the 13th of April, to bid adieu
to Toulouse.

I must not, however, leave this city, without paying a due tribute of
respect to the worthy family with whom I have been resident, whose
innumerable acts of kindness, and attention to a whimsical invalid,
will ever claim his gratitude.

But let me not exclude my English friends from this expression of

feeling. Mrs. W⸺ and Miss S⸺ are, in particular, entitled to my
sincerest acknowledgments; and who were not only the first to
receive me at Toulouse, but the last to take leave of me. They will
ever retain a place in the recollections of a grateful heart.
 CHAP. VI.
MONTPELLIER.

We left Toulouse in the afternoon, and travelling during the whole

night, reached Narbonne on the following day for dinner; at nine
o’clock in the evening we halted for a short time at Beziers, where
we were left, under cover from a heavy rain, in a kind of stable-yard,
while our conducteur transacted some business in the town. After
this we again proceeded throughout the night, and at day-break
arrived in sight of the Mediterranean Sea, afterward reaching
Montpellier about ten o’clock.

On leaving the coach, I accompanied a gentleman with whom I

had been acquainted at Toulouse, and who had been a fellow-
traveller on the present occasion, to his lodgings in this town; but on
his arrival, he met with the following disappointment. During his
absence, on legal business, he had permitted some friends to
occupy his rooms, one of whom happened to die in his best
chamber. Now it is customary in France, on such an occasion, to
burn the bedding and other furniture, and in case of this happening
in lodgings, the friends of the deceased are expected to pay for
them; the charge, in the present instance, was eight hundred francs,
and the furniture had not been replaced; my friend, therefore, was
induced to provide himself with fresh rooms: formerly this was not
the only tax upon the property of a foreigner who died in France, for
by the droit d’Aubaine, which has only been abolished since the
return of Louis xviii., his whole property became confiscated to the
King, under the erroneous idea that it must have been acquired in
his dominions.

For the first three days, I lived with this gentleman at his lodgings,
having however my sleeping-room at the Hotel de Midi; after which
time, I had the good fortune to place myself in the family of Madame
the Countess de M⸺, who occupied a noble mansion, agreeably
situated near the town, replete with every convenience, and
comprising beautiful gardens, embellished with terrace walks,
fountains, and a bosquet, where, to my surprise, the nightingale
sang all day long. For some reason or other, Madame found it
convenient to dispose of a part of her house; one portion was
occupied by two French officers with their families, and another by a
Russian officer. The suites of apartments were, however, perfectly
distinct, and there was little intercourse between the above and her
own family, which inhabited the better part of the house, and
consisted of herself, two daughters, and a relative, M. de C⸺.

I was exceedingly happy in this family, and with the friend who
accompanied me from Toulouse, made various excursions into the
surrounding neighbourhood; we particularly enjoyed the walks on the
banks of the river and lake, where the air was much cooler and more
agreeable, than on the road, at this time becoming dusty and
troublesome. The scenery, about two or three miles from the city, is
said to be romantically beautiful. On our return, we used,
occasionally, to take a warm bath, which was peculiarly refreshing,
and with respect to which, I noticed a luxury, which I had never
before remarked,—namely, a clean sheet thrown over the surface of
the bath, which you descend into, and are enveloped in.

There are also some delightful public walks about the town, as the
Perût, whence is a view of the Mediterranean, and Cevennes
mountains; the esplanade; and the botanic gardens. The city is also
surrounded by boulevards, of which I was able to make the tour in
forty minutes. The markets at Montpellier are well supplied with
meats and fish of all kinds; with poultry, vegetables, and fruits in
abundance. The vin ordinaire of the country, is termed vin de St.
George, which is good, and full bodied, and sold from the cask as
low as five or six sous the full quart bottle, although, after bottling
and refining, the wine merchant charges twenty sous for a small
wine quart. There is, however, another sort, termed vin de Lednon,
which is lighter, but highly flavoured, and consequently more
estimated, selling at thirty sous the bottle. A variety of other wines
may also be procured.

Montpellier has a theatre, to which it is singular that the officers in

the garrison here, are obliged to subscribe, whether they attend it or
not; besides the above, there are a great variety of other
amusements.

Madame de M⸺, and her eldest daughter, went one evening to

a ball given by general B⸺, where the young lady had the fortune
to make a conquest of an officer, with whom she danced; on the
following day he paid her a visit, and shortly after made his
proposals in form, which were accepted; after this, according to the
custom of that part of the country, he was considered as one of the
family, which was an additional pleasure to me, as he was a sensible
gentleman-like companion. The marriage, however, did not take
place until after my departure from Montpellier.

This love affair leads me to relate an affecting, romantic, and even

tragical incident, which occurred in the family of Madame M⸺,
during my residence with her.

Her youngest daughter, Clementine, was a lovely girl, about

seventeen years of age; but, alas! it is impossible that I can do
justice to charms which it was forbidden me to behold! A young
gentleman one day walking accidently near the house, observed this
interesting girl leading a goat, tied with a string, over a rising ground,
near the bosquet; struck with her beauty and simplicity, his
imagination took fire, and a passion the most ardent possessed his
soul; his constant delight was to wander near the spot which
contained the object of his affections, and amply was he repaid,
when he could thus steal a glimpse of her beloved form. But he was
soon compelled to tear himself away to prosecute his studies in
Paris; her image pursued him, and dwelt incessantly within his mind;
and he returned to Montpellier with unabated affection. The
diffidence so characteristic of pure and ingenuous love, prevented
him, for a time, from declaring his passion; at length, however, he
summoned sufficient resolution to demand an interview with the
countess, but as he refused to send up his name and object, she
declined seeing him; in a while he repeated the call, declaring that
he had something particular to communicate, but still refusing to give
his name; the countess consequently again refused to see him, but
sent Clementine to inquire the nature of his business.

Those who know how to love, may imagine his sensations, on

finding the object of his ardent passion, thus unexpectedly placed
before him; his perturbation amounted to a stupid confusion; he was
incapable of utterance; and the unconscious maid left him without
receiving the least explanation. His only consolation was now to
repeat his wanderings around her habitation. One night I was myself
alarmed by the sound of footsteps under my window, and for some
time laboured under the impression, that an attempt was making
upon the house. It was the unfortunate lover; who frequently spent
whole nights around the spot, where he first saw his adored
mistress.

On the morning of the 24th of June, I was disturbed from my

sleep, by the sound of many persons talking in the house and
garden, in a manner which convinced me that something dreadful
had occurred; I immediately hurried on my clothes, and hastened to
ascertain the cause, when, on opening the door of my room, which
led into the hall, Mademoiselle de M⸺ instantly advanced towards
me in tears, exclaiming, in the most pitiful tone, that a gentleman had
killed himself in the garden, and then proceeding with the following
relation: That her mother having risen early for the purpose of
bathing, while the bath was in preparation, had walked into the
garden in company with M. de C⸺, who was just returned from a
party in the town, with whom he had been passing the preceding
night; that, at this juncture, they saw through some bushes, a
gentleman sitting on the grass, and whom she was on the point of
approaching to accost, when he rose up, took out a large knife, and
plunged it into his breast. M. de C⸺ immediately sprang across
the path, exclaiming, “Mon Dieu! Mon ami, why have you done this!”
The only reply from the unfortunate man was, “Clementine!
Clementine!” The countess ran to procure assistance, and the whole
house was soon in confusion. The most sympathizing inquiries were
made into the motives for committing so rash a deed, when,
exhausted with loss of blood, he exclaimed, “Ah! Clementine! for you
I die! I feel you can never be mine, nor can I live without you!” He
was now conveyed to a neighbouring house; a surgeon and the
police officers soon arrived; the former reported, that the knife had
been turned aside by a rib, but that he was in imminent danger. The
police officer then proceeded in his duty, emptying his pockets, and
conveying their contents to the Bureau. A letter was found, directed
to Madame de M⸺, with another enclosed for Clementine, and I
was informed they were both written with very great propriety, and
expressive of his unhappy passion.

I quitted Montpellier a week after this event, at which time, the

unfortunate lover continued in a hopeless state.

Both as sources of amusement and instruction, I frequently

attended the lectures on chemistry, mineralogy, and botany, at the
college, and had reason to feel gratified by the general attention paid
me, both by the professors and students. Montpellier appears a most
desirable situation for prosecuting a course of study, as it abounds
with excellent public lectures, literary societies, and good libraries. In
short, it must be an agreeable winter’s residence under any
circumstances,—to those who wish to be gay, it offers a continual
routine of balls, plays, and other amusements, public as well as
private; and the valetudinarian will find as pure air, and agreeable
walks and rides, as he can desire.

The time I had allotted for my residence at this delightful place,

was now drawing to a close, and having provided a fresh supply of
Herries and Farquhar’s notes, from my punctual and obliging
bankers in London, I prepared to proceed to Aix in Provence, where I
proposed to bathe for the remainder of the summer, staying a few
days only at Nismes, on my way.

I shall avail myself of this opportunity of recommending to

travellers the superior advantages of Herries and Farquhar’s notes,
in preference to letters of credit, and which I cannot do better than
state in their own words.

“The object of this plan is to supply travellers with money,

whenever they may require it, without there being any necessity of
determining the route beforehand. For this purpose, a
correspondence is established with all the principal places of
Europe. The traveller is furnished with a general letter or order,
addressed to the different agents of the house, which letter, while it
serves to identify him, gives a claim to any attention or good offices
he may stand in need of.”

A variety of clear and explicit arrangements are made, to facilitate

the immediate supplies of the traveller, whenever he may need them;
and excellent precautions adopted, to prevent forgeries, impositions,
and the extravagant expenses, commissions, and discounts, which
attend the negotiation of bills on merchants’ houses.
 CHAP. VII.
NISMES.

A short time before my departure from Montpellier, I had the

misfortune to sprain my ancle, which abridged materially my usual
pleasure of walking, but did not prevent me pursuing my original
intention of proceeding to Aix.

M. de C⸺ was kind enough to accompany me to the coach, and,

with the best possible motives, recommended me to the care of the
passengers and conducteur, but which I must admit I would rather
have declined, as it disarmed me of that independence I wished to
feel; I fancied it was placing me in the light of a school-boy; or
perhaps of a package of “Glass.—Keep this side uppermost.” I would
prefer being treated with the little ceremony of a woolpack, which by
its accommodating elasticity, not only avoids injury from slighter
contact, but under more decided and ruder pressure, becomes so
solid, so confirmed, so compact, as effectually to oppose additional
restraint, and probably at length by its innate powers, to throw off the
superincumbent weight, and immediately regain its original state; in
short, I find less difficulty, and inconvenience, in travelling amongst
strangers, than people imagine, and prefer being left to my own
resources; habit has given me the power of acquiring, by a kind of
undefinable tact, as correct ideas of objects as the most accurate
descriptions would give; and unbiassed by the opinions of others, I
feel more facility in forming my estimates of human nature.

After an unpleasant journey, owing to the heat of the weather and

fulness of the coach, and passing through the neat town of Lunelle,
famous for its wines, we arrived about noon at Nismes, where I took
up my residence at a traiteur’s, in a particularly airy situation near the
esplanade; this situation I felt of importance, as from its position on
an extensive plain, this city suffers intolerably from the heats of
summer.

On the following day, being Sunday, I attended divine service at

one of the Protestant churches, in company with Mrs. and Miss L
⸺, with whom I had previously been acquainted at Toulouse and
Montpellier; we were shewn into the corporation seat, and I am
afraid gave much trouble to its proper occupiers, who, with great
politeness, incommoded themselves to accommodate us. We were
much pleased with the discourse of the preacher, as well as the
indications of devotion on the part of the congregation.

Nismes abounds with Protestants, who indeed constitute a large

proportion of its more industrious and opulent population; a
circumstance to which the sanguinary political scenes, of which it
has so frequently been the theatre, are to be attributed. The Roman
religion has undoubtedly a tendency to check the energetic industry
of its professors, by the encouragement which its numerous fêtes
give to habits of amusement, idleness, and dissipation; and, alas! it
is too correspondent with the dispositions of fallen human nature, for
rapine and fraud to spring out of such vitiated soil, and avail
themselves of the advantages attained by honest industry.

But far be it from me, to decry the importance of religious

observances, and rational relaxation from the toils of suffering
humanity; or to throw the least censure on that admirable and divine
institution, which, according to our admired Spectator, rubs off the
rust of the preceding week, and leads the poor man to a close
acquaintance with his best friend. The institutions of catholicism, or
rather papalism, are in this respect essentially contradictory to the
divine command, which has solemnly declared, amidst the awful
denunciations of Mount Sinai,—“Six days shalt thou labour; but the
seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God;” for who of its more
strict professors does not pay as much religious observance to the
fifth day, as to the one indicated by the merciful Creator.

While at Nismes, my ancle proved extremely painful, and I felt

otherwise indisposed, so as to be incapable for a time of taking my
usual walks; I was, in consequence, induced to consult a French
apothecary, who had talked me into a favourable opinion of his skill,
by expatiating, in what I considered a philosophical way, upon the
virtues of his medicines. I was, consequently, placed upon a course
of ptisan refraichissant, without which French practice would be at a
loss, but which, begging the pardon of this French Æsculapius,
although it might do very well in mild cases, I should be loath to
intrust my safety to in a desperate one, where nature might possibly
want urging forward, or severe correction, rather than treating with
such a complaisance; so much for my smattering of physic: but,
notwithstanding, I must do my apoticaire the justice to admit, that
with the aid of his ptisan, and other means, I was in a few days
sufficiently improved to be able to resume, in some measure, my
customary walks.

Nismes, originally the Nemausum of the Romans, is a city of

considerable antiquity, of which sufficient remains are still to be
found, to attest its former grandeur.

I visited some of these august remains, particularly the celebrated

amphitheatre, built in the Tuscan order, of such size as to have been
capable of containing twenty thousand spectators. It is considered
one of the finest monuments of antiquity, and has survived the
ravages of nearly twenty centuries. I had also that exquisite piece of
Corinthian architecture described to me, now termed the Maison
Quarrée, which exhibits some of the most beautiful specimens of
architecture still existing, and which had been supposed by many to
have been built by the Emperor Hadrian, a great benefactor to this
city, but by an inscription, discoverable to that effect, is now proved
to have been erected by the good people of Nismes in honour of the
two young princes, Caius and Lucius Cæsar, grandsons of Augustus,
by his daughter Julia, the wife of Agrippa.

A number of peculiar large square basins, which the common

people use to bathe in, are to be seen at Nismes, near the public
walk named the Coursè; they are placed at equal distances from
each other, and formed by enlargements of a canal that runs through
them, the water supplying which, issues from under the rock on
which the castle stands; after passing through these reservoirs, the
stream is conducted, by pipes and smaller canals, throughout the
town, and converted to different purposes of economy and
manufacture.

Anxious for the benefit I expected to derive from the waters of Aix,
I hastened my departure from Nismes on the 11th of July. I had only
a single companion in the diligence, an interesting young student of
seventeen or eighteen years of age, on his way from college to meet
some friends at Beaucaire, and as highly delighted with his
emancipation from scholastic trammels, as a young midshipman at
going on shore after a long cruise. At one place we took a glass of
liqueur together, and on my offering to pay for it, he laughed at me,
and said I was joking. At eight o’clock we reached Beaucaire, where
he left me. At this place great preparations were making for the
annual fair, which lasts about three weeks, and is of much
importance, as merchants attend it from all parts of Europe.

We here crossed the Rhone on a bridge of boats, and proceeded

through Tarrascon. At midnight we stopped for supper, when a cold
chicken being produced, the conducteur contrived to dispose, with
great celerity, of the larger part of it, leaving only a leg and wing for
my share; after this, a most exorbitant demand was made upon me,
being charged with the whole fowl, and the bottle of wine, although I
had only shared a couple of glasses of the latter; but following the
example of my young friend the student, I joked them into reason,
and offering half the money, they thought proper to be contented with
it. I am convinced, from experience, that this is a better mode, than
arguing a point of charge passionately with a French innkeeper; hear
with patience his torrent of explanation, and then putting on your
gloves coolly, reply with a smile, “I dare say you are right, my good
friend, but I make it a rule never to pay so much, and cannot do it
now.” Above all, take care that you do not, like Smollet, give a louis
to change, and then ask them what you have to pay; first, get your
change, and then only part with your gold. But the best way of all to
prevent disputes, is to make a bargain beforehand.
 About seven in the evening I arrived at Aix, and had the pleasure
of meeting my friend Mr. W⸺, with a brother of his, lately arrived
from England, and also some of my fair countrywomen, with whom I
had been acquainted at Toulouse, and who had passed me at
Montpellier.
 CHAP. VIII.
AIX—MARSEILLES.

Mr. W⸺ pressed me to take up my residence at Aix with himself

and his brother, but I was still too anxious to pursue my studies of
the French language, and character, amongst the natives, to accept
of his offer; notwithstanding, it was impossible that I could have been
placed more satisfactorily to my feelings; his general information and
good sense, highly qualified him to impart knowledge, and his
uncommon urbanity of manners, made it particularly delightful to
receive it from him.

“How much in every state man owes

To what kind courtesy bestows,
To that benign engaging art,
Which decorates the human heart;
To every act it gives a grace,
And adds a smile to every face;
E’en goodness ’self we better see,
When drest by gentle courtesy.”

I availed myself, however, of my friend’s kindness, until I

succeeded in procuring accommodations in a French family,
accustomed to receive students in the law en pension. These
gentlemen, however, only made their appearance at meal-times, nor
did the resident family associate with us according to my
expectation; I felt disappointed, and after staying ten days
determined to change my quarters.

It was not easy to find a family like that of the Countess de M⸺,
at Montpellier, particularly at this season, when every one who could
afford to support the smallest establishment in the country, was, on
account of the excessive heat, gone out of town. At length I fixed
myself with Madame R⸺, the widow of an officer of dragoons, with
three children, the eldest a girl of fourteen. A rich old gentleman, her
cousin, M. B⸺, also resided with her, and they kept, in conjunction,
two carriages and three horses, and occupied three different country
houses.

I had the pleasure, one day, of accompanying Madame R⸺ on

horseback, to visit one of her country seats, and was not a little
surprised to find that she rode after the manner of gentlemen, with a
horse-cloth doubled under her, instead of a saddle. It is, however,
seldom that ladies in France ride on horseback, and they were not a
little astonished, after the peace, to see our fair countrywomen riding
in their usual manner with side-saddles, an accommodation they
were not familiar with. I must acknowledge, I should not have liked
exhibiting in the same way in Hyde Park; we did not, however, pass
through the town in this manner, for our horses were led out of it
before we mounted, and on our return, we dismounted before re-
entering it.

A few days after my arrival, I commenced using the mineral baths

of Aix, which I persevered in during my residence, and I think with
much advantage, although I could not bear drinking the waters,
which I fancied to be of a chalybeate nature; I endeavoured, but in
vain, to get a correct analysis of them; the resident physician,
appointed by government, either could not, or would not inform me;
he referred me to a large octavo volume, sold at the baths, but I
found it contain nothing except eulogies on their virtues, in almost
every disease to which the human body is incidental. The
temperature of the water is about 97° Fahrenheit.

The baths are situated in the Fauxbourg, or higher part of the

town; the best situation for the invalid who wishes to take advantage
of them, is near the Hotel de Prince, on the Coursé, which is the
pleasantest part of the town.

The Coursé, is a double walk, with rows of lime-trees on both

sides, and a carriage road between them; these walks form the
fashionable promenade of the place on a summer’s evening. There
are also good boulevards; Aix upon the whole, however, is defective
in public walks, and the streets are narrow and very dirty. It is far
from being an agreeable residence in summer, as the town is empty
and dull; and in winter it is cold, in consequence of its situation on an
extensive plain, exposed to the vents de bise from the neighbouring
mountains.

There is a line cathedral at Aix, one of the doors of which is

considered an exquisite piece of workmanship; in consequence, it is
preserved in a case, and a particular application required to get
admitted to a sight of it. I attended the service of the cathedral one
fête day, and heard some very fine vocal and instrumental music.

The college here is as famous for law, as that of Montpellier for

physic; and there is a public library which contains some English
books, presented by one of our countrymen. The town also
possesses a museum of natural history, and some good private
collections of paintings.

My intercourse was chiefly confined to the family with which I

resided, and a few English friends; I am, therefore, unable to say
much respecting the social habits of the place, but understood that it
was by no means defective in these respects; although there are no
public amusements during the summer, the winter brings with it
theatrical, and other entertainments.

Provisions are abundant and cheap, and the bread is so excellent

as to be sent in large quantities to other places.

I was anxious to visit the celebrated city of Marseilles, distant only

fifteen miles, and proceeded with Mr. H. W⸺, and another
gentleman, to put this design in execution; on our arrival we placed
ourselves at the Hotel des Ambassador, in the Rue Beauveau, near
the Place Moliere, where the theatre stands.

The commerce of this great mercantile city was at this time much
depressed, owing to the heavy duties imposed upon goods imported
by American vessels; which however they managed to evade, in
some degree, by unshipping their cargoes at Nice, or Genoa, into
French coasters.

We visited the coral manufactory; the corals used in which, are

said to be very fine, and brought by the fishermen direct from the
coast of Barbary; I should have been glad to have purchased some,
but was apprehensive of imposition, and, moreover, found that I
could not take them into Italy, and elsewhere, without paying very
heavy duties, or incurring great risk of seizure.

It is customary at Marseilles, for the inhabitants in great numbers,

to go to the outsides of the harbour early in the morning to bathe, for
which purpose the females take the left hand, and the men the right.
We were induced to follow this good example, and found the bathing
delightful; we were carried by boats into about five feet water, with a
fine sandy bottom, and steps were then thrown out to enable us
conveniently to get into the water, and out again; but I preferred
throwing myself from off the gunwale and diving for some yards,
after which, I swam out to sea, to the astonishment of my friends and
the surrounding strangers, who were rendered sensible of my loss of
sight, by my occasionally calling out to ascertain the direction of the
boat.

On the eve of our return to Aix, Mr. H. W⸺, a spirited young

naval officer, determined to repeat his bathing in the close of the
evening, and notwithstanding our solicitations to the contrary,
insisted upon going alone, although quite unacquainted with the
French language. His impetuosity led him into an adventure, which
might have terminated in fatal results, and, at all events, compelled
us to hasten our departure, under circumstances in some degree
equivocal. On quitting his boat, he offered the man who belonged to
it, the same remuneration he had on former occasions paid, which
however was refused; my friend walked off, and the man followed
him, talking loudly in an unintelligible manner; at length he laid hold
of him by the skirt of his coat, when W⸺, turning round, knocked
him down; a mob soon collected, who taking the boatman’s part,
proceeded to beat our young friend most unmercifully, and probably
would have murdered him, had not some gentlemen interfered and
extricated him; one of these had the kindness to accompany him
home, and requested we would not venture into the streets, until the
affair had been arranged with the police, to whom he offered to
accompany us on the following morning. We acknowledged his
kindness, but concealed our intention of quitting Marseilles at five
o’clock in the morning; in short, we thought it better to avail
ourselves of this chance of getting rid of the affair, not however,
without some apprehension of being pursued.

In fact, in two or three days after our return to Aix, it was

announced, that a person from Marseilles was enquiring for two
gentlemen who had lately been at the Hotel des Ambassador, in that
place; we immediately pictured to our imaginations, a police officer,
with a warrant in his hand, but it proved to be one of the waiters, who
had called to apprise us of a mistake of six francs, against us, in
making out our bill, which we paid with much satisfaction, as
flattering ourselves that we had now fully outwitted the police.

The month of September having considerably advanced, and the

weather becoming sensibly colder, I began to think of suspending
the use of the hot baths, and removing to a milder climate. I had the
pleasure, however, of thinking my health materially improved, my
eyes in particular felt lighter, and I fancied that I could occasionally
discern a flash of light from the under part of the left one. I selected
Nice for my winter’s residence, and on the 14th of September left Aix
in the diligence, for Antibes, taking leave of the last town in France,
where I proposed making any extended residence.

It is not easy to describe my emotions in quitting a people, with

whose language and habits I was now becoming well acquainted,
and to whom I felt a degree of attachment, grounded, if not upon
congeniality of sentiment, at least upon a grateful sense of repeated
acts of kindness, and attention, which I had experienced from them.

It is true, that I was fully alive to all the anticipated enjoyments of a

land of promise; the favoured Italy, highly gifted by nature and art;
the cradle of genius; the birth-place of poets, orators, and warriors;
and once the sole arbitress of the fate of the world.

I sought consolation in reflections of this nature, and in repeating

the lines of a favourite poet.

“Hope must brighten days to come

While memory gilds the past.”
 CHAP. IX.
JOURNEY TO NICE.

On leaving Aix, our coach, besides myself, contained two

gentlemen, sons of General M⸺, who had been residing for eight
years at a college near Toulouse. We breakfasted at Luc, where we
took up two or three more passengers; from hence we passed on to
Frejus, and thence over the Estralès, formerly noted for numerous
banditti. At Cannes General M⸺ came out with his daughter, in his
carriage, to meet his sons, whom we here parted from. The
remaining passengers also quitted us about this time, so that before
we entered Antibes I had the whole carriage to myself.

At Antibes I got my passport signed, to enable me to enter his

Sardinian majesty’s dominions; but this gave little trouble, as a
person negotiated the affair for the remuneration of one franc.

I remained at the inn where the diligence put up, in consequence

of finding that the one for Nice set off from it on the following
morning. I got my supper at the table d’hôte, in company with two or
three officers; the fare was very indifferent, and the charge
exorbitant, in consequence of not having made my bargain
beforehand.

After supper I retired early to bed, in hopes of compensating for

my loss of sleep on the preceding night in the coach; but, alas! I
reckoned without my host, for it proved a night of misery; a multitude
of mosquitoes tormented me without intermission, and with joy did I
welcome the arrival of the moment, which announced that the
diligence was preparing to depart.

At four o’clock we left the inn, but the town-gates were yet closed,
and some time elapsed before they were opened to us; at length an