Chinese and English use different parts of the brain

Chinese- and English-speaking dyslexics have different neurological deficits, according to a study released Monday which suggests that dyslexia may be different brain disorders in the two cultures.

At the functional level, it's easy to understand why Chinese and English speakers use different parts of the brain to read language," said Li-Hai Tan, a professor of linguistics and neuroscience at the University of Hong Kong, and author on the paper.

"The different brain networks accommodate the different features of English and Chinese. The two systems are dramatically different. Chinese is pictographic and English is more phonological, or sound-based."