Loraine Obler facts for kids

Loraine Katherine Obler (born July 12, 1948) is an American linguist and neuroscientist. She is known around the world for her important work in neurolinguistics and multilingualism. Neurolinguistics is the study of how language works in our brains. Multilingualism means knowing and using more than one language.

Dr. Obler's research helps us understand how our brains control language. She has studied many different areas, like how people who speak two languages use their brains. She also looks at how language changes as people get older or if they have Alzheimer's disease. She even studies aphasia, which is when someone has trouble speaking or understanding language after a brain injury.

Dr. Obler is a special professor at the CUNY Graduate Center. She teaches about speech, language, hearing, linguistics, and how our brains think.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Obler has received many special awards. In 1993, she was given an honorary doctorate from Stockholm University in Sweden. She received another one from Turku University in Finland in 2011.

She is also an elected member of important groups like the Association for Psychological Science and the American Psychological Association (APA). In 2023, a book was published to celebrate her amazing career. It was called Advances in the Neurolinguistic Study of Multilingual and Monolingual Adults: In Honor of Professor Loraine K. Obler.

Her Life and Education

Loraine Obler finished high school in New York City in 1966. She then went to the University of Michigan. In 1969, she earned her first degree in Studies in Religion.

She continued her studies at the University of Michigan. She earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Linguistics in 1970. She got a second M.A. in Near East Studies in 1973. Finally, she earned her Ph.D. in Linguistics in 1975. Her Ph.D. research was about how Arabic words have changed over time.

Dr. Obler has always loved learning languages. She grew up speaking mostly English. But she learned to speak and understand Hebrew during trips to Israel. In high school, she studied French and could read it well. She also learned Spanish, German, and Chinese. She spent four years learning Arabic, focusing on reading and writing.

Her Work and Research

Dr. Obler has worked at many universities and research centers. She has a long history with the City University of New York (CUNY). She started as a professor there and later became a Distinguished Professor.

She has also worked at Boston University, Boston University School of Medicine, and the VA Boston Healthcare Center. She taught at Emerson College and even at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. She was also a special expert on language issues for people who speak many languages at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem.

Dr. Obler's research covers many topics. She has studied how older people understand language. She also looked at how language works when someone is under stress. Her work includes how people learn two languages in new communities. She also studies language problems in people with dementia and a condition called agrammatism. Agrammatism makes it hard to form sentences correctly.

One of her important books is The Bilingual Brain: Neuropsychological and Neurolinguistic Aspects of Bilingualism. She wrote it with Martin Albert. This book became a key guide in the field of neurolinguistics. It explored how different languages are organized in the brain.

Dr. Obler has also helped edit many scientific books. One book, Language and Communication in the Elderly, has articles from experts. It looks at how to help older people with their language. Another book, Bilingualism across the Lifespan, talks about how language develops from childhood to old age. It also covers how people learn and sometimes forget a second language.

Her research has received support from important organizations. These include the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation.

Books She Wrote or Edited

• Menn, L., Obler, L. K., & Miceli, G. (Eds.). (1990). Agrammatic Aphasia: A Cross-language Narrative Sourcebook (Vol. 2). John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 978-90-272-2045-5
• Obler, L. K., & Fein, D. E. (1988). The Exceptional Brain: Neuropsychology of Talent and Special Abilities. Guilford Press.
• Obler, L. K., & Gjerlow, K. (1999). Language and the Brain. Cambridge University Press.

Videos and Interviews

You can learn more about Dr. Obler by watching these videos:

• Loraine Obler lecture at the launch of the Centre for Research in Language Throughout the Lifespan
• Loraine Obler lecture at the CUNY Graduate Center & Hadassah Academic College
• Loraine Obler & Peggy Conner - Cognitive Underpinnings of Language-Learning in Polyglots
• Loraine Obler Pioneers of WoW Interview Series
• Loraine Obler Interview at MIC Stony Brook University