A new study by University of Birmingham professors has found that bad grammar can cause a physiological stress response in our bodies. 

Published on October 12th, the study involved forty-one native English speakers who were exposed to forty speech samples. Half of these samples contained grammar violations. The results revealed a statistically significant increase in individuals’ stress levels when presented with poor grammar compared to instances where it was absent.

The results revealed a statistically significant increase in individuals’ stress levels when presented with poor grammar…

Sentences such as, ‘I think that thanks to a globalisation, people all around the world listen to same music, watch the same movies, and read same books’, were among those, used to demonstrate poor grammar in the study. 

The study focused on heart rate variability (HRV) as a measure of stress levels. HRV indicates fluctuations in stress, where irregular intervals between heartbeats during rest signify HRV. As stress increases, this variation becomes more regular. 

The findings revealed a decrease in HRV and a subsequent increase in stress levels among participants when exposed to poor grammar. Notably, the degree of grammatical violation correlated with the intensity of the stress response, with more extreme violations resulting in a greater decrease in HRV and heightened stress levels in the subjects.

The study, titled ‘Physiological responses and cognitive behaviours: Measures of heart rate variability index language knowledge,’ was published in the Journal of Neurolinguistics. It was co-authored by Professors Dagmar Divjak, Professorial Research Fellow in Cognitive Linguistics and Language Cognition; Dr. Hui Sun, postdoctoral researcher; and Professor Petar Milin, Professor of Psychology of Language and Language Learning.

The findings of the study have several implications. Professor Divjak, principal investigator of the study, explained that one understands their native language implicitly. 

‘Accurately assessing someone’s linguistic abilities, regardless of age and physical or cognitive abilities, is important for many questions pertaining to core areas of life relating to cognition, including brain health.’

‘This means that you will find it hard to pin down what exactly is right or wrong about a sentence and, even worse, explain why that is so,’ said Divjak.

She went on to say that ‘accurately assessing someone’s linguistic abilities, regardless of age and physical or cognitive abilities, is important for many questions pertaining to core areas of life relating to cognition, including brain health.’

This study marks the pioneering suggestion that Heart Rate Variability (HRV) can serve as an indicator of an individual’s implicit language knowledge. Beyond merely evaluating the stress induced by poor grammar, it introduces a novel approach to measuring cognitive ability and comprehension. 

‘This study provides us with a new method for tapping into aspects of cognition that are not directly observable,’ the principal investigator further remarked. ‘This is particularly valuable in work with language users who are unable to verbally express their opinion due to young or old age, or ill health.’

---

Read more News articles here:

Southeast Asians Workers caught in Israel-Hamas Conflict

Ex-Constable sentenced for hitting schoolboy in Birmingham

Leader and gang members of people-smuggling network sentenced