The human brain has a left side and a right side, and it is well-known that the two sides are programmed to perform different functions. There is also growing evidence that sexual gender, the language one first learns as a child, and the culture in which one is raised play primary roles in determining which side of the brain is engaged at particular times.
In this insightful and provocative book author Boyé Lafayette De Mente, internationally known for his 50-plus books on cultures, languages and business practices of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico, proposes that it is a unique brain factor that explains why people have difficulty communicating and understanding each other.
He proclaims that it is the primary language one learns as a child that determines whether people are left-brain oriented [think first in terms of logic and facts] or right-brain oriented [think first in terms of emotions and feelings]…and what is even more intriguing he says that all people on the planet except for the Japanese and Polynesians are programmed to be left-brain oriented.
De Mente says that it is the number of vowels in a language that controls the programming of the sides of the brains…with the vowel-heavy Japanese and Polynesian languages being unique. He adds that among the world’s other languages the so-called Romance languages [Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, etc.] are the only ones with a significant proportion of vowels…and their influence is noticeable in the emotional behavior of these people.
The premise of the book is based on work done by Dr. Tadanobu Tsunoda, Japan’s leading authority on which side of the brain processes what of sort of information. The author was one of Dr. Tsunoda’s lab subjects.
De Mente also notes that Americans and others must learn how to use the right sides of their brains more effectively if they are to achieve their full potential. [The book also explains what women must do to survive in a male-dominated world.]
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