Loraine Obler

Loraine Katherine Obler (born July 12, 1948) is an American linguist and neuroscientist, internationally recognized as a leading scholar in the field of neurolinguistics and multilingualism. She is known for her contributions to understanding how language-related behavior is controlled within the brain. Her work spans diverse sub-disciplines such as the neurolinguistics of bilingualism, language processing in aging and Alzheimer's disease, and the cross-language study of aphasia.

Obler is a Distinguished Professor at the CUNY Graduate Center where she holds appointments in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, Linguistics, and Cognitive Neuroscience.

Awards Obler received the title of Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Stockholm University in 1993 and Turku University in 2011. In 2023, the edited volume Advances in the Neurolinguistic Study of Multilingual and Monolingual Adults: In Honor of Professor Loraine K. Obler was published in recognition of her career contributions.

Biography Obler completed her high school education at Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York City in 1966.

Obler has had a lifelong interest in learning languages. She grew up in a predominantly English-speaking environment, but developed skills in speaking and understanding Hebrew during yearly trips to Israel. During her high school years, she studied French, demonstrating a good reading ability. She also studied Spanish, German, and Chinese, achieving varying levels of proficiency, and dedicated four years to learning Arabic, focusing more on reading and writing than speaking.

Obler has held numerous academic and research positions. She has a longstanding association with City University of New York (CUNY), initially as a Professor of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and later as a Distinguished Professor. She was named a Senior Fulbright Specialist on Multilingual and Multicultural Issues in Speech-Language Pathology at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem. Obler has co-edited a number of scientific volumes. Language and Communication in the Elderly is a collection of articles by eminent researchers and clinicians exploring diagnostic and rehabilitive approaches to the language behavior of both normal and senile elderly persons. Bilingualism across the Lifespan: Aspects of Acquisition, Maturity and Loss is a collection of papers on the development of language over the lifespan, bilingual language acquisition, and language attrition.

Obler's work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation, and the Israel-U.S. Binational Foundation.

Books

Menn, L., Obler, L. K., & Miceli, G. (Eds.). (1990). Agrammatic Aphasia: A Cross-language Narrative Sourcebook (Vol. 2). John Benjamins Publishing.

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.

Representative publications