Foundations and Structure of Language

Goals

One of the main challenges faced by contemporary Cognitive Science is to bridge the gap between disciplines like neuroscience and neurobiology and disciplines like linguistics, philosophy, and psychology. One way to characterize this problem is that the degree of resolution (or `granularity’) of observations coming from the former disciplines are often completely mismatched relative to the extremely detailed analyses coming from the latter, to the extent that the vocabularies of the said disciplines often appear to be incommensurable. An important step towards bridging this gap is that practitioners of the several subdisciplines that currently fit under the umbrella term of `Cognitive Science’ come to understand each other, their respective goals and subjects of inquiry, in order to be able to tell what may sometimes be complex technicalities motivated by theory-internal reasons from different kinds of evidence that may constitute genuine contributions to the shared goal of naturalizing the mind.

The goal of this course is to offer an introduction to the foundations of the psychological study of language from the perspective of the relation between language, mind, and cognition. This course offers an interdisciplinary approach into (i) the relation between language, cognitive science, and environment, (ii) language in relation to other aspects of human cognition and the communication systems of other species, (iii) aspects of language development and the role of innate properties, (iv) biological aspects of language, and (v) a comparison of language in vivo (humans) and in silico (Artificial Intelligence). By the end of this module, you will have an enhanced understanding of core themes within linguistics and cognitive science.

The course is organized into two parts, with the first one devoted to questions developed from the perspective of philosophy of science. Here, we will touch on issues concerning the problem of integrating perspectives coming from the different disciplines involved in the study of cognition, focusing first on the complex question of levels of analysis vs.\ levels of reality. Thereafter, we’ll turn to the phenomenon of language to briefly consider how the issues discussed earlier impact on its study, putting some emphasis on the question of modeling.

The second part of the course will be dedicated to topics that lie at the heart of contemporary investigations of language: the modus operandi of the cognitive parser, linguistic processing, language development, bilingualism, the role of the input, the role of the environment, and the uniqueness of language. In lieu of an outlook, we will ask the questions about what it means to “know language”, both from the perspective of human learners and of artificial systems that seek to emulate aspects of human cognition, including language. Last, there will be an opportunity to ask questions about other topics that concern language and cognition, which we may have not covered in class.

Course plan

1. Methodological issues in contemporary Cognitive Science

I. The problem of levels
 (i) The goals of Cognitive Science
 (ii) The problem of levels I
 (iii) The problem of levels II
II. The case of language
 (i) Where in language are regularities observed?
 (ii) The dual nature of language
 (iii) Interlude: Universals and Innateness, some misunderstandings
 (iv) The linguistic phenotype
 (v) Modeling in science, modeling in linguistics
 (vi) An agenda

2. Deconstructing language to its basic ingredients

(I) Why are humans good at language?
 (i) The modus operandi of the cognitive parser: The two systems
 (ii) Innateness, Universal Grammar and the nature vs. nurture debate
(II) Language and cognition
 (i) Dissociations in development and the role of the environment
(III) Language development in different contexts
 (i) Bilingualism
 (ii) Sign language
 (iii) Dialectal variation
(IV) Language learning in vivo vs. in silico

 

Assessment

Assessment for the course will be based on a short essay on any of the topics discussed in class (90%) plus participation in class (10%). We will distribute a number of suggested titles and further guidelines in a separate document.

The official languages of the Masters Program are Catalan, English, and Spanish. Your assignments may therefore be written in any of these languages. In principle, since you’ve applied to a Master’s course taking place in Barcelona, you are supposed to master any of these three languages, it is nonetheless not our wish to turn language into a barrier, so, in some exceptional cases, we’ll be ready to accept assignments not written in one of the official languages. If you want to use any other language, however, please ask us first: we’re linguists, but linguists are not necessarily proficient in all languages of the world and we are no exception.

The assignment should be delivered in a single document through the appropriate section of the Campus Virtual. The only accepted file formats are PDF (strongly preferred), DOCX, or DOC and the file-names must have the following structure: YourNameCCiL.pdf or YourNameCCiL.docx/doc. Date of delivery to be announced.

Recommendations

The course works best when you interact with the instructors. Please make sure you do the readings and always interrupt when:

∗ You are not sure whether you understand the point.

∗ You have a question. 

∗ You find one of the arguments made in class or mentioned in the readings unclear or unconvincing.

∗ You want to see an example of what we are discussing.

For any questions, comments, or ideas, you can also email and/or visit the instructors during office hours or by appointment. 

Keep in Mind

(I). Allot adequate time. Expect to spend around 5-7 hours per week on the readings.

(II). Communicate with us. If you have any trouble with the course, we are here to help you.