Language and Thought

What is language, is it unique to humans conferring special cognitive power to us, and how is it shaped by human social, perceptual, and cognitive constraints? What role does biology play in shaping language structure? This course explores basic linguistic issues in semantics, syntax, phonology, language acquisition, literacy and pragmatics, and the cognitive processes underlying them. In addition, we look at sociolinguistics, bilingualism, secondary language processes, and second lan-guage reading and writing. While considering the neural underpinnings and nativist hypotheses, we also strongly emphasize the role of social processes in constructing meaning, in language and literacy acquisition, and in language change.