Language Mind And Brain

The chapters in this volume are extended versions of material first presented at the National Interdisciplinary Symposium on Language, Mind, and Brain held April 6-9, 1978, in Gainesville, Florida. Importantly for interdisciplinary goals, the papers contained in this volume are quite “ available” ; that is, papers by philosophers can easily be read and understood by linguists and psychologists; the ideas of the linguists are readily comprehensible to any educated reader; the psychologists and neurologically oriented writers are clear and nderstandable. It is, then, a volume that cuts, not so much across disciplines, but through them. First published in 1982. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

GBS_insertPreviewButtonPopup('ISBN:9780748614752);Human languages reside in human brains, and it is undeniable that properties of the mind/brain place strong constraints on linguistic structure. Yet most linguists know little about the psychology of language and even less about its neural substrate. Language, Mind and Brain explores these constraints and shows how linguistics could benefit by incorporating insights from research on language acquisition, language processing, neurolinguistics and other disciplines concerned with human linguistic abilities. The first part of the book offers a useful introduction to the relevant issues for readers with little prior knowledge of these disciplines. In the second part, the cognitive underpinnings of language are discussed in more detail in three case studies chosen to illuminate complementary aspects of linguistic structure (the semantics of locative terms, morphological rules, the syntax of English questions). The final chapter is devoted to approaches to language which meet the requirements outlined earlier, with particular prominence given to cognitive and construction grammar.FeaturesA unique contribution to the debate on the relationship between language and other cognitive processesAccessible text which introduces readers to a psychologically realistic theory of languageIncludes a definitive introduction and case studies to illustrate key topics."

The papers in this volume discuss the current status of the cognitive/neuroscience synthesis in research on vision, whether and how linguistics and neuroscience can be integrated, and how integrative brain mechanisms can be studied through the use of noninvasive brain-imaging techniques. Recent attempts to unify linguistic theory and brain science have grown out of recognition that a proper understanding of language in the brain must reflect the steady advances in linguistic theory of the last forty years. The first Mind Articulation Project Symposium addressed two main questions: How can the understanding of language from linguistic research be transformed through the study of the biological basis of language? And how can our understanding of the brain be transformed through this same research? The best model so far of such mutual constraint is research on vision. Indeed, the two long-term goals of the Project are to make linguistics and brain science mutually constraining in the way that has been attempted in the study of the visual system and to formulate a cognitive theory that more strongly constrains visual neuroscience. The papers in this volume discuss the current status of the cognitive/neuroscience synthesis in research on vision, whether and how linguistics and neuroscience can be integrated, and how integrative brain mechanisms can be studied through the use of noninvasive brain-imaging techniques. Contributors Noam Chomsky, Ann Christophe, Robert Desimone, Richard Frackowiak, Angela Friederici, Edward Gibson, Peter Indefrey, Masao Ito, Willem Levelt, Alec Marantz, Jacques Mehler, Yasushi Miyashita, David Poeppel, Franck Ramus, John Reynolds, Kensuke Sekihara, Hiroshi Shibasaki

Much of the groundbreaking work in many fields is now occurring at the intersection of traditional academic disciplines. This development is well demonstrated in this important and unique volume, which offers a multidisciplinary view of current findings and cutting-edge issues involving the relationship between mind, brain, and language. Marie T. Banich and Molly Mack have edited a collection of 11 invited chapters from top researchers (and have contributed two of their own chapters) to create a volume organized around five major topics--language emergence, influence, and development; models of language and language processing; the neurological bases of language; language disruption and loss; and dual-language systems. Topics range from the evolution of language and child-language acquisition to brain imaging and the "bilingual brain." To maintain continuity throughout, care has been taken to ensure that the chapters have been written in a style accessible to scholars across many disciplines, from anthropology and psycholinguistics to cognitive science and neurobiology. Because of its depth and breadth, this book is appropriate both as a textbook in a variety of undergraduate and graduate-level courses and as a valuable resource for researchers and scholars interested in further understanding the background of and current developments in our understanding of the mind/brain/language relationship.

Most linguists know little about the psychology of language and even less about its neural substrate. This book explores these constraints and shows how linguistics could benefit by incorporating insights from research on language acquisition, language processing and neurolinguistics.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Original Publication Details -- Introduction -- Part I Merge in the Mind -- 1 Merge and Bare Phrase Structure -- 2 Merge and (A)symmetry -- 3 Generalized Search and Cyclic Derivation by Phase: A Preliminary Study -- 4 Merge, Labeling, and Projection -- 5 A Note on Weak vs. Strong Generation in Human Language -- 6 0-Search and 0-Merge -- Part II Merge in the Brain -- 7 The Cortical Dynamics in Building Syntactic Structures of Sentences: An MEG Study in a Minimal-Pair Paradigm -- 8 Syntactic Computation in the Human Brain: The Degree of Merger as a Key Factor -- 9 Computational Principles of Syntax in the Regions Specialized for Language: Integrating Theoretical Linguistics and Functional Neuroimaging -- Bibliography -- Author Index -- Subject Index

In the first comprehensive study of the relationship between music and language from the standpoint of cognitive neuroscience, Aniruddh D. Patel challenges the widespread belief that music and language are processed independently. Since Plato's time, the relationship between music and language has attracted interest and debate from a wide range of thinkers. Recently, scientific research on this topic has been growing rapidly, as scholars from diverse disciplines, including linguistics, cognitive science, music cognition, and neuroscience are drawn to the music-language interface as one way to explore the extent to which different mental abilities are processed by separate brain mechanisms. Accordingly, the relevant data and theories have been spread across a range of disciplines. This volume provides the first synthesis, arguing that music and language share deep and critical connections, and that comparative research provides a powerful way to study the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying these uniquely human abilities. Winner of the 2008 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award.

The only way we can convey our thoughts to another person is through verbal language. Does this imply that our thoughts ultimately rely on words? This text takes the contrary position, arguing that many possible 'languages of thought' play different roles in the life of the mind.