This course is about the relation of language to human cognition. How does human language in general, and any specific language in particular, interact with cognition and human cognitive processing?

How does language relate to thought? Do we think in language? If so, what is such a "language of thought" like, given that we cannot hear it or observe it directly? Is the mind like a computer and language like a computer program? or are there other ways of thinking about language that are better given what we know about the mind?

How does language relate to other key aspects of cognition such as perception, attention, and memory? Are there ways in which language has similarities to these aspects of cognition? What ways is it different?

How can we use the study of language to find out about the mind? Conversely, how can we use the study of the mind and/or brain, and all the knowledge we have about it, to shed light on the nature, structure, or origin of human language?

A crucial aspect of language is meaning - how does linguistic meaning relate to the way the mind works, and the way the brain works? Many approaches to language have focused almost entirely on linguistic form - the phonological, morphological and syntactic forms that can be deduced from the physical aspects of language such as sound or visual perception (in the case of signed languages). In recent years the focus has shifted back to linguistic meaning, after a generation of form-based theories.

This class explores these and other questions and issues, starting from the assumption that any hope of understanding the relation of language and mind has to place meaning in the center of investigation.