Archive: The Psychology of Language, with Morten Christiansen and Nick Chater

Sep 15, 2024

Morten Christiansen, a professor at Cornell, and Nick Chater, a behavioral science expert at Warwick, dive into the fascinating world of language in their insightful discussion. They explore language's playful nature and its evolution through social interactions, challenging conventional views. The duo highlights the link between language, social status, and creativity in dialects. They also discuss the cognitive benefits of multilingualism and the limits of machine translation, emphasizing the irreplaceable essence of human communication.

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INSIGHT

Language as Charades

Language is created through dialogue, like a game of charades, evoking ideas in others' minds.
This contrasts with the monologue-focused view of language as primarily for internal thought.

INSIGHT

Communication vs. Thought

Many linguists, including Chomsky, argue that language is primarily for thinking, not communication.
Christiansen and Chater challenge this, emphasizing the communicative role of language, requiring imagination and creativity.

INSIGHT

Language Games

Language is used in specific social interactions, like Wittgenstein's "language games."
These games are local and require imagination, evolving and generalizing over time.

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The language game

Papers in Memory of Donald C. Laycock

Donald C. Laycock

Malcolm Ross

Thomas Edward Dutton

D. T. Tryon

This volume is a tribute to Donald C. Laycock, a renowned linguist and scholar. Edited by Tom Dutton, Malcolm Ross, and Darrell Tryon, it includes contributions from several scholars in the fields of linguistics, folklore, and cultural studies. The book reflects Laycock's diverse interests, including language learning, folklore, bawdry, and the history and sociology of games, magic, and the occult. It is part of the Pacific Linguistics series and was published by the Department of Linguistics at the Australian National University.

Metaphors We Live By

Mark Johnson

George Lakoff

In 'Metaphors We Live By,' George Lakoff and Mark Johnson argue that metaphor is not just a figure of speech but a fundamental mechanism of the mind that allows us to use our physical and social experiences to understand more abstract concepts. The book introduces the concept of 'conceptual metaphors' and demonstrates how these metaphors structure our perceptions, thoughts, and actions. It challenges traditional views in Western philosophy and linguistics by showing that metaphor is pervasive in everyday language and thought, influencing how we think about concepts like love, arguments, and truth.

The Language Instinct

How the Mind Creates Language

Steven Pinker

In this book, Steven Pinker argues that language is an innate human ability, produced by evolution to solve the problem of communication among social hunter-gatherers. He explains how language works, how children learn it, how it changes, and how the brain computes it. Pinker refutes common ideas such as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis and the notion that language is a human invention. He supports his argument with examples from linguistics, psychology, and popular culture, emphasizing that language is a specialized 'mental module' rather than a mark of advanced intelligence. The book also includes updates on advances in the science of language since its initial publication.