Level 1
Language and Cognition
Catherine L Harris, Boston University, Massachusetts, USA
Cognitive scientists have long debated whether lan-
guage and cognition are separate mental faculties,
or whether language emerges from general cogni-
tive abilities.
INTRODUCTION
0559.001 What is the relationship between language and
cognition? Do people who speak different lan-
guages think differently? Is a certain level of
cognitive development required for language ac-
quisition? These questions were of keen interest to
thinkers in the early twentieth century and remain
important in anthropology, linguistics and psych-
ology. However, the cognitive revolution of the
1950s brought a new question about the relation-
ship between language and cognition: is language
the same type of mental entity as other cognitive
abilities, or is it fundamentally different?
0559.002 A hallmark of modern cognitive science is the
goal of developing a theory of cognition powerful
enough to encompass all human mental abilities,
including language abilities. A long-standing con-
troversy concerns two ways of conceptualizing the
architecture (or basic design) of cognition. One ap-
proach proposes that general-purpose processes
and mechanisms provide a foundation for all var-
ieties of human intelligence. We can refer to this as
`general purpose' cognition. Examples of possible
universal processes are the ability to induce a
category from exposure to examples (category in-
duction), and the ability to mentally complete a
known pattern when confronted with a piece of it
(pattern completion). Cognitive scientists fre-
quently attempt to precisely specify their proposed
mechanisms by implementing them as computer
algorithms which can be tested in artificial intelli-
gence (AI) programs. Researchers have tried to use
AI programs to show that the same principles that
can explain general problem-solving can also
explain aspects of language acquisition and pro-
cessing.
0559.003The second way of conceptualizing human cog-
nition emphasizes the differences between lan-
guage and other abilities. A key idea is that many
distinct domains of cognition exist and must be
learned separately, using different mental mechan-
isms. This approach is referred to as the `modular-
ity of cognition' or `mental modules' approach. At
first glance it may seem contrary to the interdiscip-
linary spirit of cognitive science and to the possibil-
ity of a unified theory of cognition. However, the
unifying theory is the thesis of distinct mental
modules, which are believed to have evolved to
accomplish specific tasks relevant to mammalian
evolution, such as visual exploration, or relevant
to human evolution, such as language use. Much of
the appeal of this approach comes from findings in
neuropsychology showing that distinct areas of the
brain serve distinct functions such as vision, lan-
guage processing, motor coordination, memory,
and face recognition. The interdisciplinary spirit is
maintained because advocates of this approach
reach out to biological scientists and evolutionary
theorists. Those favoring modularity embrace the
principle of converging methodologies: a theory
must have explanatory power in the distinct aca-
demic disciplines that compose the cognitive sci-
ences. These two approaches to the architecture of
cognition developed out of different philosophical
traditions, and have evolved considerably during
the half-century history of cognitive science.
CONCEPTS OF COGNITION AND
LANGUAGE
0559.004Why are there two different views on the relation-
ship between language and cognition? At the dawn
of the cognitive revolution, in the late 1950s, there
were two distinct ideas about the nature of mind.
Discussed first are the views of linguist Noam
Chomsky and the field of generative linguistics
Galley: Article - 00559
CONTENTS
Introduction
Concepts of cognition and language
Connectionism
Cognitive linguistics
The Cognitive neuroscience movement
Conclusion
