This introductory lecture outlines the core focus and structure of the course Language & the Mind. The presentation introduces language as a psychological, cognitive, and socio-cultural tool, rather than merely a formal system, and frames the central question of the course: How does language shape the human mind – and how does the mind shape language? The lecture presents the three main axes of the course (biological–cognitive, developmental, and social–cultural) and explains how they are interconnected across the semester. It also clarifies how the course will be taught, how assignments are organized, and what is expected from students in terms of preparation and active participation. A key conceptual part of the lecture draws on Altmann’s perspective on psycholinguistics and uses the Tower of Babel metaphor to distinguish between linguistic description and psycholinguistic explanation, highlighting language as a dynamic process unfolding in the mind. The session concludes with an interactive activity focused on students’ own language backgrounds and an introduction to the first homework assignment.

This lecture examines the origins of human language from psychological, social, and evolutionary perspectives. We distinguish between language, communication, and speech, and show that while communication is widespread across species, human language is unique in its structure, productivity, and ability to express abstract and displaced meanings. Using Hockett’s design features, we identify key properties that differentiate human language from other communication systems, including animal communication such as the honeybee waggle dance. We then compare continuity and discontinuity theories of language evolution and review evidence from studies attempting to teach language to non-human primates. These studies reveal important limits in primates’ ability to use language productively and syntactically. The lecture highlights the central role of social cognition in language evolution, showing that even very young human children outperform adult primates in social–cognitive tasks and display a strong motivation to share information. Finally, we outline the evolution of speech, emphasizing that speech evolves as a biological adaptation supporting language, but does not explain language on its own.

In this lecture we examine how language is implemented in the brain. We move from early ideas about brain localization to modern neurolinguistic research. We begin by asking why it is difficult to map language neatly onto specific brain regions and discuss the methodological challenges of studying the brain. We explore historical evidence from brain damage, including the case of Phineas Gage, and examine how Broca’s and Wernicke’s discoveries establish the idea that language functions can dissociate. We define aphasia and show how language can selectively break down while intelligence and personality remain intact. We then move beyond the classical model and discuss modern findings showing that language is not confined to two “language areas.” We introduce brain plasticity and variability across individuals. The lecture presents Voxel-Based Lesion-Symptom Mapping (VLSM) as a modern statistical method that links patterns of brain damage to specific language deficits. We review the study by Dronkers et al. (2004), which demonstrates that different types of sentence comprehension rely on partially overlapping but distinct brain regions. Finally, we discuss the importance of cross-linguistic and bilingual aphasia research and consider how language experience shapes neural organization. The lecture concludes that language is supported by distributed and interacting neural networks rather than isolated brain centers.

Please read the Assignment 1 description. This assignment is due 3.3.2026 To access the student resources, please work with the link provided here : https://learninglink.oup.com/access/sedivy-2e-student-resources#tag_chapter-02 The web activities are part of the Oxford Learning Link resources for Language in Mind. In most cases, to access that you should only need to create a free account and log in. So if you do not have an access for the full book content, please try the following: Create a free Oxford Learning Link account (if you do not already have one). -Log in.- Then access the student resources page again via the link provided in our Syllabus course here in MyLearning. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Since some of you experienced technical difficulties accessing the Oxford Learning Link website, I have uploaded screenshots of the relevant Web Activities from Chapter 2. You can now find: - The full task instructions for the selected Web Activities - Alternative video links for Activity 2.4 These materials allow you to complete the assignment offline, without needing to log into the Oxford platform.

In this lecture, we examine how language is structured and how phonological development unfolds in early childhood. We clarify that language development does not concern “language as a whole,” but specific interacting levels such as phonology, lexicon, morpho-syntax, and pragmatics. The main focus is on the phonological level. We explore how speech sounds are perceived, categorized, and produced, including the distinction between phonemes and allophones, the role of minimal pairs, and the articulatory dimensions of speech (place, manner, and voicing). Through practical activities, students experience the difference between spelling and sound and reflect on the abstract nature of phonological knowledge. We then examine early phonological development, including universal sensitivity to speech contrasts, categorical perception, perceptual narrowing, and experimental methods used to study infant speech discrimination. Babbling is presented as systematic vocal experimentation that reflects the interaction between motor maturation, auditory feedback, and linguistic input. The lecture concludes with an introduction to word segmentation and statistical learning. We discuss how infants track transitional probabilities in continuous speech and implicitly detect word boundaries. Finally, we briefly address the shift from implicit phonological development to explicit phonological awareness and mention D. B. Elkonin’s contribution to making phonemes visible in early literacy instruction.