Essays
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Epistemological Linguistics - Greene, Rebecca D.
Numerous researchers are coming to appreciate the linguistic and interactional nature of content learning. At the same time, language‐centered educational standards are being implemented nationwide, and the federally protected but educationally struggling English Learner population is rapidly expanding (Migration Policy Institute, 2013). In response to these evolving circumstances, a new subdiscipline known as Epistemological Linguistics is emerging in which researchers are exploring the role of language in content learning. This field will also offer practitioners and policy makers recommendations based on up‐to‐date theory and ample, sound empirical evidence surrounding disciplinary learning. Epistemological linguistics is also taking advantage of the rapidly growing capacity of computers to facilitate and enhance, as well as collect and analyze data on, students' learning of language and content. -
Language and Thought - Goldin‐Meadow, Susan
The notion that the language we speak impacts the thoughts we think is known as the Whorfian hypothesis. This hypothesis is typically tested by, first, describing two languages that differ systematically on a lexical or grammatical dimension and, second, comparing speakers of the two languages on a cognitive skill that might be expected to depend on that dimension. Whether or not we find support for the Whorfian hypothesis depends on how we define language, how we define thought, and what we take as evidence for “impact.” Another, more recent way of testing the hypothesis is to explore patterns of thought in human and nonhuman primates who do not have language––rather than compare cognition in speakers of language 1 versus language 2, we can compare cognition in individuals who have language versus those who do not. We can also explore whether language is special in the impact it has on thought by asking whether other conventional symbol systems shape cognition (e.g., does mental abacus affect thinking beyond numerical calculation? does map reading affect thinking about space more broadly?). If it turns out that the effect language has on thought is special, we need to determine which aspects of language make it special (e.g., do we need to explicitly recognize our behaviors as communicative in order for them to have an effect? do the gestures we produce when we talk shape the way we think?). There is much yet to learn about if, when, and how language shapes thought. -
Language, Perspective, and Memory - Ryskin, Rachel A.
The ability to take the perspective of another person is ubiquitous in many everyday cognitive activities. In particular, it allows people to communicate efficiently with conversational partners. Speakers tailor what they say based on the listener's knowledge and, likewise, listeners use what they know about the speaker to better understand what the speaker means. In this essay, we review foundational research on the role of perspective‐taking in the domain of language processing and describe new lines of work that are beginning to explore the memory processes that support the efficient use of perspectives in conversation. We then discuss key avenues for future research, such as investigating whether the type of perspective‐taking involved in creating memory reminders draws on the same underlying cognitive processes as in the domain of language processing. Exploring this interface between language, perspective‐taking, and memory will require interdisciplinary crosstalk and integration of methodologies across the domains of memory and language research. -
The Impact of Bilingualism on Cognition - Bialystok, Ellen
In spite of early warnings of dire consequences of bilingualism for children's cognitive development, research in the past 50 years has revealed that bilingualism is in fact a positive developmental experience. These benefits were more recently shown to extend across the life span. New research is incorporating neuroimaging to determine the brain bases of these effects and exploring the possibility that the beneficial effects of bilingualism can compensate for degeneration of other cognitive functions that are associated with dementia, thereby postponing symptom onset.