Ten years ago, the hegemonic idea was that language was a kind of independent module within the mind, a sort of "print-out" of whatever cognitive activity was taking place, but without any influence whatsoever in that activity. While this view is still held, evidence amassed in the last 10 years suggests another view of their inter-relationships, even though exactly which one is not clear yet, in part because of the lack of a unified view, and in part because of the inertia of the previous position, in part because all this evidence must be considered together. An increasing number of researchers are paying attention to the issues involved as the human language specificity may provide a clue to understand what makes humans "smart," to account for the singularities of human cognition.
This book provides a comprehensive review of the multiple developments that have taken place in the last 10 years on the question of the relationships between language and thought and integrates them into a coherent framework. It will be relevant for anyone working in the sciences of languages.
1. 1. Introduction 2. 2. Clearing the Ground 3. 2.1. Against Language as a Peripheral to the Mind 4. 2.2. Resisting “in Principle” Arguments Against the Influence of Language on Thought 5. 2.3. Against Massive Modularity 6. 3. The Relevance of Language for Thought 7. 3.1. Relativism 8. 3.2. Language as Cognitive Restructuring 9. 3.3. Thinking for Speaking 10. 3.4. Language as Interface Between the Modules 11. 3.5. Language as Social Scaffolding 12. 4. Language as Lens 13. 4.1. The Color Terms Saga 14. 4.2. Spatial Terms 15. 4.3. Numerals, Geometry, and Mathematical Cognition 16. 5. Language as Lens 17. 5.1. Subjunctive Conditionals and Counterfactual Understanding 18. 5.2. Grammatical Number Marking and the Object/Substance Distinction 19. 5.3. The Semantics of Movement and Action 20. 5.4. Gender Marking 21. 5.5. Time 22. 6. Language as Tool Kit, 1 23. 6.1. Deafness 24. 6.2. Nonhuman Primates 25. 6.3. From Nonverbal to Verbal Minds 26. 7. Language as Tool Kit, 2 27. 7.1. Inner and Private Speech 28. 7.2. Relational Complexity 29. 7.3. Bilingualism and Cognitive Control 30. 7.4. Altered Language, Altered Thought? 31. 8. Making Sense of the Evidence 32. 8.1. A Robust Pattern in the Evidence 33. 8.2. Looking for Mechanisms 34. 8.3. Could There Be a Third Factor? 35. 8.4. In Favor of a Dual Theory of Cognitive Architecture 36. 8.5. Conclusion 37. References
Ten years ago, the hegemonic idea was that language was a kind of independent module within the mind, a sort of "print-out" of whatever cognitive activity was taking place, but without any influence whatsoever in that activity. While this view is still held, evidence amassed in the last 10 years suggests another view of their inter-relationships, even though exactly which one is not clear yet, in part because of the lack of a unified view, and in part because of the inertia of the previous position, in part because all this evidence must be considered together. An increasing number of researchers are paying attention to the issues involved as the human language specificity may provide a clue to understand what makes humans "smart," to account for the singularities of human cognition.
This book provides a comprehensive review of the multiple developments that have taken place in the last 10 years on the question of the relationships between language and thought and integrates them into a coherent framework. It will be relevant for anyone working in the sciences of languages.
1. 1. Introduction 2. 2. Clearing the Ground 3. 2.1. Against Language as a Peripheral to the Mind 4. 2.2. Resisting “in Principle” Arguments Against the Influence of Language on Thought 5. 2.3. Against Massive Modularity 6. 3. The Relevance of Language for Thought 7. 3.1. Relativism 8. 3.2. Language as Cognitive Restructuring 9. 3.3. Thinking for Speaking 10. 3.4. Language as Interface Between the Modules 11. 3.5. Language as Social Scaffolding 12. 4. Language as Lens 13. 4.1. The Color Terms Saga 14. 4.2. Spatial Terms 15. 4.3. Numerals, Geometry, and Mathematical Cognition 16. 5. Language as Lens 17. 5.1. Subjunctive Conditionals and Counterfactual Understanding 18. 5.2. Grammatical Number Marking and the Object/Substance Distinction 19. 5.3. The Semantics of Movement and Action 20. 5.4. Gender Marking 21. 5.5. Time 22. 6. Language as Tool Kit, 1 23. 6.1. Deafness 24. 6.2. Nonhuman Primates 25. 6.3. From Nonverbal to Verbal Minds 26. 7. Language as Tool Kit, 2 27. 7.1. Inner and Private Speech 28. 7.2. Relational Complexity 29. 7.3. Bilingualism and Cognitive Control 30. 7.4. Altered Language, Altered Thought? 31. 8. Making Sense of the Evidence 32. 8.1. A Robust Pattern in the Evidence 33. 8.2. Looking for Mechanisms 34. 8.3. Could There Be a Third Factor? 35. 8.4. In Favor of a Dual Theory of Cognitive Architecture 36. 8.5. Conclusion 37. References
