Language and Cognition
Sanskrit and the Foundations of Linguistic Reference
March 2019
At the surface, Linguistics may deal with the translation, phonetics, and structural patterns of languages, but readily extends its tendrils of study deep into philosophy and human consciousness. It is not obvious that our universe is fundamentally separated into the discrete chunks we humans often use to make categorical generalizations. This paper examines how the complex linguistic systems of Sanskrit might suggest underlyingly spiritual roots of language.
Linguistic Universals: Some Exciting Prospects
March 2021
Many features of language are not explicitly understood by speakers who use them regularly. Take a brown spiny big anteater and compare it to a big brown spiny anteater as an example of how English has implicit preferences for adjective ordering. Patterns like these, especially when consistent across languages, can lend evidence to underlying universal structures.
A Modern Look at the Critical Period for Language Acquisition
February 2021
It largely asserted that children learn languages better than adults due to the relative plasticity of a young brain. In 1967, Eric Lenneberg proposed that, in order to acquire the important skills of language, children had a 'Critical Period' of increased linguistic sensitivity. As evidence continues to surface challenging this widely accepted claim, it is unclear how external factors impact linguistic development. This paper compares the work of many linguists in the 20th and 21st century to explore the most prominent patterns in language acquisition.