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Language and Cognition

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.

Language

Language

Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
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Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

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Evolutionary Psychology

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Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 5, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Published on: April 19, 2017

Language evolution as cultural evolution: how language is shaped by the brain.

Nick Chater¹, Morten H Christiansen^2,3

¹Cognitive, Perceptual and Brain Sciences, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.

Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Cognitive Science

|August 15, 2015

Summary

This study challenges the idea of a genetically specified universal grammar, arguing it could not have evolved. Instead, language acquisition arises from cultural evolution, where languages adapt to fit the human brain.

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Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Linguistics
Cognitive science

Background:

Reviews arguments against the evolutionary plausibility of a genetically specified universal grammar.
Examines natural selection and other evolutionary mechanisms for grammar evolution.

Discussion:

Proposes language acquisition results from cultural evolution, not innate biological adaptation.
Suggests languages are shaped to fit the human brain's cognitive architecture.
Explains language structure as cultural adaptations to human neural constraints.

Key Insights:

Universal grammar, as traditionally conceived, is unlikely to have evolved genetically.
The human capacity for language is better explained by cultural adaptation shaping language to the brain.
Language structure reflects a co-evolutionary process between human cognition and cultural transmission.

Outlook:

Further research into the specific mechanisms of cultural adaptation in language.
Investigating the interplay between biological constraints and cultural evolution in language diversity.
Exploring the implications for understanding language acquisition and change across populations.