27.02.2024 - Erich Round

Human language is entwined intimately with human intelligence. However, understanding the hidden nexus between language and cognition remains a formidable puzzle. In this talk I explore some of the latest approaches that linguists are pursuing to shed new light on language and the mind. I start from some of the most beautiful instances of linguistic complexity, which endure and endure for millennia. I then progressively increase the tempo: past new sparks of creativity ignited in each generation; via minute-to-minute dilemmas of choosing the right word (is it ‘dived’ or ‘dove’?); to arrive at provocative questions about human linguistic cognition and a potential evolutionary toolkit of split-second mental manoeuvres. As I draw these threads together, I speculate on how a small yet potent cognitive shortcut might be central to the existence and historical tenacity of what linguists call ‘inflection classes’ — a marvel of language complexity and variation found in language after language around the world. The talk is open to all, and does not presuppose a knowledge of linguistics.