ABOUT THIS KIND OF RESEARCH

Research in language at Brown is both broad-based and multidisciplinary, drawing from linguistics, cognitive psychology, computer science, neuroscience, and applied mathematics. We look at language from multiple perspectives including experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches. Within the experimental study of language, we have active research and teaching programs in language development, the neural basis of language and speech, language processing, particularly word recognition and sentence processing, speech, and evolution. The computational approach to language focuses on the computational processes involved in language comprehension, production, and learning. Within the theoretical domain, the main area of specialty is the syntax/semantics interface, which is concerned with the question of how the semantics Œfitsà meanings together, how these tie in with the syntactic composition, and how these two systems work together.

FACULTY INVOLVED

• Sheila Blumstein
  Research: Neural basis of language and processes, and mechanisms involved in speaking and understanding; aphasia.
  
  Graduate program: Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences, Neuroscience
   
• Eugene Charniak
  Research: Statistical natural language processing.
  
  Graduate programs: Computer Science; Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences
   
• Katherine Demuth
  Research: Normal and impaired language learning/development
  
  Graduate program: Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences
   
• Thomas Hofmann
  Research: Machine learning, pattern recognition, neural networks, computer vision.
  
  Graduate program: Computer Science
   
• Mark Johnson
  Research: Structured stochastic models of human language comprehension and production.
  
  Graduate program: Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences
   
• Phil Lieberman
  Research: Language and thought in an evolutionary context.
  
  Graduate program: Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences
   
• James Morgan
  Research: Infant speech perception, language acquisition, psycholinguistics, learnability.
  
  Graduate program: Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences
   
• Julie Sedivy
  Research: Human language comprehension, psycholinguistics, semantic and pragmatic theory.
  
  Graduate program: Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences
   
• Harvey Silverman
  Research: Speech recognition and microphone arrays.
  
  Graduate program: Engineering