Language and the Mind
Overview
Course No. 1623
Language is humanity’s greatest invention – a cognitive tool that shapes how we think, communicate, and understand our world. In these 24 illuminating lectures, Professor Spencer Kelly explores:
- How the human brain evolved for language
- Why babies are linguistic geniuses
- The neuroscience behind speech and comprehension
- How gestures and writing transformed communication
- The cognitive benefits of bilingualism
- Whether language shapes thought itself
Through cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology research, discover how this uniquely human ability defines our species and continues to transform our minds.
Video Lessons
- Language in Mind (30 min)
Examine emergentism as the best model for understanding language development. - Language as a System (27 min)
Break down language’s five components and why second languages are challenging. - Eleven Linguistic Universals (31 min)
Discover what makes human language unique among species. - Animal Communication (31 min)
Compare human language with honeybees, dolphins, and primates. - Genes, Brains, and Evolution (32 min)
Explore Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, and the FOXP2 gene’s role. - How the Brain Created Language (32 min)
Debate nature vs. nurture in language origins. - Gesture and Language Origins (30 min)
Why hand gestures may have preceded speech. - A Mind Under Construction (30 min)
How neuroplasticity enables childhood learning. - Specializing in Speech Sounds (29 min)
Why babies hear language more accurately than adults. - Navigating a World of Words (27 min)
How babies identify words from continuous sound. - Learning the Language Game (29 min)
The social cues and theory of mind in language acquisition. - Mastering Language Structure (29 min)
How children use Bayesian learning for grammar. - The Brain as Mind’s Window (29 min)
Neural specialization, connectome, and plasticity principles. - How Brain Comprehends (31 min)
Dual-stream processing and whole-brain word activation. - How Brain Produces Language (30 min)
The complex coordination of 100+ speech muscles. - Dancing Brains (32 min)
Mirror neurons and neural synchrony in communication. - How Writing Transformed Mind (30 min)
The “reading brain” as technological adaptation. - Sign Language (30 min)
Debunking myths about language in our hands. - Embodied Language (31 min)
How body language interacts with speech. - The Multilingual Mind (30 min)
Brain changes in bilingual language control. - Does Language Shape Thought? (28 min)
Investigating the linguistic relativity debate. - Does Culture Shape Language? (29 min)
How language and culture co-influence cognition. - Benefits of Bilingualism (31 min)
Cognitive and social advantages of multiple languages. - How Language Makes Us Human (33 min)
Language as the foundation for math, logic, and narrative.

