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

1. Language in Mind (30 min)
   Examine emergentism as the best model for understanding language development.
2. Language as a System (27 min)
   Break down language’s five components and why second languages are challenging.
3. Eleven Linguistic Universals (31 min)
   Discover what makes human language unique among species.
4. Animal Communication (31 min)
   Compare human language with honeybees, dolphins, and primates.
5. Genes, Brains, and Evolution (32 min)
   Explore Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, and the FOXP2 gene’s role.
6. How the Brain Created Language (32 min)
   Debate nature vs. nurture in language origins.
7. Gesture and Language Origins (30 min)
   Why hand gestures may have preceded speech.
8. A Mind Under Construction (30 min)
   How neuroplasticity enables childhood learning.
9. Specializing in Speech Sounds (29 min)
   Why babies hear language more accurately than adults.
10. Navigating a World of Words (27 min)
    How babies identify words from continuous sound.
11. Learning the Language Game (29 min)
    The social cues and theory of mind in language acquisition.
12. Mastering Language Structure (29 min)
    How children use Bayesian learning for grammar.
13. The Brain as Mind’s Window (29 min)
    Neural specialization, connectome, and plasticity principles.
14. How Brain Comprehends (31 min)
    Dual-stream processing and whole-brain word activation.
15. How Brain Produces Language (30 min)
    The complex coordination of 100+ speech muscles.
16. Dancing Brains (32 min)
    Mirror neurons and neural synchrony in communication.
17. How Writing Transformed Mind (30 min)
    The “reading brain” as technological adaptation.
18. Sign Language (30 min)
    Debunking myths about language in our hands.
19. Embodied Language (31 min)
    How body language interacts with speech.
20. The Multilingual Mind (30 min)
    Brain changes in bilingual language control.
21. Does Language Shape Thought? (28 min)
    Investigating the linguistic relativity debate.
22. Does Culture Shape Language? (29 min)
    How language and culture co-influence cognition.
23. Benefits of Bilingualism (31 min)
    Cognitive and social advantages of multiple languages.
24. How Language Makes Us Human (33 min)
    Language as the foundation for math, logic, and narrative.