The brain's language network in typological perspective

Abstract

* This talk is part of the Special Online Talk Series: Rational Approaches in Language Science *

The brain’s language network in typological perspective

John Hale

University of Georgia, Department of Linguistics

What is the physical basis of human language comprehension? How much does it vary from language to language?
Considering typologically-distinct realizations of number marking (Singular and Plural) and „movement“ (Wh-Questions and Relative Clauses), this talk uses fMRI timecourse data to make the case that this brain basis is remarkably consistent across languages. These results bolster a universalist view of the human language processing mechanism.