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Language and Cognition

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Christopher Tancredi, Professor
Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies
Keio University
 
Unit Leader
Language and Cognition

Our team aims to clarify the structure, acquisition, teaching and processing of natural language, both independently and in their mutual interaction with non-verbal information processing. By doing so we hope to shed light on the following questions: What are the special characteristics of human language? How are these characteristics acquired? When do they materialize in the minds of language users? What connection do they have in the brain to verbal and non-verbal competence?

 

We aim to shed light on these problems from a variety of perspectives. By investigating first and second language acquisition, we aim to clarify the stages of language development. By investigating the distribution of resources in linguistic and non-linguistic information processing, we hope to illuminate the ways in which the nature of the information being processed influences processing efficiency. By investigating the process by which Japanese children acquire mimetics (onomatopoeia), we aim to deepen our knowledge of the neural mechanisms underlying linguistic symbolism. Finally, by delving into the formal properties and complexities of reference, we wish to clarify the fundamental path by which language comes to have meaning. The core members of our team are Mutsumi Imai, Yuji Itoh, Yukio Otsu and Christopher Tancredi.



Members of the Unit "Language and Cognition", 2011
Name Role Title, Department
Christopher Tancredi Program Leader / Unit Leader Professor, Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies, Keio University
Yuji Itoh Program Leader Professor, Faculty of Letters (Psychology), Keio University
Yukio Otsu Program Leader Professor, Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies, Keio University
Mutsumi Imai Program Leader Professor, Faculty of Environmental Information, Keio University
Shiro Ojima Associate Professor(Non-tenured) Graduate School of Human Relations (Global COE CARLS) / Research Centre for Human Cognition, Keio University
Tomoko Monou Part-time Researcher Keio Advanced Research Centers (Global COE CARLS)/
Major in Education, Graduate School of Human Relations, Keio University
Kyoko Hine Part-time Researcher Keio Advanced Research Centers (Global COE CARLS)/
Part-time Lecturer, Correspondence Courses, Keio University
Miwa Isobe Research Collaborator Assistant Professor, Training Center for Foreign Languages and Diction, Tokyo University of the Arts
Masayuki Komachi Research Collaborator Assistant Professor, Education Development Center, Shizuoka University
Hiroyuki Okada Research Collaborator Professor, Tamagawa University Brain Science Institute
Kikue Saito Research Collaborator Visiting Senior Assistant Professor, Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies, Keio University / Principal, Saitama Prefecture Ageo Takanodai High School
Noburo Saji Research Collaborator Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Kayo Matsuo Research Collaborator Major in Psychology, Graduate School of Human Relations, Keio University
Hiroshi Miura Research Collaborator Major in Psychology, Graduate School of Human Relations, Keio University