Activities and Related Links

Neural Theory of Language

The Neural Theory of Language (NTL) project is an interdisciplinary research effort to answer the question: How does the brain compute the mind? Specific research questions include: How can the brain -- a highly structured network of neurons -- support thought and language? How do the specific neural structures of the human brain shape the nature of thought and language? How are language and thought related to other neural systems, including perception, motor control, and social cognition? What are the computational properties of neural systems? What are the applications of neural computing?

Framenet

The Berkeley FrameNet project is creating an on-line lexical resource for English, based on frame semantics and supported by corpus evidence. The aim is to document the range of semantic and syntactic combinatory possibilities (valences) of each word in each of its senses, through computer-assisted annotation of example sentences and automatic tabulation and display of the annotation results.

The World Color Survey

The World Color Survey (WCS) was initiated in the late 1970's to test the hypotheses advanced by Berlin and Kay (1969) regarding (1) the existence of universal constraints on cross-language color naming, and (2) the existence of a partially fixed evolutionary progression according to which languages gain color terms over time.

Construction Grammar

There is a rapidly growing international community of scholars who have been pursuing the Construction Grammar and Frame Semantics approach to linguistic analysis, which has its historical roots in Berkeley and particularly in the work of Charles Fillmore. The purpose of this website is to provide an information resource that will keep track of new developments in constructional research and also promote discussion and collaboration among linguists interested in applying and further extending the constructional approach.

Research units

The campus has a number of organized research and teaching units specializing in cognition, including the Institute of Cognitive and Brain Sciences (ICBS), The International Computer Science Institute, the (undergraduate) Program in Cognitive Science, and the Cognition, Brain and Behavior Program (department of Psychology). Faculty affiliated with language and cognition in these units and/or in other academic departments include: