First draft: Tambov Conference, September 2011:
Linguistic cognition: Putting thinking back into language
Languages can be described independently of people, minds and society. This begs
the interesting question of how, if at all, linguistic objects influence thinking? If a
human being is compared to a language processor, it seems that, like machine code,
language itself exerts causal powers. Since the Eighteenth century, this view has
fuelled debate between rationalist and empiricist views. While some invoke processes
in minds or brains others argue that people become skilled in making use of linguistic
objects. To move beyond these sterile discussions the conference introduces ideas
from contemporary cognitive science to a Russian audience.
Human cognition is increasingly viewed as embodied and embedded. For
linguists this means that, while brains matter, much depends on action, artefacts and
sensitivity to changing cultural traditions. Human understanding arises, not just from
language, but also by acting collectively with cultural resources. Once language is
seen as individual, cultural and collective, we can rethink how linguistic objects
contribute to speech and action. Instead of appealing to learning or processing, the
emphasis falls on how culture and bodies co-evolved. Human infants become
dialogical actors who use joint activity to orient to linguistic cues. Experience, equips
them for linguistic cognition. This view has two corollaries. First, cognitive scientists
must give more attention to the influence of history (and tradition) on how people act
and speak in real-time. Second, linguists must recognise that human powers arise as
bodies act to connect brains, lived experience and a cultural environment. Rather than
seeking to explain language in general, what matter are the actions, categories and
conceptualizing of agents-interacting-in-culture. For both contemporary and historical
reasons, this resonates with Russian traditions. Not only do cognitive linguists tend to
focus on differences between languages and linguistic categories but many focus on
how these influence thoughts and actions (by individuals and groups). Far from
regarding people as stores of linguistic knowledge, a perspective that draws on
activity theory presents humans as individual-collective actors who always orient to
local norms.
Keynote speakers will circulate papers in advance that introduce core findings and
concepts. These fall into two groups. First speakers from cognitive
science/psychology will introduce contemporary work on categorization in action.
Second, interdisciplinary speakers will turn to the question of how linguistic activities
and products are influenced by cultural categories. Linguistic cognition arises as,
using experience and culture, human conceptualizing draws on linguistic objects as
we orient to each other while using cultural constraints. Often, but not always, this is
appropriately described as what individuals think. Accordingly, we call for papers
from cognitive linguists and others who are interested in problems that include the
following:
1. Theoretical problems in studying linguistic cognition.
2. Methodological problems in studying thinking: culture, action and cognition.
3. Modelling how verbal and cultural resources influence discourse, verbal
activity semiotics and the brain.
4. Representation, conceptualization, categories and action.
5. The impact of technologies on language and conceptualization.
6. Cognition and communication: The body and culture.
7. Historical and cognitive aspects of dialogical events.
8. What Russian views of psychology and cognitive linguistics have to offer in
the context of contemporary Western work.
Stephen J. Cowley
Nikolay N. Boldyrev
Co-Chairs of the International Organizing Committee