Concepts in the Brain

The View From Cross-linguistic Diversity

David Kemmerer

Bridges the gap between cognitive neuroscience and linguistic typology
Features many color figures to illustrate the results of brain mapping studies
Raises awareness about the value of endangered languages

Concepts in the Brain

The View From Cross-linguistic Diversity

David Kemmerer

Description

For most native speakers of English, the meanings of ordinary words like "blue," "cup," "stumble," and "carve" seem quite natural and self-evident. It turns out, however, that they are far from universal, as shown by recent research in the discipline known as semantic typology. To be sure, the roughly 6,500 languages around the world do have many similarities in the sorts of concepts they encode. But they also vary greatly in numerous ways, such as how they partition particular conceptual domains, how they map those domains onto syntactic categories, which distinctions they force speakers to habitually attend to, and how deeply they weave certain notions into the fabric of their grammar. Although these insights from semantic typology have had a major impact on the field of psycholinguistics, they have been mostly neglected by the branch of cognitive neuroscience that studies how concepts are represented, organized, and processed in our brains. In Concepts in the Brain, David Kemmerer exposes this oversight and demonstrates its significance. He argues that as research on the neural substrates of semantic knowledge moves forward, it should, to the extent possible, expand its purview to embrace the broad spectrum of cross-linguistic variation in the lexical and grammatical representation of meaning. Otherwise, it will never be able to achieve a truly comprehensive, pan-human account of the cortical underpinnings of concepts. Richly illustrated and written in an accessible interdisciplinary style, the book begins by elaborating the different perspectives on concepts that currently exist in the parallel fields of semantic typology and cognitive neuroscience. It then shows how a synthesis of these approaches can lead to a more unified and inclusive understanding of several domains of concrete meaning--specifically, objects, actions, and spatial relations. Finally, it explores a number of intriguing and controversial issues involving the interplay between language, cognition, and consciousness.

Concepts in the Brain

The View From Cross-linguistic Diversity

David Kemmerer

Preface

Part I: Two perspectives on concepts

1. The perspective from semantic typology

Introduction
The apparent naturalness of one's own language
Lexical semantics
Grammatical semantics
Conclusion

2. The perspective from cognitive neuroscience

Introduction
Flexible, multilevel models of the neural substrates of concepts
Representational similarity spaces in the brain
What about the neural substrates of grammatical semantics?
Linguistic communication as brain-to-brain coupling
Conclusion

Part II: Conceptual domains

3. Objects

Introduction
Plants, animals, and artifacts
Body parts
Split possession
Nominal classification systems
Conclusion

4. Actions

Introduction
Motion events
Events of cutting, breaking, and opening
Events of putting and taking
Serial verb constructions
Verbal classification systems
Conclusion

5. Spatial relations

Introduction
Typology
Neurobiology
Conclusion

Part III: Broader questions

6. How do language-specific concepts relate to cognition?

Introduction
Many forms of cognition do not depend on language-specific concepts
Language-specific concepts nonetheless do influence some forms of cognition
Shared neural substrates for verbal and nonverbal semantic tasks: Insights and uncertainties
Conclusion

7. Are we ever conscious of concepts?

Introduction
Competing views
Implications for neuroscientific theories of consciousness
Conclusion

Final remarks

References

Language index

Author index

Subject index

Concepts in the Brain

The View From Cross-linguistic Diversity

David Kemmerer

Author Information

David Kemmerer has been a professor at Purdue University since 2000. He explores the complex relationships between semantics, grammar, perception, and action, often bringing together neuroscientific and cross-linguistic perspectives. He has published over 60 articles and chapters as well as a textbook called Cognitive Neuroscience of Language.

Concepts in the Brain

The View From Cross-linguistic Diversity

David Kemmerer

Reviews and Awards

"Concepts in the Brain takes us on a fascinating journey across the world's languages to examine how they carve up concepts. The book is a gold mine of mind-boggling examples from different languages that force us to rethink our assumptions about how things and events ought to be described, and what is 'natural' or 'obvious.' We are also treated to a state-of-the-art understanding of the neural basis of concepts. A sophisticated linguist and an equally virtuoso cognitive neuroscientist, David Kemmerer is one of the few people in the world who can pull off a work of this magnitude. A must read for anyone interested in concepts, meaning, language, and the brain." --Rutvik Desai, University of South Carolina

"The last few years have seen an explosion in two areas: the cross-cultural study of semantic categories, and the neurobiological foundations of conceptual structure. This book finally builds a bridge between these thriving areas of inquiry. In a brilliantly programmatic and eminently readable treatise, Kemmerer deftly synthesizes the vast literature in both fields, and points to a rapprochement for the future." --Asifa Majid, University of York

"This is a work of breathtaking scope, depth, and perspective. As Homo sapiens, we share common brain morphology. Yet there is striking variability in the ways that cultures carve up the world and represent its parts. David Kemmerer's book is a tour de force in detailing this variability from a multidisciplinary angle, integrating theories from linguistics, neuroscience, and philosophy into an emergent account (i.e., one that is more than the sum of its parts). The result is a text that uniquely situates human conceptual knowledge in both its biological and cultural contexts." --Jamie Reilly, Temple University