Psychology of Language

This course may be taken as a single course. The course is also open to students who are not doing an English degree, but would like to learn more about language and human psychology.

A good command of oral and written English is recommended. Students who wish to take the course should have some basic knowledge of linguistics.

Language is centrally involved in many of the most complex cognitive tasks that human beings perform, and is arguably unique to our species. Understanding how language works in the human mind is therefore an important aspect in the understanding of human cognition more generally. This course is an introduction to the psychological processes and representations underlying the production and comprehension of natural language (both spoken and written).

Students will gain an understanding of the cognitive processes and tacit knowledge systems underlying the production and comprehension of sentences, at the phonological, lexical, semantic and syntactic levels. In doing so, the course will draw from psycholinguistic research on processing and production, on language errors and aphasias, on neuroimaging, and on developmental and second language acquisition.

Higher Education Entrance Qualification (generell studiekompetanse) or prior learning and work experience (realkompetanse).

Application code: 9199 - Enkeltemner (ikke realfag), lavere grad (Nordic applicants).

After completing this course the students have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The aim of the course is to acquaint students with established results in this area from the fields of linguistics, psychology and neuroscience. By the end of the course, the students will have gained:

• knowledge of our current understanding of the mental processes involved in the processing and production of the sounds and structures of natural language in normal adult users
• knowledge of the various research methods used to test linguistic behaviours and how they can be interpreted
• knowledge of speech errors, disorders and aphasias and what they tell us about language ability more generally
• understanding of the relationship between learning, tacit knowledge and more general cognitive processes.

Skills

By the end of the course, the student should have acquired the following basic skills:

• the ability to communicate clearly the knowledge objectives described above both orally and in writing
• the ability to think about and discuss issues concerning the relationship between behavioural data and what it might tell us about the mind/brain
• a critical appreciation of different theories of the language faculty as found in the research literature.

If you pass the examination in this course, you will get an reduction in credits (as stated below), if you previously have passed the following courses:

• HIF-1019 Psychology of Language 10 ects

The course will be taught two hours per week for 13 weeks and will consist of lectures, seminars and project work.

Quality assurance

The course undergoes a midterm evaluation or an end-of-term evaluation every third year.

Language of instruction and examination

Schedule

Re-sit examination