Prof. William S-Y. WANG, Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies

Language and cognition (語言和認知). Distinguished Lecture in Celebration of FHM 10^th Anniversary (人文學院十周年名家講座). The Education University of Hong Kong (hybrid mode), 18 October 2022.

Abstract
Language is a highly complex, adaptive system, made up of several interactive hierarchical components, each constantly changing through use. Interest in language as cognitive behavior began systematically when it broke down, beginning with the famous case presented to Paul Broca. It became increasingly clear that various linguistic abilities may be impaired selectively at different levels, depending on how the brain is damaged. Through research on a diversity of impairments across various languages, and with the tools that modern cognitive and neural sciences can now provide for experimentation, we now have a much clearer knowledge of not only what language is, but also the biological bases of how it came to be. With increasing new knowledge at hand, we are now in a better position to cope with the challenges of language in normal and pathological contexts.