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World experts meet to illuminate mind and language

July 02, 2004

Cliff Goddard.jpgAt a conference convened by the University of New England, 60 experts from
17 countries will present the latest research findings on how the human mind
determines the structure and function of language.
Themes will include the evolution of thought and language, language development in children, and universal properties of languages. Individual papers will support theories such as the evolution of language from planned behaviour, and the shaping of language by the function of the nervous system as a whole.
UNE’s Language and Cognition Cluster, which is organising the conference,
includes several international authorities in their fields. Among these, Professor Brian Byrne will present his latest findings on the interaction of genes and environment in reading ability, and Professor Cliff Goddard will talk about basic meanings, common to all languages, when people talk about their feelings.

The International Language & Cognition Conference 2004 will be at the Pacific Bay Resort, Coffs Harbour, on September 10, 11 and 12. Those taking part will include linguists, philosophers, psychologists, palaeoanthropologists, neuroscientists, computer scientists, and others.
UNE’s Language and Cognition Cluster was established several years ago to promote the exchange of ideas and research results between these disciplines, and to take full advantage of the internationally-recognised expertise available at the Armidale campus.
Influential overseas speakers at the conference will include Mark Steedman, Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Edinburgh in the UK, and Stephen Crain, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Maryland in the US. There will be other speakers from the UK and the US, as well as from Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Russia, Bulgaria,Estonia, Belgium, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, India and New Zealand, and from around Australia.
Dr Andrea Schalley, Chair of the UNE organising committee, said: “Through
this international, interdisciplinary meeting we aim to foster the development of new ideas and collaborative research projects in Language and Cognition, one of the most exciting fields of 21st century science.”
For more information on the conference, see the Web site at:
www.ilcc.une.edu.au ,
or phone Andrea Schalley
on (02) 6773 3655.
Media contact: Dr Andrea Schalley, School of Languages, Cultures and
Linguistics, UNE, Armidale, NSW (02) 6773 3655 or Jim Scanlan, Public
Relations, UNE, Armidale (02) 6773 3049.

Posted by Lydia Roberts at July 2, 2004 03:32 PM