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Language is a defining ability of humans. Nonetheless, we still know little about its evolution. Evolutionary Language Science seeks to unravel the evolutionary origins and continued evolution of language in our species both in terms of the human brain’s capacity for language and the individual languages that we learn and use.
This Master’s program in Evolutionary Language Science addresses the past, present and future of language using an empirical and quantitative approach, and integrating multiple disciplines: linguistics, philosophy, biology, anthropology, neuroscience, psychology, medicine, computer science, and mathematics.
This approach enables a comprehensive exploration of language.
This program provides students with an interdisciplinary understanding of the core concepts and research questions in Evolutionary Language Science. Furthermore, students will acquire advanced conceptual and methodological skills, including empirical research abilities and statistical expertise, to address at least one of the following key topics within Evolutionary Language Science:
Animal communication and shared cognitive and communicative abilities between humans and nonhuman animals,
How and why languages change, what they have in common, and how this is impacted by social media and AI,
How languages are acquired by children across diverse cultures,
What happens in the brain when we talk,
How neurotechnology and AI affect language skills and how results can be used to clinically restore or improve skills.
Finally, students will gain in-depth knowledge on how to design and conduct an interdisciplinary research project in Evolutionary Language Science, and will be able to present their results clearly, both orally and in writing.