Philosophers of Language have been joined by others in the modern multi-disciplinary investigation of human language. Scientists have begun the process of determining the unique properties of the human brain that make human language possible.

The members of this discussion group enjoy seeing fresh ideas on these matters from others. We share our knowledge of the historical developments in the study of human language. The past, however important, is not as interesting as the present. We have at our disposal a great wealth of information from a great number of smart investigators; why not use their findings to come up with our own ideas and possibilities?

Possible discussion topics:
Can we determine which human ancestors first used language? Can humans with brain deficits and non-human primates be engineered so as to improve their language abilities? Can we build robotic devices that will learn to use language in the same way that humans do? Dare we even attempt such projects?

Given the wide range of ways by which people study language, we all tend to have the feeling that we KNOW very little about many of aspects of language studies. Under these conditions `truth' in these areas may seem slippery and possibly illusionary- very hard to pin down with hard logic. Some members of this group have theories and ideas that are the results of years of reading, thinking, communicating with others, and they want to instigate further explorations by positing things without being fully convinced of their validity. When you see something that interests you, feel free to jump in!

New members: see the guide to old threads at:
http://language.wikicities.com/wiki/PSL:Discussion_Topics_Guide

Language wiki main page: http://language.wikicities.com