Research Training Group in Language: Acquisition and Computation

该奖项将在麻省理工学院设立一个语言习得研究培训小组。教员团队包括两个系的19名成员：语言学和哲学系，以及脑和认知科学系。RTG将建立一个新的5年制研究生课程，其中的元素来自两个系的课程。授予的资金将为研究生提供津贴，培训计划所需的设备，以及为受训人员提供有限的旅行资金和专门技术援助。语言学和认知学研究的一个中心焦点一直是了解人类使用语言的能力是如何发展的，无论是历史上的还是个人的。相关问题涉及语言在大脑中的表示，以及大脑计算或操纵这种表示的机制。我们在理解语言的结构，以及大脑和其他涉及言语的器官的结构和功能方面取得的单独进展，为综合传统语言学、心理语言学和计算科学的实验方法和结果的重大多学科研究奠定了基础。该项目提供的培训将为学生提供从事此类研究所需的各种背景和技能。

This award will establish a Research Training Group in Language Acquisition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The faculty group includes 19 members of two departments: that of Linguistics and Philosophy, and that of Brain and Cognitive Science. The RTG will establish a new, 5 year graduate program with elements drawn from the curricula of both departments. The funds awarded will provide stipends for graduate students, equipment needed for the training program, and limited travel funds and specialized technical assistance for the trainees. An central focus of research in both linguistics and in cognition has been understanding how the ability to use language develops in humans, both historically and individually. Related questions involve the representation of language in the brain, and the mechanism by which such representation is computed or manipulated by the brain. Separate progress in our understanding of the structure of languages, and of the structure and function of the brain and of the other organs involved in speech has set the stage for significant multidisciplinary research that synthesizes the experimental approaches and results of traditional linguistics, of psycholinguistics and of computational science. The training provided by this program will provide students will the varied backgrounds and skills needed to do this kind of research.