Research Training Group in Language: Acquisition and Computation

这笔奖金将用于在麻省理工学院建立一个语言习得研究培训小组。教师团队包括19名成员，分别来自语言学与哲学系和脑与认知科学系。RTG将建立一个新的五年制研究生课程，其中包括两个部门的课程内容。授予的资金将用于研究生的津贴、培训项目所需的设备、有限的差旅费和受训人员的专业技术援助。语言学和认知学研究的一个中心焦点是理解人类使用语言的能力是如何从历史和个体两方面发展起来的。相关的问题包括语言在大脑中的表征，以及大脑计算或操纵这种表征的机制。我们对语言结构、大脑结构和功能以及与语言有关的其他器官的理解的单独进展，为重要的多学科研究奠定了基础，这些研究综合了传统语言学、心理语言学和计算科学的实验方法和结果。该项目提供的培训将为学生提供进行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.