Biological Foundations of Linguistic Cognition

Abstract

This chapter attempts to show that the biological foundations of language and language-cognition relations are rife with conundrums that are far deeper than is generally assumed among most researchers who delve into the connections obtaining between our biological infrastructure and linguistic cognition. First, this chapter looks into the ways in which the genetic foundations of language and cognition can be thought to shed light on the nature of linguistic cognition. Careful scrutiny of the arguments and the underlying methodology reveals perplexing problems hidden inside. Then, the standard methods of neurobiological investigations into language structure and its processing such as brain imaging studies, lesion studies, and neurological disorders of language are examined to figure out how and in what ways the logical texture of linguistic cognition can be said to be neurobiologically instantiated. Finally, an outline of a positive relationship between linguistic cognition and neurobiology is presented.