koji hoshi | Keio University (original) (raw)

Papers by koji hoshi

Research paper thumbnail of Reconceptualizing merge in search for the link with brain oscillatory nature of language in biolinguistics

Biolinguistics

This brief piece argues that it is desirable to reconceptualize the syntactic combinatorial mecha... more This brief piece argues that it is desirable to reconceptualize the syntactic combinatorial mechanism Merge as a higher-order function that takes two functions (= a selector function and its ‘argument’ function) and yields a composite function in the context of I-language. On this functional characterization of Merge, all of the elements involved in Merge are conceived as functions as well: lexical items (LIs) as input of Merge and syntactic objects (SOs) as both input and output of Merge. It is claimed that this perspective of Merge is a bridging step toward further facilitating the mesoscopic-level (= dynome-level) investigation of the brain oscillatory nature of human language in the field of biolinguistics. In this framework, I make the case that it would be possible to analyze the brain oscillatory nature of Merge by appealing to the mathematical operation of the Fourier transform (FT) to the extent that Merge-related brain oscillations as physical waves can be captured by comp...

Research paper thumbnail of Language deficits in GRIN2A mutations and Landau–Kleffner syndrome as neural dysrhythmias

This paper examines epilepsy-related aphasias in connection with GRIN2A mutations, focusing on ac... more This paper examines epilepsy-related aphasias in connection with GRIN2A mutations, focusing on acquired childhood epileptic aphasias, in particular, on Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS). Characterizing LKS as neural dysrhythmias, we review how EEG abnormalities typically manifested during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep as electrical status epilepticus are related to the sleeping disorders partly caused by GRIN2A mutations. We explore how neural mechanisms and recording measures such as sharp-wave ripples, sleep spindles, slow oscillations, and their cross-frequency couplings are necessary for language-related processes which are perturbed in LKS, accounting in part for the epileptic aphasia.

Research paper thumbnail of Chapter 5 The Hypothesis of Categorization Origins of Merge and Labeling in Evolinguistics: Its Implications to the Labeling System in Syntax and East Asian Linguistic Study

The present chapter aims to look into the issue of Merge and labeling in syntax from the perspect... more The present chapter aims to look into the issue of Merge and labeling in syntax from the perspective of the hypothesis of categorization origins of Merge and labeling advanced in Hoshi (2018, 2019), exploring its implications to the labeling system in syntax and East Asian linguistic study. More specifically, an alternative to Chomsky’s (2013, 2015) labeling algorithm (LA) in syntax is proposed to be employed in the mapping from narrow syntax (NS) to the conceptual-intentional (C-I) interface based on the "function-argument" constitution in the characteristic function for category labeling, while pointing out the undesirable miscellaneous nature of Chomsky’s system and the so-called {XP, YP} problem being a pseudo-problem. To the extent that the alternative proposal in this chapter is on the right track, East Asian languages without φ-feature agreement will turn out to be exemplar languages instantiating the labeling system in syntax.

Research paper thumbnail of The Nominalist Approach to the Head-Internal Relative Clause in Japanese Revisited: The Pure Internal Head vs. The Null External Head

The nominalist approach to the head-internal relative clause in Japanese revisited: the pure inte... more The nominalist approach to the head-internal relative clause in Japanese revisited: the pure internal head vs. the null external head Sub Title Author 星, 浩司(Hoshi, Koji) Publisher 慶應義塾大学日吉紀要刊行委員会 Publication year 2002 Jtitle 慶應義塾大学日吉紀要. 言語・文化・コミュニケーション No.28 (2002. 4) ,p.132 Abstract Notes Genre Departmental Bulletin Paper URL https://koara.lib.keio.ac.jp/xoonips/modules/xoonips/detail.php?koara_id=AN10032394-2002041 1-0001

Research paper thumbnail of The gradual coevolution of syntactic combinatorics and categorization under the effects of human self-domestication: a proposal

This paper builds on a previous proposal that the gradual emergence of syntax in language evoluti... more This paper builds on a previous proposal that the gradual emergence of syntax in language evolution was engaged in a feedback loop with the effects of Human Self-Domestication (HSD), both processes contributing to enhanced connectivity in the cortico-striatal networks, which is the mechanism for suppressing reactive physical aggression, the hallmark of HSD, but also the mechanism of cross-modality, relevant for metaphoricity and syntax more generally. In this paper, we aim to bridge the gap between these neurobiological changes and the changes facilitated, or even promoted, by the gradual complexification of grammars. We propose that increased cross-modality associated with the brain modifications described above would have enabled and supported, more specifically, a feedback loop between categorization abilities relevant for vocabulary building and the gradual emergence of syntactic structure, including the core combinatorial operation in natural languages, such as Merge. In brief,...

Research paper thumbnail of Biolinguistics 136 Architecture of Human Language from the

Research paper thumbnail of The syntax and semantics of Japanese internally- and doubly-headed relatives

Glossa: a journal of general linguistics, 2021

This paper proposes novel syntactic and semantic analyses of Japanese IHRCs and of a variety of D... more This paper proposes novel syntactic and semantic analyses of Japanese IHRCs and of a variety of DHRCs labelled ‘integrated.’ The analyses differ non-trivially from all earlier analyses known to us, both in orientation and in technical implementation, and their principal raison d’être is to capture, with minimal appeal to stipulation, the ways in which these two constructions differ from each other, from other relative constructions of Japanese, and from discourses with anaphoric dependencies. Our analysis of IHRCs builds on that of Landman (2016), and our analysis of integrated DHRCs is critically compared and contrasted with that of Erlewine & Gould (2016), who aimed at a maximal analytical unification of Japanese EHRCs, IHRCs and DHRCs, failing to note some of their distinguishing properties and sometimes relying on incorrect empirical assumptions.

Research paper thumbnail of On the nature of focus feature organization: toward a unified account of the additive Mo 'Also

Research paper thumbnail of More on the Relations among Categorization, Merge and Labeling, and Their Nature

Biolinguistics, 2019

Concerning (i), I will claim that the two apparently distinct modes of operation of categorizatio... more Concerning (i), I will claim that the two apparently distinct modes of operation of categorization stem from differences of ‘extraction patterns’ and thus as a precursor of Merge the particular mode of categorization such as IntCat should not be stipulated. As for (ii), I will make clear the relation between the low-order categorization involving a series of entities and the higher-order categorization involving a series of category sets in humans and non-human animals, in connection with the qualitative difference of the two types of categorization between them in the context of the evolution of human language.

Research paper thumbnail of Merge and Labeling as Descent with Modification of Categorization: A Neo-Lennebergian Approach

Research paper thumbnail of Chapter 54: Biology, Genetics and Evolution

In this Chapter we first look at the core view of the biology of language associated with Minimal... more In this Chapter we first look at the core view of the biology of language associated with Minimalism, including the Biolinguistics Program (section 2). Next, we consider research on the brain (section 3) and genetics (section 4), associated with this framework. Finally, we introduce some subsequent views of language evolution which break away from the saltationist, discontinuous nature of the mainstream approach (section 5), and draw some conclusions regarding future prospects (section 6).

Research paper thumbnail of Lenneberg’s Contributions to the Biology of Language and Child Aphasiology: Resonation and Brain Rhythmicity as Key Mechanisms

This paper aims to re-evaluate the legacy of Eric Lenneberg’s monumental Biological Foundations o... more This paper aims to re-evaluate the legacy of Eric Lenneberg’s monumental Biological Foundations of Language, with special reference to his biolinguistic framework and view on (child) aphasiology. The argument draws from the following concepts from Lenneberg’s work: (i) language (latent struc- ture vs. realized structure) as independent of externalization; (ii) resonance theory; (iii) brain rhythmicity; and (iv) aphasia as temporal dysfunction. Specifically, it will be demonstrated that Lenneberg’s original version of the critical period hypothesis and his child aphasiology lend themselves to elucidating a child aphasia of epileptic origin called Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS), thereby opening a possible hope for recovery from the disease. Moreover, it will be claimed that, to the extent that the language disorder in LKS can be couched in these terms, it can serve as strong “liv- ing” evidence in support of Lenneberg’s critical period hypothesis and his view on child aphasiology.

Research paper thumbnail of Subcortical syntax: Reconsidering the neural dynamics of language

Subcortical contributions to core linguistic computations pertaining to syntax-semantics remain d... more Subcortical contributions to core linguistic computations pertaining to syntax-semantics remain drastically under-studied. We critique the cortico-centric focus which has largely accompanied research into these higher-order linguistic functions and suggest that, while much remains unknown, there is nevertheless a rich body of research concerning the possible roles of subcortex in language. Although much current evidence emerges from distinct domains of cognitive neuroscience, in this review article we attempt to show that there is a clear place for subcortex in models of natural language syntax-semantics, including a role in binary set-formation, categorized object maintenance, lexico-semantic processing, morphosyntactic linearization, and cross-cortical representational integration. In particular, we consult models of language processing relying on oscillatory brain dynamics in order to investigate both the apparent and possible functional roles of subcortex in language.

Research paper thumbnail of Structural and Interpretive Aspects of Head-Internal and Head-External Relative Clauses

Journal of Japanese Linguistics

This dissertation investigates the structural and interpretive aspects of the Head-Internal Relat... more This dissertation investigates the structural and interpretive aspects of the Head-Internal Relative Clause (henceforth, HIRC) construction and the HeadExternal Relative Clause (henceforth, HERC) construction within the Principles-and-Parameters Approach with reference to Japanese, English, and Basque. Specifically, wc will explore the following questions throughout this dissertation: (i) Is there really a single and uniform grammatical process of relativization involving an overt or null operator movement in natural language?; (ii) What is/are the underlying licensing mechanism(s) of each type of relativization in natural language? With respect to the question (i), the present investigation will clearly demonstrate that there is in fact no single and uniform grammatical process of relativization which employs an overt or null operator movement in natural language. Furthermore, in this connection, it will be claimed that what has been standardly called an operator movement in relativization is not an operator movement at all. As for the question (ii), wc will show the following points in this dissertation. First, the HIRC construction involves an empty argument NP [c] which functions as an Ε-Type pronoun in the sense of Evans (1977a,b; 1980) and

Research paper thumbnail of The Acquisition of Japanese Focus Particles: dake (only) and mo (also)

Research paper thumbnail of WH-Extraction (A)Symmetries Between Sluicing and VP-Ellipsis Revisited

ENGLISH LINGUISTICS, 2011

* I am very grateful to two anonymous EL reviewers for their invaluable constructive comments and... more * I am very grateful to two anonymous EL reviewers for their invaluable constructive comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this paper. I would also like to thank Jeff Runner for providing me with relevant judgment on some data. Thanks are also due to Morris Cornell-Morgan for suggesting stylistic improvements. Needless to say, the usual disclaimers apply.

Research paper thumbnail of An Explanatory Quest for the True Architecture of the Faculty of Language (S. D. Epstein and T. D. Seely (eds.), Derivation and Explanation in the Minimalist Program)

ENGLISH LINGUISTICS, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Architecture of Human Language from the Perspective of a Case of Childhood Aphasia — Landau–Kleffner Syndrome

This paper addresses Landau–Kleffner syndrome (LKS), a childhood aphasia, from the perspective of... more This paper addresses Landau–Kleffner syndrome (LKS), a childhood aphasia, from the perspective of I-language and the critical period for first language acquisition. LKS involves a language disorder and behavioral disturbances resembling autistic spectrum disorders due to electroencephalographic abnormalities with continuous spike-and-waves during sleep over the temporal regions. Comparing LKS with other childhood syndromes, the architecture of language is explored through elucidating the linguistic mechanisms behind the language disorder in LKS on the basis of Hickok & Poeppel’s (2007) dual-stream model of speech processing. It is claimed that early onset LKS provides further support for the critical period for first language acquisition and modularity of mind (the faculty of language), and that verbal auditory input during the critical period is most crucial for language recovery and development in LKS. Considering that electroencephalographic abnormalities affect cognitive/motor f...

Research paper thumbnail of Architecture of Human Language from the Perspective of a Case of Childhood Aphasia — Landau–Kleffner Syndrome

This paper addresses Landau–Kleffner syndrome (LKS), a childhood aphasia, from the perspective of... more This paper addresses Landau–Kleffner syndrome (LKS), a childhood aphasia, from the perspective of I-language and the critical period for first language acquisition. LKS involves a language disorder and behavioral disturbances resembling autistic spectrum disorders due to electroencephalographic abnormalities with continuous spike-and-waves during sleep over the temporal regions. Comparing LKS with other childhood syndromes, the architecture of language is explored through elucidating the linguistic mechanisms behind the language disorder in LKS on the basis of Hickok & Poeppel’s (2007) dual-stream model of speech processing. It is claimed that early onset LKS provides further support for the critical period for first language acquisition and modularity of mind (the faculty of language), and that verbal auditory input during the critical period is most crucial for language recovery and development in LKS. Considering that electroencephalographic abnormalities affect cognitive/motor f...

Research paper thumbnail of Subcortical syntax (2022, J Neuroling)

The Journal of Neurolinguistics, 2022

Subcortical contributions to core linguistic computations pertaining to syntax-semantics remain d... more Subcortical contributions to core linguistic computations pertaining to syntax-semantics remain drastically under-studied. We critique the cortico-centric focus which has largely accompanied research into these higher-order linguistic functions and suggest that, while much remains unknown, there is nevertheless a rich body of research concerning the possible roles of subcortex in natural language. Although much current evidence emerges from distinct domains of cognitive neuroscience, in this review article we attempt to show that there is a clear place for subcortex in models of natural language syntax-semantics, including a role in binary set-formation, categorized object maintenance, lexico-semantic processing, conceptual-to-lexical transformations, morphosyntactic linearization, semantic feature-binding, and cross-cortical representational integration. In particular, we consult models of language processing relying on oscillatory brain dynamics in order to investigate both the apparent and possible functional roles of subcortex in language.

Research paper thumbnail of Reconceptualizing merge in search for the link with brain oscillatory nature of language in biolinguistics

Biolinguistics

This brief piece argues that it is desirable to reconceptualize the syntactic combinatorial mecha... more This brief piece argues that it is desirable to reconceptualize the syntactic combinatorial mechanism Merge as a higher-order function that takes two functions (= a selector function and its ‘argument’ function) and yields a composite function in the context of I-language. On this functional characterization of Merge, all of the elements involved in Merge are conceived as functions as well: lexical items (LIs) as input of Merge and syntactic objects (SOs) as both input and output of Merge. It is claimed that this perspective of Merge is a bridging step toward further facilitating the mesoscopic-level (= dynome-level) investigation of the brain oscillatory nature of human language in the field of biolinguistics. In this framework, I make the case that it would be possible to analyze the brain oscillatory nature of Merge by appealing to the mathematical operation of the Fourier transform (FT) to the extent that Merge-related brain oscillations as physical waves can be captured by comp...

Research paper thumbnail of Language deficits in GRIN2A mutations and Landau–Kleffner syndrome as neural dysrhythmias

This paper examines epilepsy-related aphasias in connection with GRIN2A mutations, focusing on ac... more This paper examines epilepsy-related aphasias in connection with GRIN2A mutations, focusing on acquired childhood epileptic aphasias, in particular, on Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS). Characterizing LKS as neural dysrhythmias, we review how EEG abnormalities typically manifested during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep as electrical status epilepticus are related to the sleeping disorders partly caused by GRIN2A mutations. We explore how neural mechanisms and recording measures such as sharp-wave ripples, sleep spindles, slow oscillations, and their cross-frequency couplings are necessary for language-related processes which are perturbed in LKS, accounting in part for the epileptic aphasia.

Research paper thumbnail of Chapter 5 The Hypothesis of Categorization Origins of Merge and Labeling in Evolinguistics: Its Implications to the Labeling System in Syntax and East Asian Linguistic Study

The present chapter aims to look into the issue of Merge and labeling in syntax from the perspect... more The present chapter aims to look into the issue of Merge and labeling in syntax from the perspective of the hypothesis of categorization origins of Merge and labeling advanced in Hoshi (2018, 2019), exploring its implications to the labeling system in syntax and East Asian linguistic study. More specifically, an alternative to Chomsky’s (2013, 2015) labeling algorithm (LA) in syntax is proposed to be employed in the mapping from narrow syntax (NS) to the conceptual-intentional (C-I) interface based on the "function-argument" constitution in the characteristic function for category labeling, while pointing out the undesirable miscellaneous nature of Chomsky’s system and the so-called {XP, YP} problem being a pseudo-problem. To the extent that the alternative proposal in this chapter is on the right track, East Asian languages without φ-feature agreement will turn out to be exemplar languages instantiating the labeling system in syntax.

Research paper thumbnail of The Nominalist Approach to the Head-Internal Relative Clause in Japanese Revisited: The Pure Internal Head vs. The Null External Head

The nominalist approach to the head-internal relative clause in Japanese revisited: the pure inte... more The nominalist approach to the head-internal relative clause in Japanese revisited: the pure internal head vs. the null external head Sub Title Author 星, 浩司(Hoshi, Koji) Publisher 慶應義塾大学日吉紀要刊行委員会 Publication year 2002 Jtitle 慶應義塾大学日吉紀要. 言語・文化・コミュニケーション No.28 (2002. 4) ,p.132 Abstract Notes Genre Departmental Bulletin Paper URL https://koara.lib.keio.ac.jp/xoonips/modules/xoonips/detail.php?koara_id=AN10032394-2002041 1-0001

Research paper thumbnail of The gradual coevolution of syntactic combinatorics and categorization under the effects of human self-domestication: a proposal

This paper builds on a previous proposal that the gradual emergence of syntax in language evoluti... more This paper builds on a previous proposal that the gradual emergence of syntax in language evolution was engaged in a feedback loop with the effects of Human Self-Domestication (HSD), both processes contributing to enhanced connectivity in the cortico-striatal networks, which is the mechanism for suppressing reactive physical aggression, the hallmark of HSD, but also the mechanism of cross-modality, relevant for metaphoricity and syntax more generally. In this paper, we aim to bridge the gap between these neurobiological changes and the changes facilitated, or even promoted, by the gradual complexification of grammars. We propose that increased cross-modality associated with the brain modifications described above would have enabled and supported, more specifically, a feedback loop between categorization abilities relevant for vocabulary building and the gradual emergence of syntactic structure, including the core combinatorial operation in natural languages, such as Merge. In brief,...

Research paper thumbnail of Biolinguistics 136 Architecture of Human Language from the

Research paper thumbnail of The syntax and semantics of Japanese internally- and doubly-headed relatives

Glossa: a journal of general linguistics, 2021

This paper proposes novel syntactic and semantic analyses of Japanese IHRCs and of a variety of D... more This paper proposes novel syntactic and semantic analyses of Japanese IHRCs and of a variety of DHRCs labelled ‘integrated.’ The analyses differ non-trivially from all earlier analyses known to us, both in orientation and in technical implementation, and their principal raison d’être is to capture, with minimal appeal to stipulation, the ways in which these two constructions differ from each other, from other relative constructions of Japanese, and from discourses with anaphoric dependencies. Our analysis of IHRCs builds on that of Landman (2016), and our analysis of integrated DHRCs is critically compared and contrasted with that of Erlewine & Gould (2016), who aimed at a maximal analytical unification of Japanese EHRCs, IHRCs and DHRCs, failing to note some of their distinguishing properties and sometimes relying on incorrect empirical assumptions.

Research paper thumbnail of On the nature of focus feature organization: toward a unified account of the additive Mo 'Also

Research paper thumbnail of More on the Relations among Categorization, Merge and Labeling, and Their Nature

Biolinguistics, 2019

Concerning (i), I will claim that the two apparently distinct modes of operation of categorizatio... more Concerning (i), I will claim that the two apparently distinct modes of operation of categorization stem from differences of ‘extraction patterns’ and thus as a precursor of Merge the particular mode of categorization such as IntCat should not be stipulated. As for (ii), I will make clear the relation between the low-order categorization involving a series of entities and the higher-order categorization involving a series of category sets in humans and non-human animals, in connection with the qualitative difference of the two types of categorization between them in the context of the evolution of human language.

Research paper thumbnail of Merge and Labeling as Descent with Modification of Categorization: A Neo-Lennebergian Approach

Research paper thumbnail of Chapter 54: Biology, Genetics and Evolution

In this Chapter we first look at the core view of the biology of language associated with Minimal... more In this Chapter we first look at the core view of the biology of language associated with Minimalism, including the Biolinguistics Program (section 2). Next, we consider research on the brain (section 3) and genetics (section 4), associated with this framework. Finally, we introduce some subsequent views of language evolution which break away from the saltationist, discontinuous nature of the mainstream approach (section 5), and draw some conclusions regarding future prospects (section 6).

Research paper thumbnail of Lenneberg’s Contributions to the Biology of Language and Child Aphasiology: Resonation and Brain Rhythmicity as Key Mechanisms

This paper aims to re-evaluate the legacy of Eric Lenneberg’s monumental Biological Foundations o... more This paper aims to re-evaluate the legacy of Eric Lenneberg’s monumental Biological Foundations of Language, with special reference to his biolinguistic framework and view on (child) aphasiology. The argument draws from the following concepts from Lenneberg’s work: (i) language (latent struc- ture vs. realized structure) as independent of externalization; (ii) resonance theory; (iii) brain rhythmicity; and (iv) aphasia as temporal dysfunction. Specifically, it will be demonstrated that Lenneberg’s original version of the critical period hypothesis and his child aphasiology lend themselves to elucidating a child aphasia of epileptic origin called Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS), thereby opening a possible hope for recovery from the disease. Moreover, it will be claimed that, to the extent that the language disorder in LKS can be couched in these terms, it can serve as strong “liv- ing” evidence in support of Lenneberg’s critical period hypothesis and his view on child aphasiology.

Research paper thumbnail of Subcortical syntax: Reconsidering the neural dynamics of language

Subcortical contributions to core linguistic computations pertaining to syntax-semantics remain d... more Subcortical contributions to core linguistic computations pertaining to syntax-semantics remain drastically under-studied. We critique the cortico-centric focus which has largely accompanied research into these higher-order linguistic functions and suggest that, while much remains unknown, there is nevertheless a rich body of research concerning the possible roles of subcortex in language. Although much current evidence emerges from distinct domains of cognitive neuroscience, in this review article we attempt to show that there is a clear place for subcortex in models of natural language syntax-semantics, including a role in binary set-formation, categorized object maintenance, lexico-semantic processing, morphosyntactic linearization, and cross-cortical representational integration. In particular, we consult models of language processing relying on oscillatory brain dynamics in order to investigate both the apparent and possible functional roles of subcortex in language.

Research paper thumbnail of Structural and Interpretive Aspects of Head-Internal and Head-External Relative Clauses

Journal of Japanese Linguistics

This dissertation investigates the structural and interpretive aspects of the Head-Internal Relat... more This dissertation investigates the structural and interpretive aspects of the Head-Internal Relative Clause (henceforth, HIRC) construction and the HeadExternal Relative Clause (henceforth, HERC) construction within the Principles-and-Parameters Approach with reference to Japanese, English, and Basque. Specifically, wc will explore the following questions throughout this dissertation: (i) Is there really a single and uniform grammatical process of relativization involving an overt or null operator movement in natural language?; (ii) What is/are the underlying licensing mechanism(s) of each type of relativization in natural language? With respect to the question (i), the present investigation will clearly demonstrate that there is in fact no single and uniform grammatical process of relativization which employs an overt or null operator movement in natural language. Furthermore, in this connection, it will be claimed that what has been standardly called an operator movement in relativization is not an operator movement at all. As for the question (ii), wc will show the following points in this dissertation. First, the HIRC construction involves an empty argument NP [c] which functions as an Ε-Type pronoun in the sense of Evans (1977a,b; 1980) and

Research paper thumbnail of The Acquisition of Japanese Focus Particles: dake (only) and mo (also)

Research paper thumbnail of WH-Extraction (A)Symmetries Between Sluicing and VP-Ellipsis Revisited

ENGLISH LINGUISTICS, 2011

* I am very grateful to two anonymous EL reviewers for their invaluable constructive comments and... more * I am very grateful to two anonymous EL reviewers for their invaluable constructive comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this paper. I would also like to thank Jeff Runner for providing me with relevant judgment on some data. Thanks are also due to Morris Cornell-Morgan for suggesting stylistic improvements. Needless to say, the usual disclaimers apply.

Research paper thumbnail of An Explanatory Quest for the True Architecture of the Faculty of Language (S. D. Epstein and T. D. Seely (eds.), Derivation and Explanation in the Minimalist Program)

ENGLISH LINGUISTICS, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Architecture of Human Language from the Perspective of a Case of Childhood Aphasia — Landau–Kleffner Syndrome

This paper addresses Landau–Kleffner syndrome (LKS), a childhood aphasia, from the perspective of... more This paper addresses Landau–Kleffner syndrome (LKS), a childhood aphasia, from the perspective of I-language and the critical period for first language acquisition. LKS involves a language disorder and behavioral disturbances resembling autistic spectrum disorders due to electroencephalographic abnormalities with continuous spike-and-waves during sleep over the temporal regions. Comparing LKS with other childhood syndromes, the architecture of language is explored through elucidating the linguistic mechanisms behind the language disorder in LKS on the basis of Hickok & Poeppel’s (2007) dual-stream model of speech processing. It is claimed that early onset LKS provides further support for the critical period for first language acquisition and modularity of mind (the faculty of language), and that verbal auditory input during the critical period is most crucial for language recovery and development in LKS. Considering that electroencephalographic abnormalities affect cognitive/motor f...

Research paper thumbnail of Architecture of Human Language from the Perspective of a Case of Childhood Aphasia — Landau–Kleffner Syndrome

This paper addresses Landau–Kleffner syndrome (LKS), a childhood aphasia, from the perspective of... more This paper addresses Landau–Kleffner syndrome (LKS), a childhood aphasia, from the perspective of I-language and the critical period for first language acquisition. LKS involves a language disorder and behavioral disturbances resembling autistic spectrum disorders due to electroencephalographic abnormalities with continuous spike-and-waves during sleep over the temporal regions. Comparing LKS with other childhood syndromes, the architecture of language is explored through elucidating the linguistic mechanisms behind the language disorder in LKS on the basis of Hickok & Poeppel’s (2007) dual-stream model of speech processing. It is claimed that early onset LKS provides further support for the critical period for first language acquisition and modularity of mind (the faculty of language), and that verbal auditory input during the critical period is most crucial for language recovery and development in LKS. Considering that electroencephalographic abnormalities affect cognitive/motor f...

Research paper thumbnail of Subcortical syntax (2022, J Neuroling)

The Journal of Neurolinguistics, 2022

Subcortical contributions to core linguistic computations pertaining to syntax-semantics remain d... more Subcortical contributions to core linguistic computations pertaining to syntax-semantics remain drastically under-studied. We critique the cortico-centric focus which has largely accompanied research into these higher-order linguistic functions and suggest that, while much remains unknown, there is nevertheless a rich body of research concerning the possible roles of subcortex in natural language. Although much current evidence emerges from distinct domains of cognitive neuroscience, in this review article we attempt to show that there is a clear place for subcortex in models of natural language syntax-semantics, including a role in binary set-formation, categorized object maintenance, lexico-semantic processing, conceptual-to-lexical transformations, morphosyntactic linearization, semantic feature-binding, and cross-cortical representational integration. In particular, we consult models of language processing relying on oscillatory brain dynamics in order to investigate both the apparent and possible functional roles of subcortex in language.