Using experimental methods and formal/computational models, we address questions at the interface of natural language semantics, language development, and psycholinguistics.
What do words like "not", "or", "a", "every", and "either" mean?
How do languages encode and communicate such concepts?
What is the role of language in their emergence?
More generally, what representations best capture the meaning of words in different languages?
What learning mechanisms allow us to learn the meaning of words?
How are these mechanisms similar/different for different word classes?
How much are these mechanisms unique to humans?
How do logical concepts develop in humans?
To what extent are they innate and to what extent learned?
Within linguistics, our research spans the fields of semantics, pragmatics, language development, psycholinguistics, and computational linguistics.
