Project description
How shape connects language and thought
How do language and cognitive systems interact to yield the bidirectional effects of language on thought and thought on language? This mutual influence of language and cognition is still elusive. With this in mind, the ERC-funded SHAPE project focuses on shape as a central concept. From early childhood, shape plays an important role in both visual perception and language development, whether in naming objects, forming categories or constructing spatial expressions. Disruptions in shape perception often correlate with developmental disorders, yet the topic remains understudied. SHAPE brings together experts in cognitive science, linguistics, developmental psychology and vision research to explore how shape bridges language and thought across cultures and modalities. Their goal is a theory to explain this core aspect of human intelligence.
Objective
We address a gap in research on the bi-directional effects of language on thought and thought on language, and the developmental pathways that transmit interactions between language and cognition from one generation to the next. The significant empirical advances we propose will result in a unified, cross-disciplinary theory which addresses language diversity through the dynamic interaction of language and cognitive systems across languages and cultures. To this end, we select shape as a core spatial property of entities in the physical world of things which determines bodily action on objects. The abstract properties of shape are codified in multiple ways in the world’s varied languages, including spoken and signed languages – in object and category labels and their organization into classes of categories, spatial prepositions, verbs, and quantifying expressions. Visual shape perception and shape representation in early perceptual and cognitive development are inherently intertwined and interdependent with early language acquisition. Children on atypical developmental trajectories show a cascade of disrupted development in both shape perception and language that can have substantial life-long consequences. Despite this compelling evidence of the pervasiveness of shape, no theoretical account has been offered to explain its nature as a system, neither has this topic been approached integrating evidence and methodologies across disciplines. The main goal of the current endeavor is to provide such an account from the point of view of systems theory and aligning methodologies across vision research, cognitive development, theory of language and language typology and sign language. Our premise is that shape holds a privileged status in human representational systems – in perceiving, using and reasoning about objects and in organizing the structures of the world’s languages and, as such, is key to understanding human intelligence and its developmental trajectories.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-SYG - HORIZON ERC Synergy Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-SyG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
7491 Trondheim
Norway
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.