ABSTRACT
Language is arguably the cognitive skill that is most uniquely human. Language allows us to share abstract ideas with another individual and is thus one of our most fundamental forms of communication. The present chapter starts by addressing the fundamental questions of what language is, whether language is innate, whether language is unique to the human species, and whether the limitations of our language affect our thoughts. A large section of this chapter focuses on the way language is used as a means of communication. How do interlocutors interact with each other and how do they consider each other's perspectives and limitations. Good understanding requires that interlocutors establish a common ground. But how is this done? Several possibilities are discussed, both from the perspective of a speaker and that of a listener. Current ideas suggesting that interlocuters are actively anticipating and predicting each other's communication are discussed. A second major theme of this chapter involves pragmatics, that is, the extraction on non-literal, metaphoric meaning from a phrase. Following the introduction of the major theories involved in pragmatics, the processes involved in story comprehension are discussed. A central theme here is how linguistic information is integrated with existing cognitive schemas and background knowledge.
