Outreach Brochure

WHAT IS LANGUAGE SCIENCE?

LANGUAGE IS WHAT MAKES US HUMAN. We use language to teach, learn, cooperate, solve problems, build relationships, record information, create art, entertain, and more.

Since language is such an important part of our lives, we should understand how it works!

That’s what language science is all about.

LANGUAGE AND MIND Human brains are built to learn and use language.

Some sciences look at language as a mental system.

Linguistics. How does language let us express complex ideas with sounds or gestures? How are languages similar and different from each other, and how do they change over time?

Cognitive Science and Neuroscience. How does language work in the brain? How is it possible for adults to speak or understand two to three words per second without any effort?

How does language interact with other brain systems like memory and attention?

Human Development and Language Acquisition. How do babies learn any language spoken around them in just a few years, without having to go to school or study? Why are they better at learning language than adults?

Did you know?

A one-year-old infant can understand about 50 words, even though she may not be able to speak any at all. By age five, she can understand more than 10,000 words.

LANGUAGE AND TECHNOLOGY Since humans use language to create, share, and store information, we expect our computers to do that too. Scientists and engineers in the field of natural language processing (a part of artificial intelligence) build computer systems that work with human languages.

There are lots of exciting uses for language technology. Just imagine if computers could... ... answer a normal question, instead of just responding to specific search terms .... translate conversations as reliably as a human interpreter .... write a one-page summary of a 1,000-page book in a few minutes .... transform fast, fluent speech into written text for any language .... have a conversation with a human to provide or collect information (or just for fun!)

There are many career opportunities at private companies and government agencies for programmers, developers, engineers, linguists, and language specialists. You can major in computer science or information science to get started.

Will we ever be able to have a good conversation with a robot?

LANGUAGE AND HEALTH Life can be difficult for people who have problems with language. What if you knew what you wanted to say, but couldn’t get the words out? What if you could not understand important information from your teacher or doctor?

Children and adults can have communication disorders for a variety of reasons, such as autism, Down’s syndrome, dyslexia, brain injuries, strokes, or dementia. Scientists and health care professionals try to understand these disorders and develop treatments to help people.

Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences.

What causes communication disorders, and how do they work? What happens in the brain when someone has problems with communication?

Audiology. How does hearing work? How can we help people who experience hearing loss?

How can we use technology like cochlear implants to restore hearing?

Speech-Language Pathology. How can we help children and adults who have problems with speaking, understanding, or social interaction? What are the best ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent communication disorders?

Audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work in schools, hospitals, and nursing facilities. They work with researchers and doctors to figure out the best way to help people.

LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION Language and reading skills are very important for doing well in school or at your job. Scientists and teachers work together to understand how people learn and the best way to teach them.

Second language acquisition. How do older children and adults learn languages? How do our brains store more than one language?

Foreign language teaching. What is the best way to teach someone a new language? What kinds of technological tools might be helpful?

Bilingual education. What is the best way to educate children who speak a different language at home than at school?

Special education. How can we help children who have learning difficulties related to language or reading?

Literacy. How does reading work in the brain?

What makes it easier or harder to learn to read? What teaching methods are most effective?

Did you know?

There are over 7,000 languages in the world.

Check out a map of world languages at langscape.umd.edu

LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY Most human interaction is based on language.

Some sciences are about the role of language in culture and social systems.

Anthropology and Sociology. How does social identity (like gender, age, race, and education) influence how people use language? How do people feel about different accents and dialects? What happens to a community when its language changes or dies out?

Communications. How does language get interpreted in different political, economic, and social contexts? What is the best way to communicate with a particular audience?

Find out more at go.umd.edu/languagescience

Prepared by the Maryland Language Science Center, supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant #1449815