Current Approaches in Linguistics - ABO700701

• Title: Current Approaches in Linguistics
• Guaranteed by: Institute of Czech Language and Theory of Communication (21-UCJTK)
• Faculty: Faculty of Arts
• Actual: from 2025
• Semester: both
• Points: 0
• E-Credits: 4
• Hours per week, examination: 1/1, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: winter:unknown / unknown (unknown); summer:unknown / unknown (unknown)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: Czech
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Is provided by: ABO700730
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment; you can enroll for the course in winter and in summer semester
• Guarantor: doc. Mgr. Jan Chromý, Ph.D.; Kateřina Chládková, M.A., Ph.D.; doc. Mgr. Radek Šimík, Ph.D.
• Interchangeability : ABO500016, ABO500116, ABO700730, AFR10019, ALINP205M, ALINUVOD3
• Is interchangeable with: AFR10019, ALINUVOD3, ABO700730, ALINP204M

Annotation

The main aim of the course is to acquaint students with the current trends in research on language and its use. Each week, there will be one scientific study to read and discuss.

Last update: Chromý Jan, doc. Mgr., Ph.D. (09.09.2025)

Literature

Fedorenko, E., Piantadosi, S. T., & Gibson, E. A. (2024). Language is primarily a tool for communication rather than thought. Nature, 630(8017), 575-586.

Ferreira, F., & Yang, Z. (2019). The problem of comprehension in psycholinguistics. Discourse Processes, 56(7), 485-495. 

Holler, J., & Levinson, S. C. (2019). Multimodal language processing in human communication. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(8), 639-652.

Huettig, F. (2015). Four central questions about prediction in language processing. Brain research, 1626, 118-135.

Kaan, E. (2007). Event‐related potentials and language processing: A brief overview. Language and linguistics compass, 1(6), 571-591.

Kidd, E., & Donnelly, S. (2020). Individual differences in first language acquisition. Annual Review of Linguistics, 6(1), 319-340.

Lichtman, K., & VanPatten, B. (2021). Was Krashen right? Forty years later. Foreign Language Annals, 54(2), 283-305.

Lupyan, G., & Dale, R. (2016). Why are there different languages? The role of adaptation in linguistic diversity. Trends in cognitive sciences, 20(9), 649-660.

Lynott, D., Connell, L., Brysbaert, M., Brand, J., & Carney, J. (2020). The Lancaster Sensorimotor Norms: multidimensional measures of perceptual and action strength for 40,000 English words. Behavior research methods, 52(3), 1271-1291.

ManyBabies Consortium. (2020). Quantifying sources of variability in infancy research using the infant-directed-speech preference. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 3(1), 24-52.

Skirgård, H., Haynie, H. J., Blasi, D. E., Hammarström, H., Collins, J., Latarche, J. J., ... & Gray, R. D. (2023). Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss. Science Advances, 9(16), eadg6175.

Last update: Chromý Jan, doc. Mgr., Ph.D. (09.09.2025)

Requirements to the exam

1. Active participation in the course is required.

2.  Each student is required to read each study and answer a few questions as a comprehension check.

4. Each student must pass the final written exam (based on the literature introduced in the course).

Last update: Chromý Jan, doc. Mgr., Ph.D. (09.09.2025)

Syllabus

Week 1 

Introduction 

Week 2 

Lupyan, G., & Dale, R. (2016). Why are there different languages? The role of adaptation in linguistic diversity. Trends in cognitive sciences, 20(9), 649-660. 

Week 3 

Skirgård, H., Haynie, H. J., Blasi, D. E., Hammarström, H., Collins, J., Latarche, J. J., ... & Gray, R. D. (2023). Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss. Science Advances, 9(16), eadg6175. 

Week 4 

Kidd, E., & Donnelly, S. (2020). Individual differences in first language acquisition. Annual Review of Linguistics, 6(1), 319-340. 

Week 5 

ManyBabies Consortium. (2020). Quantifying sources of variability in infancy research using the infant-directed-speech preference. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 3(1), 24-52. 

Week 6 

Fedorenko, E., Piantadosi, S. T., & Gibson, E. A. (2024). Language is primarily a tool for communication rather than thought. Nature, 630(8017), 575-586. 

Week 7 

Lynott, D., Connell, L., Brysbaert, M., Brand, J., & Carney, J. (2020). The Lancaster Sensorimotor Norms: multidimensional measures of perceptual and action strength for 40,000 English words. Behavior research methods, 52(3), 1271-1291. 

Week 8 

Holler, J., & Levinson, S. C. (2019). Multimodal language processing in human communication. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(8), 639-652. 

Week 9 

Kaan, E. (2007). Event‐related potentials and language processing: A brief overview. Language and linguistics compass, 1(6), 571-591. 

Week 10 

Ferreira, F., & Yang, Z. (2019). The problem of comprehension in psycholinguistics. Discourse Processes, 56(7), 485-495.  

Week 11 

Huettig, F. (2015). Four central questions about prediction in language processing. Brain research, 1626, 118-135. 

Week 12 

Lichtman, K., & VanPatten, B. (2021). Was Krashen right? Forty years later. Foreign Language Annals, 54(2), 283-305. 

 

Last update: Chromý Jan, doc. Mgr., Ph.D. (09.09.2025)