Linguistics Seminar Talk - Falk Huettig
The Enhanced Literate Mind Hypothesis

Title: The Enhanced Literate Mind Hypothesis
Abstract:
In this talk I will first argue that all neurotypical native language users share a ‘basic language cognition’ in the domain of oral informal language. As individuals learn to read and write, they are, from then on, exposed to extensive written-language input and become literate (albeit to varying extent). This is the Enhanced Literate Mind (ELM) hypothesis: Literacy acquisition leads to, both, increased language knowledge as well as enhanced language and non-language perceptual and cognitive skills. In the talk I will focus on why and how written language input enhances cognitive and perceptual skills beyond language. The ELM hypothesis leads to certain implications for any general theory of language and cognition. First, a general theory must be able to describe the conditions that lead to enhanced linguistic and non-linguistic skills beyond ‘basic language cognition’. Second, a general theory must be capable of explaining why some elements of a language are acquired by all speakers while others are not.
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics