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With Language in Mind

Bibliographic Data

ID21746331
AuthorsJill De Villiers (0000-0002-2906-3537, Smith College, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume17
Issue2
Pages71-95
Publication date2021-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguage Learning and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1547-3341 • E-ISSN: 1547-5441
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15475441.2020.1820338
OpenAlexW3110997492
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited110

Does language have a role to play in conceptual development, and if so, what is that role? Understanding the contents of another person’s mind parallels the development in early childhood of mental state language. Does the conceptual understanding get reflected in and drive the language development, or does the language allow the representation of propositional attitudes like belief? The paper reviews the evidence and sets up the terms of the debate, focusing on the syntax for mental states. It also asks whether syntax development could serve as a scaffold for other concepts that are described by propositions rather than labels. Finally, it reviews experimentation on the syntax of embedded clauses, where subtle phenomena are acquired for which it is impossible to imagine nonverbal counterparts: here, language is human thinking

Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Human language · Language development · Linguistics · Mental representation · Mental state · Nonverbal communication · Parallels · Syntax · Child and Animal Learning Development · Computer Science · Language Development and Disorders · Philosophy · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation · Artificial Intelligence

  • The longitudinal relations between mental state talk and theory of mind

    Open Access•Isac Sehlstedt, Isabelle Hansson et al.•BMC Psychology•2024

  • Children’s comprehension of NP embedding

    Open Access•Erin Hall, Ana Teresa Perez-Leroux•Glossa a journal of general…•2022

  • Talking About the Absent and the Abstract

    Open Access•Elena Luchkina, Sandra R Waxman•Perspectives on Psychological…•2024

  • Assessing the acquisition of Romani in Roma children

    Hristo Kyuchukov, Jill De Villiers et al.•Language Acquisition•2025

  • Language and children's understanding of knowledge

    Open Access•Derek E Montgomery•Mind & Language•2023

  • Linking fine motor skills with theory of mind in school-age children

    Open Access•Rita Obeid, Danielle DeNigris et al.•International Journal of…•2022

  • What makes a complement false? Looking at the effects of verbal semantics and perspective in Mandarin children’s interpretation of complement-clause constructions and their false-belief understanding

    Open Access•Silke Brandt, Honglan Li et al.•Cognitive Linguistics•2023

  • Linguistic cues facilitate children’s understanding of belief-reporting sentences

    Open Access•Xiaowen Zhang, Peng Zhou•First Language•2022

  • On the L1 acquisition of recursive no in Japanese

    Open Access•Ana Teresa Perez-Leroux, Yves Roberge et al.•The Canadian Journal of…•2023

  • Testing “quarantined” metarepresentational accounts of Theory of Mind

    Open Access•Steven Samuel, Robert W Lurz et al.•Journal of Experimental Social…•2025

  • Science and Human Behavior

    B F Skinner, Brittany Skinner et al.•Science and Human Behavior•2022

  • False-belief understanding in infants

    Open Access•Renée Baillargeon, Rose M Scott et al.•Trends in Cognitive Sciences•2010

  • The cognitive functions of language

    Open Access•Peter Carruthers•Behavioral and Brain Sciences•2002

  • Beliefs about beliefs [P&W, SR&B]

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  • The Role of Language in the Development of False Belief Understanding

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  • The Neural Basis of Mentalizing

    Open Access•Chris Frith, Chris D Frith et al.•Neuron•2006

  • Scaling of Theory-of-Mind Tasks

    Open Access•Henry M Wellman, David Liu•Child Development•2004

  • Context Dependence, Disagreement, and Predicates of Personal Taste

    Open Access•Peter Lasersohn•Linguistics and Philosophy•2005

  • Judge dependence, epistemic modals, and predicates of personal taste

    Open Access•Tamina Stephenson•Linguistics and Philosophy•2007

  • Complements to cognition

    Open Access•Jill G De Villiers, Jennie E Pyers et al.•Cognitive Development•2002

  • Language and Theory of Mind

    Open Access•Brenda Schick, Peter de Villiers et al.•Child Development•2007

  • The conscious access hypothesis

    Open Access•Bernard J Baars•Trends in Cognitive Sciences•2002

  • Do humans have two systems to track beliefs and belief-like states?

    Ian A Apperly, Stephen Butterfill et al.•Psychological Review•2009

  • Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?

    Open Access•David Premack, Guy Woodruff•Behavioral and Brain Sciences•1978

  • Interfaces + Recursion = Language?

    Hans‐martin Gärtner, Uli Sauerland et al.•Interfaces + Recursion = Language?•2007

  • A Judge-Free Semantics for Predicates of Personal Taste

    Hazel Pearson•Journal of Semantics•2013

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    Open Access•Albert Newen, Julia Wolf•Review of Philosophy and Psychology•2020

  • The role of language in building abstract, generalized conceptual representations of one- and two-place predicates

    Open Access•Mohinish Shukla, Jill De Villiers•Cognition•2021

  • Theory of Mind and evidentiality in Romani-Bulgarian bilingual children

    Open Access•Hristo Kyuchukov, Jill De Villiers•Psychology of Language and…•2009

  • Strategies in the acquisition of deixis

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  • The acquisition of personal pronouns in French-speaking and English-speaking children

    Open Access•PASCALE C GIROUARD, Marcelle Ricard et al.•Journal of Child Language•1997

  • Finding Signatures of Linguistic Reasoning

    Jill De Villiers•Theoretical Linguistics•2017

  • Reference Across Pathologies

    Wolfram Hinzen•Theoretical Linguistics•2017

  • Mind Design and Minimal Syntax

    Wolfram Hinzen•MIND DESIGN AND MINIMAL SYNTAX.•2006

  • Belief attribution despite verbal interference

    Open Access•Baudouin Forgeot d’Arc, Franck Ramus•Quarterly Journal of Experimental…•2010

  • Evidentials in Tibetan

    Open Access•Jill G De Villiers, Jay L Garfield et al.•New Directions for Child and…•2009

  • Evidentials and source knowledge in Turkish

    Open Access•Ayhan Aksu-Koç, Ayhan Aksu-Κοç et al.•New Directions for Child and…•2009

  • Direct evidentials, case, tense and aspect in Tibetan

    Open Access•Kalsang Kalsang, Jay L Garfield et al.•Natural Language and Linguistic…•2013

  • Studies in the Acquisition of Deictic Terms

    Scott Delancey, Christine Tanz•Language•1983

  • In defense of a developmental dogma

    Open Access•Hannes Rakoczy•Synthese•2017

  • Culturally embedded schemata for false belief reasoning

    Open Access•Leda Berio•Synthese•2021

  • Executive function and theory of mind

    Claire Hughes, Rosie Ensor•Developmental Psychology•2007

  • A longitudinal study of the relation between language and theory-of-mind development

    Janet Wilde Astington, Jennifer M Jenkins•Developmental Psychology•1999

  • Language and false belief

    Twila Tardif, Catherine Wing-Chee So et al.•Developmental Psychology•2007

  • Re-presenting Representation

    Open Access•Philippe C Schmitter•Government and Opposition•2009

  • Functional Categories and Syntactic Theory

    Laura Rizzi, Guglielmo Cinque•Annual Review of Linguistics•2016

  • Evidentiality

    Alexandra Y Aikhenvald, A I͡U Aĭkhenvalʹd•Evidentiality•2004

  • What kind of concepts need language

    Open Access•Jill De Villiers•Language Sciences•2014

  • Asymmetries in the acquisition of definite and indefinite NPs

    Open Access•Annemarie Van Hout, Angeliek Van Hout et al.•Lingua•2010

  • Evidentiality, logophoricity and the syntactic representation of pragmatic features

    Open Access•Margaret Speas•Lingua•2004

  • The interface of language and Theory of Mind

    Open Access•Jill De Villiers•Lingua•2007

  • On the Absence of X-within-X Recursion in Human Grammar

    Boban Arsenijević, Wolfram Hinzen•Linguistic Inquiry•2012

  • Development of word order in German complement-clause constructions

    Open Access•Silke Brandt, Elena Lieven et al.•Language•2010

Unique citing works10
Citations per year2,5
Citation span2022 - 2025 (4)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 9
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