Language and Mind Course | IIT Madras | Prof. Rajesh Kumar | Linguistics
Course Details
| Exam Registration | 209 |
|---|---|
| Course Status | Ongoing |
| Course Type | Core |
| Language | English |
| Duration | 8 weeks |
| Categories | Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology |
| Credit Points | 2 |
| Level | Undergraduate |
| Start Date | 16 Feb 2026 |
| End Date | 10 Apr 2026 |
| Enrollment Ends | 16 Feb 2026 |
| Exam Registration Ends | 27 Feb 2026 |
| Exam Date | 17 Apr 2026 IST |
| NCrF Level | 4.5 — 8.0 |
Language and Mind: A Journey into the Core of Human Cognition
What makes human language unique? Is it an innate faculty hardwired into our brains, or a skill learned purely through social interaction? The profound relationship between language and the human mind is one of the most fascinating puzzles in science. This 8-week online course, offered by the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Madras, delves deep into this mystery, guided by renowned linguist Prof. Rajesh Kumar.
About the Course and Instructor
This undergraduate-level course, categorized under Humanities and Social Sciences and Psychology, is designed for anyone with a curiosity about how language shapes and reflects our thoughts. It provides a comprehensive exploration from a generative perspective, arguing for the biological and innate foundations of language.
The course is led by Prof. Rajesh Kumar, a distinguished professor of linguistics in IIT Madras's Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. With a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and teaching experience at institutions like IIT Kanpur and the University of Texas at Austin, Prof. Kumar brings a wealth of expertise. His research focuses on uncovering the regularities in both the structural form and sociolinguistic functions of language, with a special interest in South Asian languages, multilingualism, and cognition.
Course Objectives: What You Will Learn
The course aims to build a robust understanding of language as a cognitive phenomenon. By the end of the 8 weeks, you will:
- Understand the relationship between language and the human mind.
- Explore language as a special-purpose cognitive ability, distinct from general learning.
- Grasp the concept of Universal Grammar and the Language Acquisition Device.
- Analyze the mental computations underlying natural language processing.
- Examine evidence from language acquisition, deficits, and neuroscience.
Detailed 8-Week Course Layout
The curriculum is meticulously structured to build your knowledge from foundational concepts to advanced theories.
| Week | Core Topics |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to language as a scientific subject; Distinction between human/non-human language; Origin of language; Generative & biological foundations; Universal Grammar. |
| Week 2 | Language in the Mind: I-language vs. E-language; Innateness hypothesis; Evidence from the human brain and language deficits. |
| Week 3 | Patterns in Sounds: Phonetics, vowels, consonants, places and manners of articulation, distinctive features. |
| Week 4 | Words and Structure: Morphological patterns, constraints on word formation, syllables. |
| Week 5 | Foundations of Grammar: Parts of sentences, lexical/functional categories, nature of verbs. |
| Week 6 | Advanced Grammar: Complements vs. adjuncts, semantic relations, case theory, syntactic movement. |
| Week 7 | Principles of Grammar: Levels of representation (D-Structure, S-Structure), binding theory, constraints on movement. |
| Week 8 | Language and Cognition: Compound verbs, negation; The goals of cognitive science and computational linguistics; Synthesis of language and mind. |
Key Texts and References
The course draws upon seminal works in linguistics and cognitive science, including:
- Chomsky, N. (2006). Language and Mind. Cambridge University Press.
- Hauser, M.D., Chomsky, N., and Fitch, W.T. (2002). ‘The Faculty of Language: What is it, who has it, and how did it evolve?’
- Jackendoff, R. (1993). Patterns in the Mind.
- Pinker, S. and Jackendoff, R. (2004). ‘The faculty of language: What’s special about it?’
Who Should Enroll?
This course is ideally suited for:
- Undergraduate students in Linguistics, Psychology, Cognitive Science, or Humanities.
- Educators and language teachers seeking a deeper theoretical foundation.
- Professionals in AI and Computational Linguistics interested in the cognitive aspects of language.
- Anyone with a keen interest in understanding the profound link between how we speak and how we think.
Join Prof. Rajesh Kumar on this intellectual expedition to unravel the intricate connections between Language and Mind, and discover why language is truly the mirror to human cognition.
Enroll Now →