This symposium examines the interplay between linguistic and non-linguistic cognition. While some cognitive functions appear to depend on language, others seem rather independent of it and many more integrate both aspects. In psychology, however, the distinction between linguistic and non-linguistic cognition is rarely made explicitly and there is currently no consensus on how language may shape, enable or constrain thought.

The symposium brings together perspectives from cognitive research, developmental psychology and animal cognition to address three questions:

(1) How are language and thought related?
(2) Which cognitive functions are inherently linguistic, and which are not?
(3) To what extend can language modulate domains traditionally considered non-linguistic?

Part 1 of the double symposium brings together comparative and ontogenetic perspectives, focusing on animal cognition and human development. (see detailled description there)

Part 2 adopts a cognitive psychology perspective. First, Carolin Dudschig examines common mechanisms in linguistic and non-linguistic processing by means of electrophysiological investigations. Rasha Abdel-Rahman's contribution addresses the question of whether language influences the formation of visual representations. Senne Braem investigates how semantic knowledge guides learning of new tasks. Tally Miller tests the influence of verbal labels on the categorization of musical stimuli. Finally, Günther Knoblich discusses the role of linguistic and non-linguistic cognition in joint action.
At the end of the double symposium, philosopher Hong Yu Wong will integrate these diverse perspectives in a concluding discussion, aiming to clarify when, whether, and how cognition harnesses the faculty of language.