Linguistics Program Becomes Independent From CLPS

As of fall 2023, linguistics functions as an independent program from the Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences department, according to the CLPS website. Previously, linguistics was one of five concentrations — along with behavioral decision sciences, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive science and psychology — within the CLPS department. 

Increased independence from the CLPS department has already allowed the program — which houses the linguistics undergraduate concentration — to offer six new linguistics courses and hire two new faculty members this year alone, according to Professor of Linguistics Pauline Jacobson.

Jacobson said she looks forward to watching the program expand in the near future and hopefully be able to thoroughly cover topics like sociolinguistics, syntax, morphology and historical linguistics.

CLPS 0340: "Language and Gender" and CLPS 1311: "Phonetics," taught by Visiting Assistant Professor Jaime Benheim, are among the new course offerings this fall. Postdoctoral Research Associate Chaya Nove is also teaching CLPS 1365: "Historical Linguistics" this semester.

Starting this academic year, CLPS 0300: "Introduction to Linguistics" will be taught during both the fall and spring semesters — clearing a significant "bottleneck" among potential concentrators, said Scott AnderBois, director of the Linguistics program.

Beginning summer 2024, linguistics courses will also be marked with a new "LING" course code, a decision intended to make it easier for prospective concentrators to find courses of interest.

Though the University's linguistics program was originally founded as a separate department, it was merged into the broader CLPS department in 2010. The decision to split linguistics from CLPS is a result of an external review of the department conducted last December, which ultimately supported the separation, according to Jacobson.

When making their case for the split, Jacobson and AnderBois looked at peer institutions and noticed that most other Ivy League universities — as well as schools like the University of Chicago and Stanford University — had larger, independent linguistics departments.

"The governance model for CLPS wasn't working for linguistics," AnderBois said. "It didn't give us enough autonomy to strategically plan for what linguistics needs, or to make the case for the resources we needed to be on par with our peer institutions."

According to David Badre, chair of the CLPS department, the linguistics faculty within CLPS developed a vision for the program that was "distinct from the broader department mission." As a result, the department "agreed that an independent linguistics (program) would be a positive step for both groups moving forward," Badre wrote in an email to The Herald. 

"We look forward to what the future holds for both Linguistics and CLPS," Badre wrote, adding that "CLPS will continue to focus on the interdisciplinary study of mind, brain and behavior, including the psychology and cognitive science of language."

Under the CLPS department, linguistics courses and research skewed toward psycholinguistics and cognitive science "to the exclusion of other fields," AnderBois said. But in an inherently interdisciplinary field like linguistics, the ability to make cross-departmental connections is vital, according to Jacobson.

"It's this completely human discipline that still lends itself to the scientific method," she added. "That mixing of formal scientific methods with this incredibly humanistic domain — it's really a field that should play a prominent role in any liberal arts education."

Masako Fidler, professor of Slavic Languages, recalled previously working with a student who wanted to write an honors thesis on language policy connecting concepts within political science and linguistics.

"At that time, the linguistics program was embedded within CLPS, so the scope of the program was" limited, Fidler said, adding that it was thus "impossible" for the student to write an honors thesis.

Fidler, who is part of the linguistics secondary faculty, said she is looking forward to the program's potential for cross-departmental collaboration. 

"The program is becoming more diverse and inclusive," she said, pointing to the program's affiliate faculty roster, which includes faculty in anthropology, philosophy, computer science, education, Native American and Indigenous studies and French and Francophone studies.

Prospective linguistics concentrators hoping to gain exposure to the program can look forward to the Brown Undergraduate Linguistics Event on Nov. 4, where students will present previous linguistics research they've done, said Ariel Stein '24, one of the linguistics departmental undergraduate group leaders.

There will also be smaller events throughout the semester called "Curried Functions" — a spin on the computational linguistic technique of currying a function — intended to promote a sense of community for linguistics students and faculty, Stein said.

"We're just really excited for where we're at," AnderBois said. "We're excited for the opportunity to share linguistics with the Brown community — strengthen all these existing connections, build new connections across the University and bring folks together through language."

Anisha Kumar

Anisha Kumar is a senior staff writer covering Graduate Student Life. She is from From Menlo Park, California, and enjoys doing crossword puzzles in her free time.

A Linguistic Anthropologist Explains How Humans Are Like ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a hot topic at my university, where faculty members are deeply concerned about academic integrity, while administrators urge us to "embrace the benefits" of this "new frontier." It's a classic example of what my colleague Punya Mishra calls the "doom-hype cycle" around new technologies. Likewise, media coverage of human-AI interaction — whether paranoid or starry-eyed — tends to emphasise its newness.

In one sense, it is undeniably new. Interactions with ChatGPT can feel unprecedented, as when a tech journalist couldn't get a chatbot to stop declaring its love for him. In my view, however, the boundary between humans and machines, in terms of the way we interact with one another, is fuzzier than most people would care to admit, and this fuzziness accounts for a good deal of the discourse swirling around ChatGPT.

When I'm asked to check a box to confirm I'm not a robot, I don't give it a second thought – of course I'm not a robot. On the other hand, when my email client suggests a word or phrase to complete my sentence, or when my phone guesses the next word I'm about to text, I start to doubt myself. Is that what I meant to say? Would it have occurred to me if the application hadn't suggested it? Am I part robot? These large language models have been trained on massive amounts of "natural" human language. Does this make the robots part human?

No, you're not a robot, but your language is not so different from an AI chatbot's. Ihor Reshetniak/iStock via Getty Images

AI chatbots are new, but public debates over language change are not. As a linguistic anthropologist, I find human reactions to ChatGPT the most interesting thing about it. Looking carefully at such reactions reveals the beliefs about language underlying people's ambivalent, uneasy, still-evolving relationship with AI interlocutors.

The

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

ChatGPT and the like hold up a mirror to human language. Humans are both highly original and unoriginal when it comes to language. Chatbots reflect this, revealing tendencies and patterns that are already present in interactions with other humans.

Creators or mimics?

Recently, famed linguist Noam Chomsky and his colleagues argued that chatbots are "stuck in a prehuman or nonhuman phase of cognitive evolution" because they can only describe and predict, not explain. Rather than drawing on an infinite capacity to generate new phrases, they compensate with huge amounts of input, which allows them to make predictions about which words to use with a high degree of accuracy.

This is in line with Chomsky's historic recognition that human language could not be produced merely through children's imitation of adult speakers. The human language faculty had to be generative, since children do not receive enough input to account for all the forms they produce, many of which they could not have heard before. That is the only way to explain why humans – unlike other animals with sophisticated systems of communication – have a theoretically infinite capacity to generate new phrases.

Noam Chomsky developed the generative theory of language acquisition.

There's a problem with that argument, though. Even though humans are endlessly capable of generating new strings of language, people usually don't. Humans are constantly recycling bits of language they've encountered before and shaping their speech in ways that respond – consciously or unconsciously – to the speech of others, present or absent.

As Mikhail Bakhtin – a Chomsky-like figure for linguistic anthropologists – put it, "our thought itself," along with our language, "is born and shaped in the process of interaction and struggle with others' thought." Our words "taste" of the contexts where we and others have encountered them before, so we're constantly wrestling to make them our own.

Even plagiarism is less straightforward than it appears. The concept of stealing someone else's words assumes that communication always takes place between people who independently come up with their own original ideas and phrases. People may like to think of themselves that way, but the reality shows otherwise in nearly every interaction – when I parrot a saying of my dad's to my daughter; when the president gives a speech that someone else crafted, expressing the views of an outside interest group; or when a therapist interacts with her client according to principles that her teachers taught her to heed.

In any given interaction, the framework for production – speaking or writing – and reception – listening or reading and understanding – varies in terms of what is said, how it is said, who says it and who is responsible in each case.

What AI reveals about humans

The popular conception of human language views communication primarily as something that takes place between people who invent new phrases from scratch. However, that assumption breaks down when Woebot, an AI therapy app, is trained to interact with human clients by human therapists, using conversations from human-to-human therapy sessions. It breaks down when one of my favorite songwriters, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, tells ChatGPT to write lyrics and chords in his own style. Meloy found the resulting song "remarkably mediocre" and lacking in intuition, but also uncannily in the zone of a Decemberists song.

As Meloy notes, however, the chord progressions, themes and rhymes in human-written pop songs also tend to mirror other pop songs, just as politicians' speeches draw freely from past generations of politicians and activists, which were already replete with phrases from the Bible. Pop songs and political speeches are especially vivid illustrations of a more general phenomenon. When anyone speaks or writes, how much is newly generated à la Chomsky? How much is recycled à la Bakhtin? Are we part robot? Are the robots part human?

People like Chomsky who say that chatbots are unlike human speakers are right. However, so are those like Bakhtin who point out that we're never really in control of our words – at least, not as much as we'd imagine ourselves to be. In that sense, ChatGPT forces us to consider an age-old question anew: How much of our language is really ours?

Brendan H. O'Connor, Associate Professor, School of Transborder Studies, Arizona State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Neuro-Linguistic (NLP) Counselling In Cumbria

Terril Guy

Psychotherapist, MBABCP

Verified

Verified

Confidence & Self Esteem low? Not feeling good enough? Worry & Anxiety? Stressed or Depressed? Or Struggling to manage ADHD symptoms? As an Accredited CBT therapist & Coach I have extensive training and experience to help my clients navigate the complexities of their emotional, psychological & behavioural challenges. Through active listening and empathetic communication, I create a safe and non-judgmental space where clients can explore their thoughts and emotions. My goal is to equip clients with the skills and tools they need to manage their thoughts and emotions independently, fostering long-term emotional well-being

Yasmin Dewan

Psychotherapist, PsychD, MBACP

Verified

Verified

With my brother diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia nearly 30 years ago, I have personal experience of the family sacrifices and struggles related to the pain and stigma of mental illness. Having since, committing my life to the improvement of people's emotional fitness and mental resilience, with support from organisations such as SANE and MIND, my own journey has allowed me to discover the true benefits of therapy first-hand. Personal therapy is proving invaluable for people to manage certain difficult or crisis situations in their lives and so transform their problems into major opportunities for personal growth.

Virginia E Toole

Psychotherapist, DCounsPsych, MBACP

Verified

Verified

Do you feel ripped apart and shaken to your core? You don't want to be a burden to your friends and you can't talk to family, it's all so overwhelming. The deepest pit of despair and hurt, mixed emotions, anguish, anger, confusion, barely coping with intense non- stop life changes. Loss of family, partner or treasured friend, sudden or chronic illness, even loss of the person you used to be! Aging, guilt about lifestyle, fear of a new job and moving... The prickly heartache from losing your beloved pet. You don't even have the strength to take the next step, to pull yourself through while trying to reach your old self.

Indigo Tree Counselling & Coaching Consultancy

Counsellor, MA, MBACP

Verified

Verified

In private practice, I work with individuals, groups and organisations. My therapeutic style is embedded in relationship and engagement. Therefore if you experience challenges with relationship or communication, this is my strength. Following 20 years of experience within NHS, private practice and educational organisations I utilize somatic psychology, human development and potential along with creative methodologies. Ultimately, uncovering potential, dealing with unhelpful behaviours.

Shaun Noteman

Counsellor, MNCPS Accred

Verified

Verified

As a professional mental health therapist i utilise a range of interventions including counselling, psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, CBT, DBT, EMDR. To support and provide therapy. My work and life experience means i am able to relate well and work with sufferers of anxiety, depression, trauma, mood disorders and developmental disorders such as ADHD, ADD, Spectrum disorders. Additionally, i provide therapy for OCD, phobias and other behavioural issues.

Zahida Abbas

Counsellor, MA, MBACP Accred

Verified

1 Endorsed

Initial Consultation Making sure you feel comfortable is my main priority, so you are always free to give me a call before booking your first therapy session. Please don't hesitate to share your concerns or ask any questions during this chat. Therapy, after all, is a two-way process, and the more you put into it, the more you get out. I will also walk you through what to expect from our sessions together and, if you wish, provide you with a copy of the Ethical Principles on which my practice is built ahead of scheduling your first assessment session. This assessment session involves us looking at your history and broader issues.

Becky Heidi Rodrigues

Counsellor, DCounsPsych, BACP

Verified

Verified

I'm an Integrative Psychotherapist, Counsellor & Life Coach for adults & young people who struggle with self-doubt, comparison, overthinking or anxiety & are therefore feeling disempowered in one or many aspects of their lives. Typically the clients I work with feel consumed, limited & held back by their thoughts, feelings, fears, insecurities or unhealthy patterns & therefore lack confidence in themselves & their relationships. I offer you a space to explore & deepen your understanding of yourself so that you can feel empowered & confident in your inner & outer world.

The Growth Room

Psychotherapist, MBACP Accred

Verified

Verified

I have 25 years experience of working with various groups of people of all ages within various settings such as schools, colleges, hospitals and Women's refuges. I work with in an Integrative Model which means I can tailor your therapy to suit your needs. I am able to move at a pace with which you feel comfortable allowing you the time and space you may need to give you a better understanding of what is happening for you.

Georgia Short

Counsellor, BACP

Verified

Verified

Life can be challenging do you feel you're not coping you may feel anxious, angry or low. You might be stuck in a circle of over thinking; I am here to help and ultimately offer a safe environment. I have also been where you are which has given me a deep understanding, I have trained in a broad spectrum of therapy's including psychodynamics, cognitive behaviour therapy and transactional analysis to name a few but to me everyone is an individual so I will tailor the therapy to YOUR needs if you feel that now is the time to take those steps towards a happier you, don't hesitate to get in touch.

At One Relationship Therapy

Counsellor, MBACP

Verified

Verified

Having problems with relationships? Either the relationship you have with yourself, your partner or your relationship as a parent? Or are you worried about one of your children? If you're struggling in any of these areas and finding that your mind is pre-occupied with troubling thoughts and it's getting in the way of normal enjoyment then I can assure you that it doesn't have to be this way.

Luz Locatelli Dalimier

Psychotherapist, PhD, MBACP Accred

Verified

Verified

My ideals clients are mainly Adults, Couples, EAP, Families, Groups, Older adults, Organisations, Trainees, athletes and Young people.

Alison Ralph Therapy

Counsellor, MNCPS Accred

Verified

Verified

Are you struggling with your day to day life in some way and are not sure which way to turn? Maybe you feel that you could make some changes to the way you think and feel but are stuck in those old ways? It might be that you just need someone to talk to outside of friends, family and colleagues. If this is you, then I can provide a relaxing, confidential place where you will feel listened to and understood. Working together we can help you to make realisations and find solutions.

James Donaldson Therapy

Psychotherapist, MSc, MBACP

Verified

Verified

Thanks for checking out my profile. Having delivered therapy to the Armed Forces community and NHS over the past 20 years I have had the privilege of supporting a broad range of people and their difficulties. Whether struggling with the impacts of earlier trauma, with the stuck feeling of unhappiness, or the fears of facing an uncertain future, I believe that finding acceptance of who you are is how we open the door to healing. I also look to enable you to find the goodness that lies within and to use this to live a more meaningful and rewarding life. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or to arrange a consultation.

Crystal Counselling Services

Counsellor, MBACP

Verified

Verified

It takes courage to seek support when you are finding life difficult and you have taken the first step. Maybe you're feeling stuck, struggling to cope with everyday life, feeling anxious, stressed or grieving a loved one, possibly dealing with childhood trauma, issues with your past and present relationships, work related issues or lacking in confidence and pleasing everyone but yourself. Seeking support through a counsellor who is impartial and talking about what is troubling you, can enable you to begin to heal, learn to regain a sense of comfort and peace and help you to find your authentic self

Louise Anne Henderson

Counsellor, MBACP

Verified

1 Endorsed

I am a Counsellor working from a Person Centred approach integrating Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Psychodynamic approaches. I provide a safe, professional and confidential space to help support clients and facilitate change during challenging times. I provide services that are unique to your individual needs and can create a bespoke combination of therapies that include Counselling, Coaching and Mindfulness. Services can help you feel empowered, make changes, identify & face challenges head on, gain control over your life, provide greater insight & perspective whilst learning coping strategies and encourage a positive mindset.

Virginia Toole

Counsellor, MBACP

Verified

Verified

Do you feel ripped apart and shaken to your core? You don't want to be a burden to friends and can't talk to family, it is all so overwhelming. The deepest pit of despair and hurt, mixed emotions, anguish, anger, confusion, barely coping with intense non-stop life changes. Loss of family, partner or treasured friends, sudden or chronic terminal illness, loss of the person you used to be, ageing, guilty lifestyle, fear of a new job and moving, or the prickling heartache from loss of your pet. You don't even have the strength to take the next step, to pull yourself through while trying to reach your old self. You need a safe space.

Nathan Alexander

Counsellor, MSc, MNCPS Prof Accred

Verified

2 Endorsed

I am a trauma-informed, integrative therapist with NHS experience. Being trauma-informed means that I use a specific approach to therapy that recognizes and emphasizes understanding how the traumatic experience impacts a person's mental well-being. This type of therapy is rooted in understanding the connection between the trauma experience and the person's emotional and behavioural responses. Being integrative means that I can work at your pace with a wide variety of skills tailored to suit you. I am aware that therapy is not a "one size fits all" and I pride myself in working with you to reconnect you with your values in life

Baldwin Therapy EMDR, Counsellor, CBT, Supervisor

Counsellor, MBACP

Verified

Verified

Baldwin Therapy offer EMDR, Counselling, CBT, Professional Supervision and training which can be delivered as face to face or online. Our therapists have over 22 years' experience of working with a wide range of mental health difficulty including anxiety and depression. The therapists work alongside the NHS, Private sector, the local authority and Education. A FREE 15 minute telephone consultation to discuss your needs and to look at what therapy would be best is available on request. Baldwin Therapy have both Male and Female therapists.

Trauma Informed Psychotherapy - Tranam MBACP

Psychotherapist, MBACP

Verified

Verified

I am a trauma informed humanistic integrative psychotherapist, with over 10 years experience working with children and adults. I have been fortunate enough to have a large scope of practise, that has spanned over several years from; university counsellor, working with refugees, medical insurance and NHS settings. I work with a broad range of presenting problems . My training and my approach is rooted in evidence based practices, from neuroscience to somatic practices, as-well as being culturally affirming and solution- focused.

Thomas Moffett

Counsellor, MNCPS Prof Accred

Verified

1 Endorsed

Every person is unique and deserves a unique service, life maybe difficult at the present moment but that does not have to define who you are. Daily struggles can overwhelm us and the pressures can become unbearable, the important thing is you don't have to deal with this alone. As your therapist I am here to listen and assist you in finding the answers deep within, allowing you to access the body's own amazing resources that can help change your current situation. I can call upon a range of different therapies in order for you to achieve this including brainspotting to work with trauma, in a safe non judgmental environment.

See more therapy options for Cumbria

Online Therapy

Neuro-Linguistic (NLP) Counsellors How does neuro-linguistic programming work? A therapist using Neuro-linguistic programming might start by building a strong rapport and gathering information about the client's objectives and any problem areas. Then the NLP therapist will employ NLP techniques to guide their client toward healthier thoughts and behaviours. Clients will learn how to better manage their moods and hone their communication skills. NLP will conclude with the therapist and client making a plan for how to integrate the positive changes into their daily life in the future. What are some techniques used in neuro-linguistic programming? NLP therapists often employ anchoring, so the client begins to automatically associate their trigger with a healthier response. Clients also learn how to reframe a situation to change the way they react to it for the better, and how to replace the negative beliefs that are holding them back. Many NLP clients practice visualisation or forming a mental image of themselves attaining their goals. Every NLP therapist will have their own preferred approach with specific techniques that they have found to be helpful for their clients. How long does neuro-linguistic programming take?

Since neuro-linguistic programming is not regulated, the length of treatment can vary greatly. Some therapists may only use NLP in a single session, while others may employ it over the course of weeks, months, or even years. It depends greatly on the type and severity of the problem being treated, as well as the individual client's response to NLP treatment.

Is neuro-linguistic programming evidence-based? While some people may find neuro-linguistic programming helpful, either in therapy or in their career or personal development, the science behind this approach is inconclusive. Most of the available studies are small in scale and have produced mixed results, and the commercial nature of NLP lends itself to conflicts of interest. More research is needed. In the meantime, practitioners must use their best judgment of whether NLP techniques will be helpful in meeting their clients' individual needs.

---