Linguistics

The Linguistics Program supports basic science in the domain of human language, encompassing investigations of the grammatical properties of individual human languages, and of natural language in general. Research areas include syntax, semantics, morphology, phonetics and phonology.

The program encourages projects that are interdisciplinary in methodological or theoretical perspective, and that address questions that cross disciplinary boundaries, such as (but not limited to):

• What are the psychological processes involved in the production, perception, and comprehension of language?
• What are the computational properties of language and/or the language processor that make fluent production, incremental comprehension or rapid learning possible?
• How do the acoustic and physiological properties of speech inform our theories of natural language and/or language processing?
• What role does human neurobiology play in shaping the various grammatical properties of language?
• How does language develop in natural learning contexts across the life-span?
• What social and cultural factors underlie language variation and change?

Because NSF's mandate is to support basic research, the Linguistics Program does not fund research that takes as its primary goal improved clinical practice or applied policy, nor does it support work to develop or assess pedagogical methods or tools for language instruction.

Trimmed here, the full scope, expected outcomes and award criteria are on the official topic page ↗.