Language comprehension

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Language comprehension and production is a distinctly human ability, yet the evolution of language remains poorly understood due to the distant timeline of our ancestors. This gap hinders progress in establishing a biological foundation for theories of language evolution. However, advancements over the past two decades have significantly enhanced our understanding of language as a species-specific biological system. New experimental techniques have facilitated the exploration of language and its use through a natural science lens. This book offers an overview of experimental research focused on language comprehension. A biological perspective unites the contributors, who share the belief that empirical research, informed by adaptable theories, can deepen our understanding of the language system. Each of the nine chapters addresses different aspects of language comprehension, including input processes, word recognition, sentence processing, and text processing. The contributors discuss structural representation and access to this representation, with one chapter dedicated to the neurobiological foundations underlying various components of the language comprehension process. This comprehensive exploration highlights the intricate interplay between biology and language understanding.