Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize 2014: Artemis Alexiadou

The research group studies the human language faculty within the generative approach. This approach aims to identify the basic elements from which complex structures can be generated. The aim is to develop a general theory that reveals the rules and laws that govern the structure of particular languages, and the general laws and principles governing all natural languages. Generative grammar assumes that there is a dedicated human language ability, Universal Grammar, which is best studied through formalised models and theories. From this perspective, discovering the rules of language tells us something about human cognition. The primary focus and contribution of my team has been on theoretical modelling, i.e. providing the computational mechanisms that constitute human language. The Leibniz Prize will enable me to combine expertise in theoretical modelling with cutting-edge experimental methodology and work with multilingual speakers. This will be instrumental in testing the efficiency of linguistic models and promoting our understanding of language and cognition.