Knowledge, Language, Memory

In this workshop, we addressed the link between memory and language from a comparative perspective. In which way does language contribute to and influence the way we represent stored knowledge and how we retrieve it? We brought together a select group of researchers in linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, memory research and animal cognition to discuss the fundamental premises of the different fields of research, as well as experimental paradigms and possible avenues for future research.

Current evidence suggests that pre-linguistic children as well as animals already have semantic memory (factual knowledge) and that this kind of knowledge therefore is not necessarily propositional. In contrast, it is still an open question whether episodic memory (“what, where, when”) is a form of first-hand narration that is intricately linked to language.