Stephen C. Levinson

My research focusses on language diversity and its implications for theories of human cognition. Language is the only animal communication system that differs radically in form and meaning across social groups of the same species, a fact that has been neglected in the cognitive sciences. My work attempts both to grasp what this diversity is all about, and to exploit it as a way of discovering the role that language plays in our everyday cognition.

Download CURRICULUM VITAE (PDF)

Selected Publications

Demonstratives in Cross-Linguistic Perspective (CUP, 2018)	Turn-Taking in Human Communicative Interaction (Frontiers Media, 2016)
Language, Thought, and Reality (MIT, 2012)	Roots of human sociality (Berg, 2006)
Grammars of space (CUP, 2006)	Evolution and culture (MIT, 2006)
Space in language and cognition (CUP, 2003)	Language acquisition and conceptual development (CUP, 2001)
Presumptive meanings (MIT, 2000)	Rethinking linguistic relativity (CUP, 1996)
Politeness (CUP, 1987)	Pragmatics (CUP, 1983)

 

Press

2020

• Levinson, S. C. (2020). On Technologies of the Intellect. 'Goody Lecture 2020', for the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. 2020-10-06. [click here to watch this talk]
• Levinson, S. C. (2020). The ‘interaction engine’: the evolution of the infrastructure for language. Huxley Lecture 2020, given on December 14 2020 in the BP Lecture Theatre, Clore Education Centre, the British Museum. [watch this talk on Youtube]
   

2017

• Levinson, S. C. (2017). Constructive suggestions for research with VITAL samples: The lessons from language research. Talk presented at 'Pressing Questions in the Study of Psychological and Behavioral Diversity', an Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium. Recorded at The Beckman Center. Irvine, CA, USA. 2017-09-09. [watch this talk on Youtube]
• Levinson, S. C. (2017). Cultural Diversity in an Age of Fear. Talk presented at 'Distinctive Voices', a Public Science Lecture Series of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Recorded at The Beckman Center. Irvine, CA, USA. 2017-09-07. [watch this talk on Youtube]
• Levinson, S. C. (2017). Processing in interactive language use offers clues to the evolution of language. Talk presented at the 30th Annual CUNY Conference on Human Sentence Processing. MIT, Boston. 2017-03-30 - 2017-04-01. [watch this talk on Youtube]

2016

• Levinson, S. C. (2016). Taking Turns in Conversation [Podcast]. In Word of Mouth: Series exploring the world of words and the ways in which we use them (BBC Radio 4). Retrieved from http://bbc.in/1nBWVpB. [listen]
• Levinson, S. C. (2016). The incredible thing we do during conversations [Interview]. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/01/the-incredible-thing-we-do-during-conversations/422439/. [listen]

2015

• Levinson, S. C. (2015).Turn-taking, language processing and the evolution of language [Keynote lecture]. [Video] Talk presented at Language Sciences Annual Symposium 2015. Cambridge, UK. 2015-11. [view]

2013

• Levinson, S. C. (2013). Exploring Language diversity: Wohin? [Keynote lecture]. Talk presented at the Language Documentation: Past – Present – Future Conference. Hannover, Germany. 2013-06-05 - 2013-06-05. [listen]

1993

• Levinson, S. C. (1993). Noord-Zuid-Links-Rechts [Interview for Dutch television programme Noorderlicht]. Netherlands: VPRO. [view]