Abstract

Language is a powerful communication tool that allows us to refer to and discuss conceptual categories at various levels of abstractness (e.g., cake vs. emotion) and specificity (e.g., cake vs. tiramisù or emotion vs. joy). However, previous research has often focused solely on abstractness or solely on specificity, with little attention paid to their interplay in conceptual processing, language acquisition, and dialogue.     

In this talk, I will discuss recent studies conducted within the ABSTRACTION ERC-funded project to address this gap. I will present a series of experimental evidence on: (1) the role of categorical specificity in explaining the so-called “concreteness effect” in semantic decisions; (2) the developmental trajectory of language-mediated abstraction skills and how these skills are modulated by semantics; (3) the conversational dynamics triggered by abstractness, and how these dynamics vary when categorical specificity is taken into account. Finally, I will highlight the potential benefits of integrating the study of semantics into dialogue research to enhance our understanding of how meaning is constructed and conveyed in human communication.

About the speaker

Caterina Villani, Research fellow, Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, University of Bologna

Caterina holds a Master’s in Philosophy and a PhD in Philosophy, Science, Cognition, and Semiotics, both at the University of Bologna. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bologna, working on the ABSTRACTION ERC-funded project (ERC-2021-STG-101039777), which investigates the mechanisms of abstraction in human language and cognition. During her doctoral studies, she was a visiting scholar at Frei Universität Berlin (DE), where she contributed to projects investigating prosody and pragmatic processes. She also conducted cross-disciplinary research examining the role of expertise in shaping legal and institutional concepts, collaborating with national (funded by ALMAIDEA, Dept of Law, University of Bologna) and international research projects (funded by RECOGNISE, Erasmus+ program).

Caterina’s work lies at the intersection of psychology and linguistics, with a particular focus on understanding abstract language and its use in conversations. She combines behavioral, psycholinguistic, and computational methods to explore the impact of individual, socio-cultural, and perceptual factors on conceptual representation, acquisition, and categorization. Her current research investigates how linguistic abstractness and specificity influence the comprehension and production of concepts in simulated dialogues, using both controlled experiments and ecological methods. During her postdoc, she actively contributed to educational and outreach initiatives that promoted innovative teaching methods and vocabulary learning practices, while also integrating gamification as a research tool to collect linguistic data from adults and children.

Free of charge - All are welcome