{"id":2155,"date":"2025-10-27T10:59:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T09:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/?p=2155"},"modified":"2025-10-27T11:50:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T10:50:28","slug":"newly-funded-rj-program-unexplored-linguistic-phenomena-mapping-and-documenting-the-frontiers-of-human-language-ability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/2025\/10\/27\/newly-funded-rj-program-unexplored-linguistic-phenomena-mapping-and-documenting-the-frontiers-of-human-language-ability\/","title":{"rendered":"Newly funded RJ program: Unexplored Linguistic Phenomena: Mapping and Documenting the Frontiers of Human Language Ability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-c91efd97 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--x-small);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--x-small)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harald-3.jpg\" alt=\"Harald Hammarstr\u00f6m\" class=\"wp-image-332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harald-3.jpg 480w, https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harald-3-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:67%\">\n<p>One of the Center&#8217;s PIs, Harald Hammarstr\u00f6m, starts a new project, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rj.se\/Nyheter\/2025\/humanistisk-och-samhallsvetenskaplig-forskning-tillfors-325-miljoner-kronor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">funded by Riksbankensjubileumsfond<\/a>. For the next 6 years, the team will dive headlong into the peripheries of human linguistic ability. It&#8217;s one of two RJ Programs funded this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Big congratulations!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>Linguistic diversity: a manifestation of human capacities and a footprint of history<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Abstract<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In this program, we explore the outer limits of human language ability. We break new ground by shifting the focus of linguistic research from the properties that languages \u200b\u200bhave in common to discovering and exploring exceptional linguistic phenomena that have so far eluded science. The world\u2019s linguistic diversity is far from fully mapped. Our knowledge of the full breadth of the human conceptual world \u2013 its \u201cdesign space\u201d \u2013 depends entirely on our discovering and investigating unknown and rare phenomena in the grammar and vocabulary of lesser-known languages. The task is urgent: unexplored languages \u200b\u200band linguistic phenomena are being lost at a breakneck pace. Drawing on our expertise in endangered language communities around the world, the program launches a groundbreaking agenda to discover the linguistic unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The program takes a broad approach to fundamental areas of the human conceptual world \u2013 time, space, person, and knowledge \u2013 but shines a light beyond the very limits of our current understanding. We open up new perspectives for comparative language research and enrich language theory with significant new insights. We document dwindling forms of human expression and develop a digital resource that preserves this language data for the future. The program places Sweden&#8217;s leading experts in language documentation and linguistic diversity at the centre of an international, interdisciplinary network of researchers. It supports a new generation of researchers in Sweden and abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gu.se\/nyheter\/outforskade-sprak-ska-vidga-var-syn-pa-mansklig-sprakformaga?fbclid=IwY2xjawNsJQ9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF3ZGdpZzBBYXhNclEycDJrAR5zqjUOvXTJ8rz7ClqofqC_6dbofsoYZ55OPbi9vRgFC_wFALjHPe_7UMv7TQ_aem_jcY3Zo-n4bBP38mLrbNWaQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Outforskade spr\u00e5k ska vidga v\u00e5r syn p\u00e5 m\u00e4nsklig spr\u00e5kf\u00f6rm\u00e5ga<\/a> (G\u00f6teborg universitet, in Swedish)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rj.se\/bidrag\/2025\/outforskade-sprakfenomen-kartlaggning-och-dokumentation-av-den-manskliga-sprakformagans-utmarker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Go to RJ webpage<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the Center&#8217;s PIs, Harald Hammarstr\u00f6m, starts a new project, funded by Riksbankensjubileumsfond. For the next 6 years, the team will dive headlong into the peripheries of human linguistic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,69,61],"tags":[17,178],"class_list":["post-2155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grants-funding","category-people","category-research","tag-linguistics","tag-rj-program"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2155"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2168,"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions\/2168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centerforthehumanpast.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}