Language Science Reading Groups

Maryland Language Science Center Thursday, February 19, 2026 - May 14, 2026 H.J. Patterson Hall, 2130

Join us every other Thursday for Language Science Reading Groups. This semester, we will offer two different reading groups happening concurrently. Learn more about our reading groups below.

Don't be late, lunch is served at 12:15 PM and discussion begins at 12:30 PM.

Language Production and Mental Representations
Discussion leaders: Allison Dods, Sathvik Nair, Carmen Tang, and Utku Turk (LING)

This reading group will explore research questions related to this year's Mayfest workshop on language production: What are the data structures that support fluent production? What cognitive processes underlie their use? What are the evolutionary, neurobiological, and developmental origins of our production abilities? Each paper is by a researcher who has been invited to speak at Mayfest, so we hope to engage with your perspectives around language productions from different disciplines, and encourage you to attend Mayfest to represent our language science community!

Readings

February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
February 19th: Vicente, A., & Collins, J. (2025). The expression of thoughts: on Levelt's 'message' and thinking in lexical concepts. Philosophical Psychology, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2025.2609897 (RSVP to receive PDF of paper!)
Session: Linguistic creatures think in lexical concepts
When we go to say something, do we first think in some abstract, non-linguistic way and then translate that into words (as Levelt's classic model proposes), or do we actually think in a lexical format, corresponding to morphemes of the language we speak?
March 5th: TBA
March 26th: TBA
April 9th: TBA
April 30th: TBA
May 14th: TBA

Early language access for deaf/HOH children in hearing families
Discussion leaders: Deborah Chen Pichler (Gallaudet), Tonia Bleam (LING), others TBD

An estimated 210 deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children are born in Maryland every year, 90-95% of them to hearing families who have never met a deaf person before. Among the pressing challenges these families face is the decision of which language(s) to use with their DHH child: spoken English through hearing technology like cochlear implants? a natural sign language like ASL? both? As the home to the Maryland Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence, an expanding ASL program, and collaborations in sign language linguistics with nearby Gallaudet University, UMD can offer many resources for parents of DHH children as they navigate the daunting questions of language choice. This reading group will explore the diverse perspectives represented in the UMD community and discuss how we can work together to ensure early language access for all DHH children in MD.

February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
March 5th: Terrin N. Tamati, David B. Pisoni, Aaron C. Moberly. 2022. Speech and Language Outcomes in Adults and Children with Cochlear Implants. Annual Review Linguistics. 8:299-319. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031220-011554
Session: Overview of the variable outcomes for children with CIs
March 26th: TBA
April 9th: TBA
April 30th: TBA
May 14th: TBA

Event Dates

Thursday, February 19, 2026 - May 14, 2026

Thursday, Feb 19, 2026 12:15 pm
02/19/26 12:15:00 02/19/26 13:30:00 America/New_York Language Science Reading Groups
Join us every other Thursday for Language Science Reading Groups. This semester, we will offer two different reading groups happening concurrently. Learn more about our reading groups below.
Don't be late, lunch is served at 12:15 PM and discussion begins at 12:30 PM.
Click here to RSVP
Language Production and Mental Representations
Discussion leaders: Allison Dods, Sathvik Nair, Carmen Tang, and Utku Turk (LING)
This reading group will explore research questions related to this year's Mayfest workshop on language production: What are the data structures that support fluent production? What cognitive processes underlie their use? What are the evolutionary, neurobiological, and developmental origins of our production abilities? Each paper is by a researcher who has been invited to speak at Mayfest, so we hope to engage with your perspectives around language productions from different disciplines, and encourage you to attend Mayfest to represent our language science community!
Readings
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- February 19th: Vicente, A., & Collins, J. (2025). The expression of thoughts: on Levelt's 'message' and thinking in lexical concepts. Philosophical Psychology, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2025.2609897 (RSVP to receive PDF of paper!)
  Session: Linguistic creatures think in lexical concepts
  When we go to say something, do we first think in some abstract, non-linguistic way and then translate that into words (as Levelt's classic model proposes), or do we actually think in a lexical format, corresponding to morphemes of the language we speak?
- March 5th: TBA
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
Early language access for deaf/HOH children in hearing families
Discussion leaders: Deborah Chen Pichler (Gallaudet), Tonia Bleam (LING), others TBD
An estimated 210 deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children are born in Maryland every year, 90-95% of them to hearing families who have never met a deaf person before. Among the pressing challenges these families face is the decision of which language(s) to use with their DHH child: spoken English through hearing technology like cochlear implants? a natural sign language like ASL? both? As the home to the Maryland Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence, an expanding ASL program, and collaborations in sign language linguistics with nearby Gallaudet University, UMD can offer many resources for parents of DHH children as they navigate the daunting questions of language choice. This reading group will explore the diverse perspectives represented in the UMD community and discuss how we can work together to ensure early language access for all DHH children in MD.
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- March 5th: Terrin N. Tamati, David B. Pisoni, Aaron C. Moberly. 2022. Speech and Language Outcomes in Adults and Children with Cochlear Implants. Annual Review Linguistics. 8:299-319. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031220-011554
  Session: Overview of the variable outcomes for children with CIs
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
H.J. Patterson Hall false
Thursday, Mar 05, 2026 12:15 pm
03/05/26 12:15:00 03/05/26 13:30:00 America/New_York Language Science Reading Groups
Join us every other Thursday for Language Science Reading Groups. This semester, we will offer two different reading groups happening concurrently. Learn more about our reading groups below.
Don't be late, lunch is served at 12:15 PM and discussion begins at 12:30 PM.
Click here to RSVP
Language Production and Mental Representations
Discussion leaders: Allison Dods, Sathvik Nair, Carmen Tang, and Utku Turk (LING)
This reading group will explore research questions related to this year's Mayfest workshop on language production: What are the data structures that support fluent production? What cognitive processes underlie their use? What are the evolutionary, neurobiological, and developmental origins of our production abilities? Each paper is by a researcher who has been invited to speak at Mayfest, so we hope to engage with your perspectives around language productions from different disciplines, and encourage you to attend Mayfest to represent our language science community!
Readings
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- February 19th: Vicente, A., & Collins, J. (2025). The expression of thoughts: on Levelt's 'message' and thinking in lexical concepts. Philosophical Psychology, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2025.2609897 (RSVP to receive PDF of paper!)
  Session: Linguistic creatures think in lexical concepts
  When we go to say something, do we first think in some abstract, non-linguistic way and then translate that into words (as Levelt's classic model proposes), or do we actually think in a lexical format, corresponding to morphemes of the language we speak?
- March 5th: TBA
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
Early language access for deaf/HOH children in hearing families
Discussion leaders: Deborah Chen Pichler (Gallaudet), Tonia Bleam (LING), others TBD
An estimated 210 deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children are born in Maryland every year, 90-95% of them to hearing families who have never met a deaf person before. Among the pressing challenges these families face is the decision of which language(s) to use with their DHH child: spoken English through hearing technology like cochlear implants? a natural sign language like ASL? both? As the home to the Maryland Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence, an expanding ASL program, and collaborations in sign language linguistics with nearby Gallaudet University, UMD can offer many resources for parents of DHH children as they navigate the daunting questions of language choice. This reading group will explore the diverse perspectives represented in the UMD community and discuss how we can work together to ensure early language access for all DHH children in MD.
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- March 5th: Terrin N. Tamati, David B. Pisoni, Aaron C. Moberly. 2022. Speech and Language Outcomes in Adults and Children with Cochlear Implants. Annual Review Linguistics. 8:299-319. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031220-011554
  Session: Overview of the variable outcomes for children with CIs
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
H.J. Patterson Hall false
Thursday, Mar 26, 2026 12:15 pm
03/26/26 12:15:00 03/26/26 13:30:00 America/New_York Language Science Reading Groups
Join us every other Thursday for Language Science Reading Groups. This semester, we will offer two different reading groups happening concurrently. Learn more about our reading groups below.
Don't be late, lunch is served at 12:15 PM and discussion begins at 12:30 PM.
Click here to RSVP
Language Production and Mental Representations
Discussion leaders: Allison Dods, Sathvik Nair, Carmen Tang, and Utku Turk (LING)
This reading group will explore research questions related to this year's Mayfest workshop on language production: What are the data structures that support fluent production? What cognitive processes underlie their use? What are the evolutionary, neurobiological, and developmental origins of our production abilities? Each paper is by a researcher who has been invited to speak at Mayfest, so we hope to engage with your perspectives around language productions from different disciplines, and encourage you to attend Mayfest to represent our language science community!
Readings
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- February 19th: Vicente, A., & Collins, J. (2025). The expression of thoughts: on Levelt's 'message' and thinking in lexical concepts. Philosophical Psychology, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2025.2609897 (RSVP to receive PDF of paper!)
  Session: Linguistic creatures think in lexical concepts
  When we go to say something, do we first think in some abstract, non-linguistic way and then translate that into words (as Levelt's classic model proposes), or do we actually think in a lexical format, corresponding to morphemes of the language we speak?
- March 5th: TBA
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
Early language access for deaf/HOH children in hearing families
Discussion leaders: Deborah Chen Pichler (Gallaudet), Tonia Bleam (LING), others TBD
An estimated 210 deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children are born in Maryland every year, 90-95% of them to hearing families who have never met a deaf person before. Among the pressing challenges these families face is the decision of which language(s) to use with their DHH child: spoken English through hearing technology like cochlear implants? a natural sign language like ASL? both? As the home to the Maryland Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence, an expanding ASL program, and collaborations in sign language linguistics with nearby Gallaudet University, UMD can offer many resources for parents of DHH children as they navigate the daunting questions of language choice. This reading group will explore the diverse perspectives represented in the UMD community and discuss how we can work together to ensure early language access for all DHH children in MD.
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- March 5th: Terrin N. Tamati, David B. Pisoni, Aaron C. Moberly. 2022. Speech and Language Outcomes in Adults and Children with Cochlear Implants. Annual Review Linguistics. 8:299-319. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031220-011554
  Session: Overview of the variable outcomes for children with CIs
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
H.J. Patterson Hall false
Thursday, Apr 09, 2026 12:15 pm
04/09/26 12:15:00 04/09/26 13:30:00 America/New_York Language Science Reading Groups
Join us every other Thursday for Language Science Reading Groups. This semester, we will offer two different reading groups happening concurrently. Learn more about our reading groups below.
Don't be late, lunch is served at 12:15 PM and discussion begins at 12:30 PM.
Click here to RSVP
Language Production and Mental Representations
Discussion leaders: Allison Dods, Sathvik Nair, Carmen Tang, and Utku Turk (LING)
This reading group will explore research questions related to this year's Mayfest workshop on language production: What are the data structures that support fluent production? What cognitive processes underlie their use? What are the evolutionary, neurobiological, and developmental origins of our production abilities? Each paper is by a researcher who has been invited to speak at Mayfest, so we hope to engage with your perspectives around language productions from different disciplines, and encourage you to attend Mayfest to represent our language science community!
Readings
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- February 19th: Vicente, A., & Collins, J. (2025). The expression of thoughts: on Levelt's 'message' and thinking in lexical concepts. Philosophical Psychology, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2025.2609897 (RSVP to receive PDF of paper!)
  Session: Linguistic creatures think in lexical concepts
  When we go to say something, do we first think in some abstract, non-linguistic way and then translate that into words (as Levelt's classic model proposes), or do we actually think in a lexical format, corresponding to morphemes of the language we speak?
- March 5th: TBA
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
Early language access for deaf/HOH children in hearing families
Discussion leaders: Deborah Chen Pichler (Gallaudet), Tonia Bleam (LING), others TBD
An estimated 210 deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children are born in Maryland every year, 90-95% of them to hearing families who have never met a deaf person before. Among the pressing challenges these families face is the decision of which language(s) to use with their DHH child: spoken English through hearing technology like cochlear implants? a natural sign language like ASL? both? As the home to the Maryland Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence, an expanding ASL program, and collaborations in sign language linguistics with nearby Gallaudet University, UMD can offer many resources for parents of DHH children as they navigate the daunting questions of language choice. This reading group will explore the diverse perspectives represented in the UMD community and discuss how we can work together to ensure early language access for all DHH children in MD.
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- March 5th: Terrin N. Tamati, David B. Pisoni, Aaron C. Moberly. 2022. Speech and Language Outcomes in Adults and Children with Cochlear Implants. Annual Review Linguistics. 8:299-319. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031220-011554
  Session: Overview of the variable outcomes for children with CIs
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
H.J. Patterson Hall false
Thursday, Apr 30, 2026 12:15 pm
04/30/26 12:15:00 04/30/26 13:30:00 America/New_York Language Science Reading Groups
Join us every other Thursday for Language Science Reading Groups. This semester, we will offer two different reading groups happening concurrently. Learn more about our reading groups below.
Don't be late, lunch is served at 12:15 PM and discussion begins at 12:30 PM.
Click here to RSVP
Language Production and Mental Representations
Discussion leaders: Allison Dods, Sathvik Nair, Carmen Tang, and Utku Turk (LING)
This reading group will explore research questions related to this year's Mayfest workshop on language production: What are the data structures that support fluent production? What cognitive processes underlie their use? What are the evolutionary, neurobiological, and developmental origins of our production abilities? Each paper is by a researcher who has been invited to speak at Mayfest, so we hope to engage with your perspectives around language productions from different disciplines, and encourage you to attend Mayfest to represent our language science community!
Readings
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- February 19th: Vicente, A., & Collins, J. (2025). The expression of thoughts: on Levelt's 'message' and thinking in lexical concepts. Philosophical Psychology, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2025.2609897 (RSVP to receive PDF of paper!)
  Session: Linguistic creatures think in lexical concepts
  When we go to say something, do we first think in some abstract, non-linguistic way and then translate that into words (as Levelt's classic model proposes), or do we actually think in a lexical format, corresponding to morphemes of the language we speak?
- March 5th: TBA
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
Early language access for deaf/HOH children in hearing families
Discussion leaders: Deborah Chen Pichler (Gallaudet), Tonia Bleam (LING), others TBD
An estimated 210 deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children are born in Maryland every year, 90-95% of them to hearing families who have never met a deaf person before. Among the pressing challenges these families face is the decision of which language(s) to use with their DHH child: spoken English through hearing technology like cochlear implants? a natural sign language like ASL? both? As the home to the Maryland Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence, an expanding ASL program, and collaborations in sign language linguistics with nearby Gallaudet University, UMD can offer many resources for parents of DHH children as they navigate the daunting questions of language choice. This reading group will explore the diverse perspectives represented in the UMD community and discuss how we can work together to ensure early language access for all DHH children in MD.
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- March 5th: Terrin N. Tamati, David B. Pisoni, Aaron C. Moberly. 2022. Speech and Language Outcomes in Adults and Children with Cochlear Implants. Annual Review Linguistics. 8:299-319. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031220-011554
  Session: Overview of the variable outcomes for children with CIs
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
H.J. Patterson Hall false
Thursday, May 14, 2026 12:15 pm
05/14/26 12:15:00 05/14/26 13:30:00 America/New_York Language Science Reading Groups
Join us every other Thursday for Language Science Reading Groups. This semester, we will offer two different reading groups happening concurrently. Learn more about our reading groups below.
Don't be late, lunch is served at 12:15 PM and discussion begins at 12:30 PM.
Click here to RSVP
Language Production and Mental Representations
Discussion leaders: Allison Dods, Sathvik Nair, Carmen Tang, and Utku Turk (LING)
This reading group will explore research questions related to this year's Mayfest workshop on language production: What are the data structures that support fluent production? What cognitive processes underlie their use? What are the evolutionary, neurobiological, and developmental origins of our production abilities? Each paper is by a researcher who has been invited to speak at Mayfest, so we hope to engage with your perspectives around language productions from different disciplines, and encourage you to attend Mayfest to represent our language science community!
Readings
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- February 19th: Vicente, A., & Collins, J. (2025). The expression of thoughts: on Levelt's 'message' and thinking in lexical concepts. Philosophical Psychology, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2025.2609897 (RSVP to receive PDF of paper!)
  Session: Linguistic creatures think in lexical concepts
  When we go to say something, do we first think in some abstract, non-linguistic way and then translate that into words (as Levelt's classic model proposes), or do we actually think in a lexical format, corresponding to morphemes of the language we speak?
- March 5th: TBA
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
Early language access for deaf/HOH children in hearing families
Discussion leaders: Deborah Chen Pichler (Gallaudet), Tonia Bleam (LING), others TBD
An estimated 210 deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children are born in Maryland every year, 90-95% of them to hearing families who have never met a deaf person before. Among the pressing challenges these families face is the decision of which language(s) to use with their DHH child: spoken English through hearing technology like cochlear implants? a natural sign language like ASL? both? As the home to the Maryland Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence, an expanding ASL program, and collaborations in sign language linguistics with nearby Gallaudet University, UMD can offer many resources for parents of DHH children as they navigate the daunting questions of language choice. This reading group will explore the diverse perspectives represented in the UMD community and discuss how we can work together to ensure early language access for all DHH children in MD.
- February 5th: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
- March 5th: Terrin N. Tamati, David B. Pisoni, Aaron C. Moberly. 2022. Speech and Language Outcomes in Adults and Children with Cochlear Implants. Annual Review Linguistics. 8:299-319. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031220-011554
  Session: Overview of the variable outcomes for children with CIs
- March 26th: TBA
- April 9th: TBA
- April 30th: TBA
- May 14th: TBA
H.J. Patterson Hall false