Peter W. Culicover, Humanities Distinguished Professor in the Department of Linguistics, has been a prominent figure in linguistics for more than three decades. He has made substantial contributions to the theory of grammar, the grammatical analysis of English, and to the study of language and language acquisition in cognitive science.

Culicover is one of two recipients of the 2009-10 University Distinguished Lecture Award. His lecture on “Grammar and Complexity: Language at the Intersection of Competence and Performance,” is Wednesday, March 3 at 4 p.m. in Saxbe Auditorium, Drinko Hall, 55 W. 12^th Ave. He will focus on two questions:

• How is it that languages show such regular patterns, given there is so much idiosyncrasy? and
• How is it that languages show so much idiosyncrasy and variability, given that there is such regularity?

Nominees praise Culicover’s ability to present his ideas with clarity, in a way that is dynamic, entertaining, and accessible, while remaining intellectually honest.

“The University Distinguished Lecture Award gives me a special opportunity to reflect on where I’ve been and what I’ve learned about language and how it is represented in the human mind,—to tell a story that’s understandable to a broader audience,” Culicover said.

He explained that linguistics is a relatively small discipline that is not always well-understood. “I hope the lecture will give people a sense of how linguists and cognitive scientists think about things.”

Recognition for Culicover’s work is nothing new. In 2006, he received the prestigious Humboldt Research Prize for his far-reaching contributions to the fields of theoretical linguistics and cognitive science. He is also a past recipient of Ohio State’s Distinguished Scholar Award.

While he was Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Theoretical Linguistics at the University of Venice in 1997, he took the opportunity to learn Italian. After his return, wanting to become actively engaged in music, he started to study jazz piano.

New York native Culicover had played mandolin in a Bluegrass band when he lived there, and he later studied classical piano. But why jazz? “It is often said that language is a window into the mind. Jazz, and particularly jazz improvisation, offers us another window into the mind and how it’s structured.”

His 2005 invited article, “Linguistics, Cognitive Science, and All That Jazz,” for a special issue of the Linguistics Review, lays out an argument that the study of a cognitive system like jazz might serve as a model for the mental representation of language and other complex systems of knowledge. For the last ten years, he’s been studying jazz piano with a teacher in Columbus.

Culicover, who came to Ohio State in 1987, following faculty appointments at the University of California, Irvine and the University of Arizona, has held significant leadership positions at all academic levels. He was linguistics department chair at Arizona and Ohio State and director of the cognitive science program at all three.

A department colleague here has lauded him for not only excelling at the demands of administrative duties during his term as department chair, but also for continuing a vibrant research program and involvement in teaching, especially at the undergraduate level.

A few years ago, Culicover created a successful undergraduate course in language learning with his colleague, Elizabeth Hume, professor and current chair of the Department of Linguistics. What began as a series of powerpoint lectures for the course resulted in a textbook, Basics of Language for Language Learners. The book, co-authored with Elizabeth Hume, is about to be published by The Ohio State University Press.

Additionally, the two collaborated on developing and teaching a summer institute based on their book. “Linguistics Institute for Language Teachers” (LILT), a week-long program, is being offered for second summer in a row this year, and a new one-week program aimed at middle and high school students, “Summer Linguistics Institute for Youth Scholars,” (SLYIS) debuted last summer.

“I believe that people need to understand their own language on a practical

level, its sounds, words, and sentence structures. Understanding these basics and becoming familiar with how languages are similar and different can help to make someone a more effective language learner.”