Jonas Nölle

PhD Linguistics & English Language

Centre for Language Evolution (CLE)
Linguistics and English Language
School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences

Email: S1563961@sms.ed.ac.uk

Street: Dugald Stewart Building
City: 3 Charles Street, Edinburgh
Post code: EH8 9AD

Biography

Background

I am a PhD student at the Centre for Language Evolution in Edinburgh. Before, I studied Cognitive Semiotics in Aarhus, where I also worked as an RA in different projects associated with the Interacting Minds Centre. My undergraduate was in Language and Communication in Berlin (including training in psychology and [neuro]cognitive science). My main interests lie in the study of human interaction and communication. Specifically, how meaning is grounded in relation to others and the environment at hand, and how this can lead to the emergence of cultural conventions or linguistic structure. Other interests include social cognition/interpersonal coordination in general as well as spatial cognition.

Teaching & PhD supervision

Undergraduate teaching

LEL 1 - Introduction to Linguistics & English Language

Introduction to Cognitive Science

Postgraduate teaching

Origins and Evolution of Language (Hons. & MSc)

Introduction to Language Research (MSC R Labs)

Research

Research summary

In my PhD project, I investigate whether communication systems that emerge and evolve in joint interactions are sensitive/adapt to environmental affordances. Specifically, I consider the evolution of spatial communication systems and in which way conceptual strategies underlying them can be influenced by ecological factors. For this, I combine an experimental semiotics approach with modern Virtual Reality technology.

If you are an MSc student and interest in VR or spatial language, give me a shout via email. I'm always looking for interested people to test experimental paradigms and very open towards collaborations (e.g. for a master's project).