09.06.2026 Peter Hagoort

Language is a central feature of human uniqueness. Undeniably members of the species homo sapiens produce and understand speech, and many of them can read and write. They do this in quite different varieties. The sound repertoires of the more than 7000 languages that are still around today vary widely, as do their grammatical structures, and the meanings that their lexical items code for. It is equally undisputable that the human brain provides the shared neurobiological infrastructure for our language skills. This infrastructure requires the contribution of multiple neural networks, some more specialized for language than others. In addition, there is substantial neural plasticity that enables the accommodation of language variation and individual variation in language skills. I will discuss the brain’s infrastructure for this uniquely human capacity from a multiple neural networks perspective. Next to the neuro-architectural features I will discuss the neuro-functional aspects of language processing. I will also discuss fMRI results that indicate the insufficiency of the Mirror Neuron Hypothesis to explain language understanding. Instead, understanding the message that the speaker wants to convey requires the contribution of the Theory of Mind network. Finally, I will illustrate why it is hard to give a good presentation.