Podcast episode 54: Neil Cohn on Speaking in Pictures

In this interview, Neil Cohn tells us about his theory that visual art and spoken language draw on the same underlying cognitive abilities.

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Intro and outro: Louis Armstrong on trumpet, “It don’t mean a thing…”

References for Episode 54

Cohn, Neil, and Joost Schilperoord. 2025. A Multimodal Language Faculty: A cognitive framework for communication. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

Cohn, Neil. 2026. Speaking in Pictures: A vision of language. London: Bloomsbury Academic. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/speaking-in-pictures-9781350402164/

Lerdahl, Fred, and Ray S. Jackendoff. 1985. A Generative Theory of Tonal Music. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Publishing.