Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has launched the ‘Language and Cognition Laboratory’ (LC-Lab) to study India’s linguistic diversity through an interdisciplinary and technology-driven approach.
Established at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, this is the first lab in India that systematically engages with the country’s vast linguistic diversity through experimental linguistics.
The Language and Cognition Laboratory was inaugurated on 10th November 2025 by Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, in the presence of the Head of the HSS Department Prof. Rajesh Kumar and Faculty Coordinator Dr. Anindita Sahoo, Faculty, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras and other stakeholders. The lab will explore how humans perceive, process, and produce language using advanced experimental methods.
In the long term, it aims to contribute to the development of human-centred and linguistically aware AI systems, ensuring that India’s languages and cultures are represented in emerging technologies. This lab will work closely with the Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI), IIT Madras to explore the applications of AI methods to language and cognition research
Highlighting the need for such interdisciplinary research, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “Linguistics is increasingly moving toward empirical, data-driven inquiry, combining methodologies from the sciences and humanities. India needed a dedicated facility that integrated linguistic theory with modern experimental and computational tools. The Language and Cognition Lab was established to fill this gap—creating a space that connects linguistics, cognitive science, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, and contributes to the development of socially relevant, linguistically informed technologies.”
The Language and Cognition Laboratory (LC-Lab) will investigate how people process linguistic information by employing techniques such as eye-tracking and reaction-time studies. Its research focuses primarily on Indian languages, offering crucial insights into how grammar, voice, and sentence structure are understood and produced in multilingual contexts.
While ongoing projects study grammatical voice and copula constructions, upcoming work will examine dyslexia in Indian children, with the goal of improving educational outcomes and developing linguistically relevant teaching interventions.
Speaking about the lab, its Faculty Coordinator Dr. Anindita Sahoo said, “The Language and Cognition laboratory (LC-Lab) is dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary research in language and cognition through the use of technologies that reveal behavioural patterns and enable data-driven understanding of human interaction.”
The LC-Lab’s interdisciplinary framework integrates insights from science, technology, and the humanities to advance both academic research and technological innovation.
In the short term, the LC-Lab will conduct experimental research using eye-tracking technology to validate established linguistic theories in Indian languages. In the long term, it plans to integrate advanced neurocognitive techniques such as Electroencephalography (EEG) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
These tools will support comprehensive research in language, cognition, and computational modelling, while fostering collaboration with experts in psychology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence.
The lab is currently supported by IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation and Aspire Infolab, Hyderabad, which have contributed to its establishment and research infrastructure.
The inauguration was preceded by a symposium with a panel discussion titled ‘Language for thought: Exploring Interdisciplinary Dimensions’ where the introductory remarks were given by Prof. Balaraman Ravindran, Head, CeRAI. The panellists were Dr. Sanjiv Patjoshi (IPS), DGP, Prof. Vijayanthi Sarma, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay and Prof. Maria Teresa Guasti, Università degli Studi Milano-Bicocca, Italy.
The discussion was moderated by Prof. Sudharsan Padmanabhan, IIT Madras. The panel discussion explored how language interfaces with thought across multiple domains — from philosophy and psychology to technology, policy, and public life.