What is the relationship between language and thought? This question has long intrigued researchers across scientific fields. In this talk, Anna Ivanova will propose a framework for clarifying the language-thought relationship. She will introduce a distinction between formal competence—knowledge of linguistic rules and patterns—and functional competence—understanding and using language in the world. This distinction is grounded in human neuroscience, where a wealth of evidence indicates that formal competence relies on a set of specialized brain regions (“the language network”), whereas functional competence requires the use of multiple non-language-specific neural systems. She will then illustrate how the formal/functional competence distinction can help (a) delineate the functional architecture of the human brain and (b) understand the capabilities and limitations of today’s large language models. In both cases, she will primarily focus on general world knowledge, a functional competence domain where language and conceptual knowledge can be particularly tricky to disentangle.