Carstens | Linguistic Inquiry

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Vicki Carstens’s article “Nguni bare nouns: licensing without Case” has just appeared online ahead of its print publication in Linguistic Inquiry. Congratulations, Vicki!

Abstract: Nguni bare or augmentless([–A]) nominals are licit only as strict negative dependents and wh-words. They may not appear in a preverbal subject position unless local to a negation-licensed [–A] complementizer of a subjunctive clause (Pietraszko 2021). This pattern motivates an analysis in terms of negative concord and a labeling theory approach to the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) (Chomsky 2013): [–A] nouns have uninterpretable negation features that thwart agreement and labeling in [XP, YP] configurations (see also Bošković 2019, 2020 on uninterpretable features and labeling problems) unless valued by interpretable negation in a syntactic Agree relation (Zeijlstra 2008, Haegeman and Lohndal 2010, Penka 2011). A cluster of further distributional restrictions on [–A] nominals are predictable from an independently motivated Nguni clausal topography of focus (Carstens and Mletshe 2016), eliminating any role for abstract Case in explaining the facts, contra Halpert 2015 and Pietraszko 2021. The analysis is inspired by and extends to parallel restrictions in Romance languages previously attributed to the Empty Category Principle and the EPP (Contreras 1986, Longobardi 1994, Déprez 2000, Landau 2007).

Sad news: Janet Dean Fodor

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We are very sad to share the news that Janet Dean Fodor has passed away.

Janet was a faculty member in the UConn Department of Linguistics from 1973 until 1986, when she took up a position as Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is widely praised for her fundamental work in establishing the field of human sentence processing, and the CUNY/HSP conference. Her research contributions and her mentorship have been highly influential, thought-provoking, and long-lasting. She was also kind, supportive, thoughtful, and generous. She will be sorely missed.

More information about her life and work can be found at https://www.gc.cuny.edu/people/janet-dean-fodor and https://janetdeanfodor.wordpress.com/

UConn Linguistics at SuB

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Sinn und Bedeutung 28, hosted by Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), is taking place September 5-8, 2023. UConn linguistics will be well represented at the conference, with the following talks:

  • Muyi Yang (UConn 2023, now at Osaka University). Back to Boolean: Rethinking clausal conjunctions in attitude ascriptions
  • Yu Hashimoto, Yusuke Yagi, and Hajime Mori. Dynamics and alternatives in unconditionals
  • Yusuke Yagi. Local context of logical connectives is not universal: A case study of Japanese disjunction
  • Adina Bleotu, Rodica Ivan, Gabriela Bîlbîie, Mara Panaitescu, Monica Casa, Anton Benz, Lyn Tieu (UConn 2013, now at University of Toronto), & Andreea Nicolae. Multiple disjunctions in child Romanian: On the possible sources of conjunctive readings

… and the following poster presentation:

  • Magdalena Kaufmann, Stefan Kaufmann, Teruyuki Mizuno (UConn 2023, now at Ochanomizu University), and Muyi Yang. Problem solving with Japanese ‘beki’

 

Picture: UConn contingent at SuB 28

UConn Linguistics at workshops in Tokyo & Ogoto-Onsen

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The 2023 Tokyo Workshop on Computational and Theoretical Semantics took place at Ochanomizu University, Tokyo on July 21. UConn linguistics was represented at the workshop by:

  • Muyi Yang (PhD 2023, now Osaka University). Back to Boolean: rethinking clausal conjunctions in attitude reports
  • Teruyuki Mizuno (PhD 2023, now Ochanomizu University). Strategies for Anderson conditionals: their implications for the theory of O- and X-markings
  • Magdalena  and Stefan Kaufmann. Just in case? 
  • Stefan Kaufmann. Shifty if‘s iffy shifts

Muyi, Teru, Magda, and Stefan also took part in the Workshop in Semantics and Pragmatics at Komorebi in Ogoto-onsen, Shiga, July 24-25, where they presented Problem solving with Japanese “beki”.

(pictured: UConn linguistics contingent at the Ochanomizu University workshop)

    UConn Linguistics at the EGG

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    The Eastern Generative Grammar (EGG) summer school is taking place in Novi Sad, Serbia between July 24th-August 4th, and several UConn linguistics faculty and alumni are teaching courses at the summer school:

    If you are interested in attending the summer school, registration has been extended to July 7th (the registration fee including dorm accommodation for two weeks is 250 EUR. Students from post-soviet countries are eligible for the reduced fee 210 EUR)

    UConn Linguistics at the LSA Institute

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    The 71st LSA Linguistic Institute is taking place at UMass Amherst June 19th-July14th, and several UConn linguistics faculty and alumni are teaching courses at the institute:

     

    Jovović Defense

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    Ivana Jovović successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled Pronouns at the interface of syntax and discourse structure on Thursday June 22nd!.

    Congratulations, Ivana!

    Ivana during the defense:

    Dr. Jovović with her committee after the successful defense:

    Dr. Jovović cutting her well earned cake: