Spring Colloquia
The currently scheduled batch of colloqs:
| Feb 20 | Elliott Moreton (UNC) |
| Feb 27 | Anna Szabolcsi (NYU) |
| Mar 6 | Sigrid Beck (Tübingen) |
| Michael Wagner (Cornell/McGill) | |
| Apr 24 | Polly Jacobson (Brown) |
| May 1 | Jeff Lidz (Maryland) |
[Thanks Emily!]
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Other Ling Newsletters
07:02 (2009-01-29)
January 29, 2009
Obamaguistics
Peggy writes, "Change has come to linguists' public status", coins the somewhat unfortunate obamaguistics (Google: "Did you mean: obamagistics"; obamagistics has no matches), and provides three links to famous linguists in mainstream press:
- John McWhorter on Weekend Edition Saturday: Analyzing Obama's speech and cadence
- Geoff Nunberg in his usual post at Fresh Air: Analyzing the text of Obama's inaugural address
- Steven Pinker: Oaf of office (on Roberts' hypercorrection)
[Thanks Peggy!]
Prism of Grammar
Tom Roeper's Prism of Grammar has sold out of its hardcover print run, but it will appear in paperback on February 6, at the low, low price of only $12.95. The book has been used as a textbook, for courses in acquisition and general linguistics. Please do drop Tom a note if you've used the book in the classroom; he's keen to hear about novel applications.
Seminar on Phi-Features
Rajesh Bhatt is teaching a seminar on Phi features this semester. The course meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30-3:45, in Hasbrouck Lab Add 106. The Tuesday meetings are open to everyone; the Thursday meetings are only for those who are [+enrolled] or at least [+did the reading]. Here's the syllabus, and a course abstract too:
Phi-features (Person, Number, Gender) play an important role in linguistic theory. For example, the uninterpretable/interpretable distinction on phi-features is taken to be the driving force behind most syntactic operations in versions of the Minimalist Program. In this course, we will explore how the syntactic system manipulates phi-features giving rise to the phenomena of Agreement. We will also examine how there are significant distinctions between different kinds of phi-features. These differences become visible in a number of domains: in morphosyntax via agreement restrictions and the person-case constraint, and in semantics via constraints on interpretation. Our goal will be to develop an integrated understanding of the fundamental properties of phi-features. This will involve a proper appreciation of the asymmetries between the different kinds of phi-features and how these asymmetries might follow from the design of the basic syntactic primitives.
Seminar on Meaning and Intonation
Angelika Kratzer and Lisa Selkirk are co-teaching a seminar on meaning and intonation this semester. The course meets in the heart of the Ag school: Bowditch 209. The first half of each class is open to everyone; the second half of each class is a hands-on practicum. Check out the website for topics, readings, and class notes.
Seminar on Models of Phonological Learning
Joe Pater is teaching a phonology seminar this semester: Models of Phonological Learning. The course mets in Hasbrouck Lab Add 106. Check out the syllabus; here's Joe's description:
We'll be considering phonological acquisition mostly from the perspective of OT and related theories, but we'll also be considering other models of phonological learning, and will thus be reading fairly widely in the literature. The course will consist of discussions related to each week's readings. All are welcome, but the discussion may not make much sense if you don't do the reading beforehand. Along with phonologists, others interested more generally in acquisition and/or computational approaches to learning may find relevant things in the syllabus. I'll keep the syllabus updated at this web address, and will make sure that the all the readings have URLs soon. You only need to let me know that you are coming if you want to make sure to have your own copy of the handout!