Whamit!

MIT Linguistics was well represented at the recent Algonquian Conference, held at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Elora Cromarty (current student in the MITILI program), Peter Grishin (‘23, postdoc ‘23-‘25), Elise Newman (‘21, current faculty), Norvin Richards (‘97, faculty), and Cooper Roberts (current student in the doctoral program) all presented at the conference.

Elora gave a poster, and participated in a co-authored talk (with Joel Jansen, Grace Yang, and Antti Arppe), on her work with Swampy Cree – and also participated in a keynote panel discussion on “Youth in Leadership”. The other MIT-related participants presented their work with Passamaquoddy-Wolastoqey. Peter and Elise co-presented both a paper and a poster, and Norvin and Cooper each gave talks.

Norvin Richards writes: “The conference was both inspiring and educational, and we’re looking forward to putting what we’ve learned into practice.”

Conference program: https://algonquianstudies.org/ac58-program/

Speaker: Nikita Bezrukov (MIT)

Title: Building New Plurals from Old Morphology: Evidence from Armenian

Time: Thursday, October 22nd, 5pm - 6pm

Location: 32-D769



Abstract: Modern Armenian has two major productive plural suffixes, -er with monosyllabic stems and -ner with polysyllabic stems. These are commonly thought to be historically related, with -ner developing from an earlier sequence -ni-er. I use cross-dialectal evidence, especially from the Van–Shatakh area, to support this reconstruction and then ask how such a change should be modeled formally. Building on Diertani 2011, Alexiadou 2021, and Dali & Mathieu 2021, I treat the development as restructuring of Vocabulary Items over a largely stable nominal structure, involving affix migration, recutting, and changes in the distribution of competing plural exponents.

Speaker: Heidi Durresi (MIT)

Title: Phonetic and phonological sound changes in an agent-based model

Time: 5pm - 6:30pm

Location: 32-D831



Abstract: At this Phonology Circle I will discuss Gubian et al. (2023), an exemplar-based agent model of phonetic and phonological sound change. Speech data from populations of speakers is used to implement computational agents, the interaction of which can predict shifts and mergers. The design of individual agents is grounded in principles of exemplar theory (Johnson 1997, Pierrehumbert 2001), in which phonological categories emerge in learners from the mapping between words and phonetic exemplars. I will also discuss some examples comparing the predictions of the model and real sound change data, including that of Gheg Albanian (Kapia and Riverin-Coutlée 2024).

Speaker: Peter Grishin (Brown), Elise Newman (MIT), J. Cooper Roberts (MIT)

Title: What’s new with the Passamaquoddy Group?

Time: 10/15/2026, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: In this talk, we (the MIT Passamaquoddy Group) will each present some of our ongoing research on Passamaquoddy (Algonquian, Maine & New Brunswick). Topics include argument structure, the syntax-semantics of exclusive particles, and more. Hopefully, many of you will be inspired to join us!

1. Scope Condition
   a. A quantifier Q may covertly outscope an element S only if …
   b. An NPI must be in the scope of an element S such that …
   the reading that would result from the Q/NPI taking wide scope with respect to S does not entail the reading resulting from the Q/NPI taking narrow scope with respect to S.

Speaker: Suyeon Yun (Chungnam National University)

Title: Perceptual similarity and repair choice in Mongolian loanwords

Time: Tuesday October 13th, 5pm - 6:30pm

Location: 32-D831



Abstract: This study examines how perceptual similarity shapes the repair of initial consonant clusters in 355 Mongolian loanwords. Mongolian prohibits word-initial clusters but permits many medial clusters, providing a within-language test of competing, phonotactically acceptable repairs. Three patterns emerge: vowel insertion sites follow intensity patterns more closely than sonority; metathesis is restricted to clusters with a sonorant second consonant and is favored when the initial source syllable is unstressed, provided the resulting structure is permissible; and /s/-stop clusters consistently undergo prothesis, whereas /?/-stop clusters allow both prothesis and internal epenthesis. A P-map-based Optimality Theory analysis accounts for these patterns through faithfulness constraints reflecting the perceptibility of vowel insertion and segmental reordering, including differences between stressed and unstressed vowels and between the two sibilants. The study argues that perceptual similarity guides the choice among structurally acceptable repairs and that fine-grained perceptual distinctions can organize both epenthesis and metathesis within a single grammar.

Speaker: Lina In?iurait?-Noreikien? (Vilnius University)
Title: Derivational Transparency and Opacity in Borrowed Nouns
Time: Thursday, October 8th, 5pm - 6pm
Location: 32-D769

Abstract: Derivational relations in borrowed nouns have long attracted attention in Lithuanian
word-formation studies. However, relatively little research has systematically classified borrowed nouns according to their degree of derivational transparency. I examine borrowed nouns in contemporary Lithuanian from the perspective of derivational morphology. They can be divided
into two major categories: derivationally transparent and derivationally opaque. Derivationally
transparent nouns participate in a derivational opposition with independently attested base words and exhibit clear formal and semantic relations. By contrast, derivationally opaque nouns lack synchronically identifiable base words in Lithuanian and therefore do not participate in a
derivational opposition. Derivationally opaque nouns comprise two distinct subtypes: nouns with
bound stems that occur only in paired formations and nouns containing foreign formants that occur in isolation without corresponding pairs. Finally, I examine the semantic categorization of derivationally transparent and derivationally opaque borrowed nouns.

Time: Thursday, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461

Talk #1:

Speaker: Zhouyi Sun (MIT), Vlad Orlov (MIT), Oddur Snorrason (Queen Mary University of London)

Title: DD support at LF: On the last-resort nature of Distributed Deletion



Abstract: In this talk, we show that the interpretation of a discontinuously realized nominal (apparent left branch extraction; LBE) depends on the presence and attachment height of a parasitic-gap-containing (PG) adjunct licensed by it.

Building on Bondarenko and Davis (2023) who show than Russian LBE licenses parasitic gaps, we observe that in the absence of a relevant PG-licensing requirement, LBE obligatorily yields a split-scope interpretation with respect to an intervening scope-taking element (1a). Overt pied-piping of the corresponding nominal, by contrast, permits both high and low interpretations of the nominal restrictor (1b). Strikingly, this asymmetry disappears when a PG-containing adjunct attaches above the intervening operator: in this configuration, LBE and overt pied-piping have the same scope possibilities.

(1)

a.  [Skol?ko statej]1 Petja potreboval, ?toby ty otpravil t1
     How.many papers Peter required that you sent
     OK — papers require
     OK — require papers
b. Skol?ko3 Petja potreboval, ?toby ty otpravil [t3 statej]1
     How.many Peter required that you sent papers
     * — papers require
     OK — require papers

We argue that this interaction is problematic for adopting any single uniform analysis of LBE, whether in terms of direct subextraction, or distributed deletion. We propose instead that LBE has two competing derivations. Direct subextraction is preferred whenever possible, and blocks distributed deletion. Distributed deletion is available only as a last resort when required by an independent LF condition, such as PG licensing. We also show that this last-resort strategy is constrained by Economy Conditions, in that it moves only when necessary and only to the height necessary to satisfy the relevant LF requirement.

We further show that the same interaction is found in Icelandic and other languages and discuss additional LF conditions that force the distributed-deletion derivation. More generally, we propose that the last-resort nature of distributed deletion can be motivated by LF-requirements in addition to the previously established PF-constraints (e.g. Franks 1998, Bos?kovic? 2001).

Talk #2:

Speaker: Zhouyi Sun (MIT)

Title: Tigrinya gradable verbs: When verbalizers comparativize

Abstract: In Distributed Morphology, words are built syntactically from acategorial roots and categorizing functional heads such as v, a, and n (Halle & Marantz 1993, et seq.). In addition to determining syntactic category, categorizers may contribute semantic content. For verbalizers, previous work has focused primarily on meanings associated with argument structure and event structure (e.g. Arad 2005, Harley 2009). The range of possible meanings verbalizers can contribute remains an open question.

This work takes comparative meaning as a case study. A potential connection between verbalization and comparative meaning has been suggested by degree achievements (e.g. worsen; Bobaljik 2012: 171–172, 205–207), English out-comparatives (e.g. outweigh; Ahn 2022), and Mandarin transitive comparatives (schematically, ‘John tall Mary 5cm’; Grano & Kennedy 2012). Yet in these cases, it remains unclear whether the relevant comparative operator is contributed by a verbalizer. I suggest Tigrinya (Ethio-Semitic) offers a useful case for investigating this possibility: its gradable roots exhibit a systematic, category-conditioned positive-comparative opposition. Their adjectival forms have positive interpretations, as in b?lla? ‘smart’, whereas their verbal forms have comparative interpretations, as in t?-b?ll?? ‘she is smarter’. I show that the relevant forms are morphosyntactically verbal and semantically comparative, and argue that the comparative operator is contributed by the verbalizer. The analysis thus identifies comparison as a possible semantic contribution of verbal categorization.

For our Phonology Circle this Monday (10/5), we will be hearing two AMP practice talks from Hani Na’eem (MIT) and Chelsea Tang (MIT).

Time: Monday, October 5 5pm-6:30pm

Location: 32-D831

Speaker #1: Hani Na’eem (MIT)
Title: The nature of emphasis spread in Jordanian Arabic
Abstract: 

In this practice for an AMP poster presentation, I will give a summary of my work on the phenomenon of emphasis spread (ES) in Jordanian Arabic (JA). ES is a process whereby emphatics, coronals with a secondary constriction near the uvula, lower the second formant (F2) of sounds in their context, most saliently backing low vowels which are otherwise front. Previous work on ES has documented a directional asymmetry of the effect: while vowels to the left of the emphatics have their F2 uniformly lowered regardless of distance and the consonantal context, the effect on following vowels gradually fades out with distance and, in some descriptions, is blocked by high segments. The gradience of the rightward effect led to varying accounts with respect to the domain of spreading and/or the nature of the mechanism that gives rise to the effect. Some analyses (Davis 1995; Herzallah 1990; Jaber et al. 2019; McCarthy 1997; Younes 1982, 1993) posit a phonological account of rightward [rtr] harmony with various restrictions on its domain of application; others (Zawaydeh 1999; Zawaydeh & de Jong 2002) argue that ES is a ‘phonetic’ rather than a ‘phonological’ process.

Based on acoustic data from a production experiment, I argue that (i) emphatics spread [rtr] non-iteratively to two vowels to the right of the trigger, (ii) that the effect on the second vowel to the right does not reduce to a purely phonetic/coarticulatory mechanism, and (iii) that the observed gradience/smaller acoustic effect on this distant vowel is due to anticipatory coarticulation with the following context, which is outside the direct purview of the ES process. Adopting Walker’s (2011) formalism, I analyze both leftward and rightward ES through licensing constraints that seek to maximally license [rtr] in the surrounding context. While the constraint responsible for leftward spreading is highly ranked, the one responsible for rightward spreading is dominated by a CrispEdge constraint that delimits the spreading domain which I propose – as a first approximation – is sensitive to foot structure. The resulting analysis captures the directional asymmetry in ES while allowing the gradient phonetic realization of rightward spreading to emerge from the interaction between a categorical feature-spreading process and independent coarticulatory mechanisms.

Speaker #2: Chelsea Tang (MIT)
Title: From Denasalization to Backcopying in Nyandarua G?k?y?: the Emergence of Base-Reduplicant Identity from Sound Change
Abstract:

This presentation examines how a historical change in the consonant inventory of Nyandarua G?k?y? gives rise to a new pattern of consonant backcopying. Earlier descriptions of G?k?y? document a consonant system with prenasalized voiced stops but no corresponding plain voiced stops, while Nyandarua and other northern and southern varieties have undergone the loss of prenasalization, resulting in only plain voiced stops (Ngure 2005). The two varieties also differ in reduplication. Both Standard and Nyandarua G?k?y? show templatic backcopying, where the reduplicant can affect the shape or vowel quality of the base, but consonant backcopying is found only in Nyandarua.

I argue that the emergence of consonant backcopying follows from the historical change in Nyandarua Gi?ku?yu? consonant inventory. Diachronic work in Optimality Theory models sound change through changes in constraint ranking (Jacobs 1995; Holt 2003, 2015; Lleó 2003), and many analyses show that a single instance of constraint reranking can have consequences for multiple (sometimes apparently unrelated) phonological processes (Holt 2003; Miglio & Morén 2003; Padgett 2003; Smith 2023; among others). Building on these accounts, I analyze the loss of prenasalized stops as a reranking of *NC and IO-Id[nas], such that *NC comes to dominate IO-Id[nas] in Nyandarua, while varieties that retain prenasalized stops have the IO-Id[nas] >> *NC grammar. In reduplication, templatic backcopying in both varieties establishes that BR-faith is active. However, the effect of BR-faith on consonants is masked by a higher-ranked IO-Id[nas] that preserves prenasalized stops in Standard G?k?y?. By contrast, in Nyandarua, the reranking of *NC and IO-Id[nas] responsible for denasalization also places IO-Id[nas] below BR-Id[nas], allowing consonant backcopying to surface. The historical loss of prenasalized stops therefore not only changes the consonant inventory, but also gives rise to consonant backcopying in Nyandarua G?k?y?.

We are delighted to announce that the paper “Scale-sensitivity of comparatives and measure phrase interpretations in Gitksan” by 5th-year student Yurika Aonuki has just been published in Semantics of Natural Languages. Congratulations, Yurika!

Here is the abstract:

This paper demonstrates that in Gitksan, measure phrases (MPs) occurring with relative gradable adjectives (GAs) like ’wii ’nakw ‘tall’ receive differential interpretations even in the absence of an overt comparative operator or an overt standard phrase, a pattern which has been only reported in Japanese (e.g., Snyder et al. 1995) and Korean (Oda 2008; contra Sawada and Grano 2011). In contrast, MPs occurring with minimum-standard GAs like k?’ak? ‘open’ receive absolute interpretations, as in many languages including Japanese (Sawada and Grano 2011). However, Gitksan differs from Japanese in two crucial ways. First, the distinction between relative and minimum-standard GAs is observed even without MPs: relative GAs can easily receive comparative interpretations on their own, while minimum-standard GAs cannot. Second, Gitksan has a morphologically free, overt morpheme k’aa, which can give rise to comparative readings with any GA and hence makes the possibility of a covert comparative operator less plausible. On a closer investigation, the comparative readings of relative GAs without k’aa show mixed behaviours of what have traditionally been called ‘explicit’ and ‘implicit’ comparatives (Kennedy 2007). I propose that these comparative readings arise from inherently context-sensitive denotations of relative GAs, building on Oda’s (2008) analysis of Japanese. The latter half of the paper examines the semantics of k’aa and analyzes it as a superlative morpheme, and highlights the role of consideration of alternatives to the subject in comparative readings observed without k’aa. 

The paper is open access: https://doi.org/10.16995/snl.29102

Speaker: Magdalena Lohninger (University of Salzburg)
Title: Form of a CP, meaning of a vP: Event complements in Austrian German
Time: Tuesday, September 29, 1:00pm - 2pm
Location: 32-D461

The talk investigates clausal complementation in Austrian German, focusing specifically on complement clauses under verbs like “try, begin, finish”. While such verbs select only infinitival complements in Standard German, they can take full CPs in Austrian German, giving rise to sentences such as (1):

1)   (1) Er hat versucht/angfangen/aufghört [ dass er des Auto repariert ]
    He has tried/started/finished [ that he the car repair.3sg ]
    He tried/started/finished to repair the car

Even though such complement clauses surface as full CPs, they are highly restricted in their interpretation: they exhibit obligatory control, their time-reference must be identical to the matrix time, they cannot express any other morphological tense value than present tense, they can receive an implicative reading under verbs like “forget”, and do not permit embedded V2 or interrogatives. Hence, their interpretation resembles an infinitive (or what Wurmbrand and Lohninger 2019 term an “Event” clause), rather than what we expect from a CP. Interestingly, these “fake” CPs freely alternate with genuine infinitival complements, raising a puzzle concerning the relationship between semantic selection and syntactic size.

Given that this is very recent work, I will focus primarily on the empirical findings, and hope to get some feedback on how to develop the more theoretical aspects.

Speaker: Christopher Legerme (MIT)
Title: Representation and Computation in Phonological Theory: Faust and Scheer (2025)
Time: , 5pm - 6:30pm
Location: 32-D831

Abstract: Before asking what rules or constraints a grammar needs, we need to know what kind of representations those computations should be operating over in the first place: “If the representations are right, then the rules will follow” (McCarthy 1988:84). I’ll be presenting Faust & Scheer’s (2025) work on the behavior of stem-final TR clusters in North-Eastern Creusois (NEC), using the paper to foreground a broader methodological question pertaining to the division of labor between representation and computation in phonological theory. NEC shows a noun/verb asymmetry in the repair of illicit stem-final TR clusters. The account of Faust & Scheer combines Strict CV representations with Optimality Theory (OT) to derive deletion in nouns and metathesis in verbs through non-transderivational morphological exponence that is followed by a completely regular phonological computation in which phonology doesn’t need to make reference to syntactic category (2025: 32). And so, we are brought to consider the broader architectural question of what a modular grammar might require of its interfaces. For Faust & Scheer, their study of the NEC pattern is only one contribution to a larger debate over whether phenomena that appear to require cross-modular information really force us to weaken certain assumptions about modularity, or whether they can instead be derived by reconsidering our phonological representations and how the different components of grammar get related to one another. Please note that, as the inaugural talk of the 2026-27 season of Phonology Circle, this presentation will be oriented primarily toward introducing the NEC data, which instantiate the kinds of patterns familiar from morphophonology more generally, and the basic concepts needed to follow the paper’s argument, including the relevant machinery of OT, Strict CV, and some background assumptions about Spell-Out that motivate the analysis, rather than toward adjudicating the broader theoretical debate. That said, any comments, thoughts, or questions will of course be very welcome.

Speaker: Eyal Marco (MIT), Roni Katzir (Tel-Aviv University), Ezer Rasin (Tel-Aviv University)
Title: The complementary-distribution challenge for phonological learning: The case of [h] and [?] in English
Time: , 12:30pm - 2pm
Location: 32-D461

Abstract: The distribution of [h] and [?] in English poses a well-known challenge for the structuralist assumption that segments in complementary distribution are allophones of the same phoneme. In this study, we show that this distribution also poses a challenge within generative linguistics, a challenge of explanatory adequacy. The challenge is to explain why the English-learning child does not acquire a grammar in which [h] and [?] are derived from the same underlying representation. The generative literature has not identified this as a problem, largely because of the assumption that [h] and [?] are too phonetically dissimilar to participate in an alternation. However, we argue that phonetic accounts do not eliminate the challenge. We discuss simplicity-based theories of learning and show that under naive representational assumptions, simplicity-based learners prefer to derive [?] from an underlying /h/, rather than a longer sequence of /ng/ (or an underlying /?/), and therefore make wrong predictions about English speakers’ knowledge. The same learners, however, make correct predictions when combined with a representational framework that assumes underspecification and lexical redundancy rules. We therefore conclude that the acquisition problem can be addressed using simplicity-based learning, and that the complementary distribution of [h] and [?] provides an argument for underspecification and lexical redundancy rules.

Speaker: Giovani Roversi (MIT)
Title: Applicative left behind?
Time: Tuesday, September 15, 1:00pm - 2pm
Location: 32-D461

 I will present you some curious data from Äiwoo that I’ve been banging my head on for a while. We will see a construction that functionally speaking seems to be a relative clear case of an applicative (i.e., it adds one DP argument to the argument structure of the verb, one that would’ve otherwise had to be expressed as a PP). However, the way it’s morphologically realized is rather puzzling, because it’s nowhere near where applicatives typically are found. Given what they do syntactically, applicative heads are usually in the lower theta domain of the clause (i.e., within vP/VoiceP). Therefore, by the Mirror Principle (Baker 1988)’s terms and conditions, applicative morphemes should be very close to the verb stem — and indeed they are, in most (all?) cases I know of. However, in the Äiwoo case, the particle that marks this “applicative” construction is realized somewhere else entirely. I will discuss a couple of hypotheses about what we could be looking at, and where they break. Put on your creative syntactician hats, and help me out!

Šišóka Bendickson: Háu Mitákuyepi. Šišókaduta emákiyapi dó. Hello my relatives. I am called Šišókaduta. You can shorten that to Šišóka. I am a first year student in the MITILI program. I am an enrolled tribal member from the Lake Traverse Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. I am an L2 speaker of the Santee Dakota dialect. There are no official estimates of how many Dakota speakers are left, but I would guess there are less than 300 L1 speakers. I studied Dakota language at the University of Minnesota and graduated with my BA in American Indian Studies. I worked with L1 speakers to improve my proficiency. Then I taught beginning and intermediate Dakota courses at the UMN for a decade. Before coming to MIT, I worked with Dakota and Lakota language non-profit organizations on dictionaries, classes, and learning materials. My goals are to document fluent speakers, create materials for the language community, conduct research, and work towards total revitalization of the Dakota language. During my time in the MITILI program I want to learn about linguistics generally, and more specifically about syntax and morphology. I want to apply the knowledge I gain at MIT towards my goals of documentation and revitalization of the Dakota language. I like to cook, spend time with my family, attend Dakota ceremonies, and travel. Tókšta akhé!

Mícheál Curtin [‘mih?l]: Beannachtaí an fhomhair oraibh! I am an Irish speaker and a first-year student on the MITILI program. Thus far, my career and training have been in applied theatre. For the last nine years I have been directing a drama education program for high school students in New York City, where I led a team of Actor/Teachers who use theatre as a teaching tool in public schools. In Ireland, I have led programming with elders and young people alike in support of the language revitalization movement there. I have an MA in Applied Theatre from CUNY. At MIT, I hope to gain skills that enrich my work in Ireland. I look forward to learning from other folks who have worked on revitalizing languages in other contexts. I’m originally from Brooklyn, NY and enjoy archery, Survivor, running, and board games. 

Mehment Can Dadan: Hi everyone, I am Can (he/him) with a [d?]. I am from Turkey and got my B.A. and M.A. in Linguistics from Bo?aziçi University. I am interested in phonetics and phonology, particularly in vowel harmony and stress. Other than linguistics, I enjoy watching films and talking/venting about them as well as photography. Nowadays, I am trying to learn how to play bass.

Churong Jin: Hi all! I’m Jin, originally from Beijing, China. I’m interested in semantics, and some topics that have been on my mind include neg-raising, event semantics, inquisitive semantics, and probability operators. Prior to joining MIT, I did my undergrad at UCLA in math and philosophy, and worked as an RA at the Meaning Lab at USC. Lifting, running, hiking, reading and playing video games constitute most of my life outside of academics, other than, of course, hanging out and going on spontaneous adventures with friends. I’m currently most excited about branching out to areas of linguistics beyond semantics, and my side quest is to run the Boston Marathon before I graduate.

Ogloo Jurkhaichin: I’m Ogloo, and I’m originally from Inner Mongolia, China. My main interests are in syntax and morphology, especially the ways they interact with each other and with other components of grammar. Most of my work so far has focused on Mongolian, and I’m interested in using data from Mongolian and related languages to think about broader questions in linguistic theory. Before starting the PhD program, I was a student in MIT’s Indigenous Languages Initiative, or MITILI, here in the department, so I’ve actually already been around for the past two years. I’m really excited to continue working on these questions and to explore some new directions during the PhD. 

Rowan Levick: Hi everyone! I’m Rowan (they/them). I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and got my BA in linguistics from William & Mary in Virginia. I’m primarily interested in the phonetics phonology interface and experimental work with children and adults. I’ve done research on acoustic phonetics of nasals, vowel length perception in young children, and I worked for a developmental neurolinguistics lab at UT Dallas where we mainly studied individual differences in children’s word learning abilities. Outside of linguistics I play a lot of ultimate frisbee and enjoy glassblowing, cooking, and a good chat with friends.

A new meeting group for people in the department who are engaged in experimental or computational work, or who are interested in learning more about these approaches: the (provisionally named) Experimental & Computational Methods in Linguistics group, or ECML!

Speaker: Christopher Legerme (MIT)

Title: Some Aspects of Bantu Morphology, featuring Leland Paul Kusmer (2019)

Time: Thursday, September 10th, 5pm - 6pm

Location: 32-D769



Abstract: Discussion on verbal morphology in Bantu, focusing on the conjoint/disjoint alternation, where a verb’s surface realization depends on its syntactic, information-structural, or prosodic relation to what follows it. I’ll walk through some of the core Bantu facts and compare them with similar patterns in the French Creole languages I work on. I’ll then present Kusmer’s (2019) analysis of the conjoint/disjoint alternation in Tshiven?a. Unlike more familiar Bantu systems, the two morphological variants of a verb are not straightforwardly in complementary distribution in this language: some linguistic environments permit either form. The paper reports results from an experiment testing speakers’ choices across different syntactic contexts. Kusmer suggests that the variation in Tshiven?a may track prosodic phrasing. I’ll use these results as a starting point for further discussion of how we should understand the relationship between prosody and morphological exponence.

Course announcements in this post:

• Special Topics: “Doing Experimental Linguistics” (24.S95)
• More Advanced Syntax (24.955)
• Topics in Phonology: Phonetics and phonology in generative grammar (24.964)
• Topics in Computational Phonology (24.981)
• Topics in Semantics: Presupposition, Anaphora, and Reference (24.979)

24.S95: Special Topics: “Doing Experimental Linguistics”

• Instructor: Shota Momma
• Time: Tuesday, 2pm-5pm
• Room: 32-D461

As the title suggests, the goal of this course is to design and carry out an experimental project, either individually or in groups. Through this process, you will learn the fundamentals of experimental design and data analysis as used in experimental syntax, semantics, phonology, and psycholinguistics. I currently plan to spend the first half of each class covering core concepts in experimental methods and statistics, along with discussion of relevant papers, and the second half working on student projects (going through materials together, discussing specifics of designs, etc). One concrete goal of the course is to submit an abstract (individually or as a group) to a psycholinguistics conference (e.g., HSP: https://www.hspsociety.org/). The deadline for HSP is typically in late November/early December, so we may be able to aim for that if things go well.

24.955: More Advanced Syntax

• Instructor: Elise Newman & Sabine Iatridou
• Time: Thursday, 2pm-5pm
• Room: 32-D461

24.964 Topics in Phonology: Phonetics and phonology in generative grammar

• Instructor: Edward Flemming
• Time: Friday, 10am-1pm
• Location: 32-D461

Standard models of the grammar of linguistic sound divide it into two components, phonetics and phonology, but many questions about this division remain open. The goal of this seminar is to explore some of these questions. For example:

• Where is the dividing line between phonetics and phonology, and why?
• What information is passed from the phonology to the phonetics? Just the output of the phonology? Underlying representations? Information about the system of contrasts?
• Are there inputs to the phonetics that do not come from the phonology? E.g. speech rate, hyper-/hypoarticulation.
• Does any information flow from the phonetics to the phonology? Does the phonology anticipate language-specific aspects of phonetic realization?
• Are these components organized serially? If so, are there opaque interactions between them?

24.981 Topics in Computational Phonology

• Instructor: Adam Albright
• Time: Wednesday, 10am-1pm
• Location: 32-D831

Computational modeling can usefully inform many aspects of phonological theory. Implementing a theory provides a more rigorous test of its applicability to different data sets, and requires a greater degree of formal precision than is found in purely expository presentations. By training models on realistic training samples, we can test whether a posited analysis can actually be learned from representative data, and we can observe what proportion of the data is actually accounted for by that analysis. Modeling also provides a direct means of testing whether a proposed formal device facilitates the discovery of generalizations, or whether it hampers learning by greatly increasing the size of the search space. Finally, modeling has played an increasingly important role in modeling gradient experimental data, since it provides a way of comparing human behavior with statistical properties of linguistic input, filtered through a possibly non-trivial learning procedure.

This class is intended to provide an introduction to the theory and practice of computational models of phonology.  We will discuss recent theoretical work informed by computational implementations, and tools for modeling phonological knowledge of various kinds.  Special attention will be paid to the relation between formal learning models and empirical data concerning early phonological acquisition.

Topics may include: (subject to substantial revision, according to needs or interests of participants)

• Statistical “baseline” models (n-gram models, exemplar models)
• Algorithms for constraint weighting and constraint ranking (recursive constraint demotion, biased constraint demotion, the GLA; perceptron learning and maximum entropy weighting)
• Algorithms for constraint discovery (Albright and Hayes 2006; Hayes and Wilson 2008)
• Integrating learned and innate constraints
• Bayesian inference for phonology and morphology
• Models of morphological decomposition and morphological productivity

The course is also designed to provide opportunities for hands-on experience in various aspects of using and developing models, including preparing training data, running simulations, and interpreting their results. No background in programming or machine learning is assumed.
*** Depending on interests and goals of students, we may experiment with AI-assisted coding this semester

Course requirements:

• Weekly readings
• Participation in class discussions
• Written assignments (small problem sets)
• Final project (presentation + writeup)

24.979 Topics in Semantics: Presupposition, Anaphora, and Reference

• Instructor: Amir Anvari, Danny Fox, Martin Hackl
• Time: Wednesday, 10am-1pm
• Location: 32-D461

In this seminar we will explore various issues in the theory of presupposition, discourse anaphora and reference. We will begin with the theory of local accommodation which we think will interact in interesting ways with more general questions in the theory of presupposition, anaphora and reference. Our starting point will be puzzles pertaining to the meaning of gender features (reading Bobaljik and Zocca 2010 and Merchant 2013) which we will use to introduce a novel proposal for local accommodation (Doron, Fox, Wehbe). From there we will move to other explorations in the semantics and pragmatics of indefinites, discourse anaphora, definites vs. demonstratives and free pronouns, to name a few.

Requirements:

• Class participation and presentations
• A final paper

Rough and tentative list of topics (not necessarily in chronological order):

1. Local Accommodation, Strong-Weak Triggers, Trivalence vs. Two-dimensional semantics
2. Presupposition Projection
3. Competition and Markedness
4. Indefinites and anaphora
5. Predicates and Formulas
6. Reference resolution with definite descriptions, demonstratives and (free) pronouns

The 36th meeting of Semantics and Linguistic Theory (SALT) was held at the University of Buenos Aires on July 29 – 31, 2026.  Current and former members of our department at the conference included:

Faculty: 

• Viola Schmitt gave an invited talk: Individuation, generalized

Students:

• Haoming Li & Yizhen Jiang: Infelicity of negated bare plurals: Not presupposition, but Partition by Exhaustification
• James Xinyu Gu & Churong Jin: An unlikely semantics for ‘likely’

Alums: 

• Michela Ippolito (PhD 2002)[University of Toronto] & Anastasia Tsilia (PhD 2026)[University of Illinois]: What if and its kin
• Dmitry Privoznov (PhD 2021)[University of Göttingen]: Static semantics and “dynamic” pragmatics: Once more on double negation
• Adèle Hénot-Mortier (PhD 2025)[Queen Mary University]: “Remind-me” presuppositions with iterated Speech Acts
• Anna Carolina Almeida, Raimundo Cox-Casals & Michael Wagner (PhD 2005)[McGill]: Adjectival agreement is interpretable: Evidence from summative agreement in Mexican Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese
• Paul Marty (PhD 2017)[University of Lisbon], Patrick Elliott, Alexandros Kalomoiros & Jacopo Romoli: Quantifying multiplicity
• Paloma Jereti?, Itai Bassi (PhD 2021)[ZAS/Ben Gurion University], Aurore Gonzalez, Andreea Nicolae, Kazuko Yatsushiro & Uli Sauerland (PhD 1998)[ZAS]: Not all scalar implicatures are derived from utterable alternatives: evidence from child language acquisition
• Sam Alxatib (PhD 2013)[CUNY]: Local contexts in formal alternatives
• Vincent Rouillard (PhD 2023)[Laval University]: Until and Incremental Homogeinity

MIT Linguistics was represented at the 4th Paris Workshop on Game Theory and Language from June 11-12, by first-year student Orr Well, who gave a talk entitled “Ineffability Follows from a Question-Based Approach to Focus”, and third-year student Alma Frischoff, who gave a talk entitled “A General Account of Exhaustification with an Iterated Rationality Model”.

We are delighted to announce the publication of our colleague Elise Newman’s paper, “On Projection and the Shadow of [Wh]”, in Linguistic Inquiry. Congratulations, Elise!

Here is the abstract: 

Much work has shown that wh-movement is subject to several kinds of locality restrictions cross-linguistically. I propose that these restrictions arise when [wh] projects past the maximal projection that it came from. When this happens, it intervenes for wh-movement, trapping the wh-element in its base position, unless it can escape through other means. The need to escape the domain of [wh] is proposed to capture the distribution of successive-cyclic movement and interactions with Voice in different languages. Different locality conditions in different languages are captured by different distributions of the same features and probes.

The paper is open access: https://doi.org/10.1162/LING.a.564

With this issue, Whamit announces its usual summer hiatus.  We will resume weekly publication in the Fall — but, as always, we will be here all summer with any breaking news from MIT Linguistics that may reach us.  Have a great summer!

The student editors:
Bingzi Yu and Alma Frischoff

The faculty editor:
David Pesetsky
(who thanks Bingzi and Alma for their great work on Whamit throughout the year — and our department as a whole, for giving us such great stuff to write about)

We are as delighted as can be to announce that Shota Momma will be joining our faculty as Associate Professor of Linguistics this Fall!  Prof. Momma is a specialist in psycholinguistics and its interaction with linguistic theory — with a particular focus on the mechanisms of sentence production, an area in which he is a true pioneer. Shota comes to us from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he has been an Assistant Professor since 2019.  He received his PhD in Linguistics from the University of Maryland in 2016, with a dissertation directed by our alum Colin Phillips (PhD 1996), and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Diego with Vic Ferreira.  Asked about his thoughts and plans as our newest faculty member, Shota wrote:

 ”I’m deeply honored and excited to be joining the MIT linguistics department, which has been home to so many people I deeply respect, past and present. I’m looking forward to learning from my future colleagues and to building a vibrant intellectual community together. My research aims to understand how people construct sentences in their minds during both comprehension and production, drawing on insights from linguistics and cognitive science more broadly. I’m confident that exciting new research directions will emerge at MIT - something I already began to experience during my visit in 2023.”

Welcome!  We can’t wait for you to join us!

photo source: https://bpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/websites.umass.edu/dist/5/13737/files/2020/02/Shota-Momma.jpg

Speaker: Hani Al Naeem (MIT)

Title: On the nature of emphasis spread in Jordanian Arabic

Time: , 5pm - 6:30pm

Location: 32-D831



Abstract: The phenomenon of emphasis spread (ES), a type of tongue root harmony in Arabic, is triggered by emphatics, coronal obstruents with a secondary posterior articulation near the upper pharyngeal wall. The most salient effect of ES is the backing of adjacent low vowels, with notable directionality differences in the extent and magnitude of this effect. While previous works agree that leftward ES is more robust (i.e. has a uniform effect and broader span) than rightward ES, there have been differences in the descriptions of the two patterns of spreading and in the analyses thereof. This work reconsiders the empirical description of ES in Jordanian Arabic (JA) based on data from a production experiment and provides a novel analysis of the phenomenon. The JA data reaffirm that ES uniformly lowers F2 in all leftward low vowels within a stem, while the effect gradually fades out to the right. I argue that this asymmetry reflects two distinct underlying mechanisms, feature harmony and coarticulation. Following Hayes & Londe (2006), feature changing effects are modeled through a distal constraint targeting leftward segments non-locally and a local constraint iterating to a right-adjacent vowel. Once those effects are accounted for, a model of coarticulation that is informed by the locus equation and vowel undershoot (Flemming 2001) is proposed as a basis for the residual coarticulatory rightward effects. I claim that the present analysis provides an explanation of the directional asymmetry in ES and clarifies the nature of the long-distance rightward effects by attributing them to a phonetic mechanism, explicitly modeled.

Speaker: Janet Pierrehumbert (University of Oxford)

Title: LLMs can pass the Turing Test — are they intelligent?

Time: Thursday, May 14, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: In 1950, Turing proposed that if a person can not tell whether they are in conversation with another person or a computer algorithm, we can consider the algorithm to be intelligent. The Turing Test effectively launched the field of AI, and advanced a strong connection between natural language and intelligence. The newest Large Language Models (LLMs) engage in conversations and produce amazingly human-like output. Often, people cannot reliably tell whether they are talking to a chatbot or another person. LLMs seem to pass the Turing Test. Does this mean they are intelligent?

In this talk, I will discuss the nature of the Turing Test and the current level of evidence that LLMs can pass it. I will argue that the Turing Test in its original formulation had a limited conception of intelligence, failing to capture aspects of intelligence that come to the fore in theories of embodied cognition. These aspects of intelligence play a crucial role for humans in acquiring a mental lexicon of meaningful units, and mastering semantic operators (such as markers of temporal, numerical and logical relationships). When probed, LLMs exhibit persistent shortcomings in these areas of language, shortcomings which are systematic consequences of their architecture and training.

Speaker: Daniar Kasenov (NYU)
Title: Salvation by deletion in Russian LBE
Time: Tuesday, May 12, 1:00pm - 2pm
Location: 32-D461

Russian does not allow left branch extraction from NPs that are complements of P. Sluicing alleviates this restriction. I argue that the pattern is best explained by the Cyclic Linearization view of “island repair”: ungrammaticality results from conflicting linearization statements but ellipsis can resolve the conflict.

The talk will cover: 
— Why the pattern must involve salvation by deletion (against the general attitude expressed by Barros et al. 2014)

— Extension to other restrictions on extraction from Russian NPs which are alleviated by sluicing based on the scattered deletion view of left branch extraction (Fanselow, ?avar 2003; Bondarenko, Davis 2023).

— An account of what we call the Sole Remnant Generalization: the remnant must be the only pronounced item in its clause (observed for preposition drop in other languages too). The model is a mix of Fox & Pesetsky (2003) and Johnson (2020) which allows for scattered deletion and predicts the Sole Remnant Generalization straightforwardly.

The talk is an extension of the material written up in Kalyakin, Kasenov (2025): https://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/009308

Speaker: Christopher Bader (MIT)
Title: Front Vowels are Palatal: Phonetic and Phonological Evidence
Time: , 5pm - 6:30pm
Location: 32-D831

Abstract: Clements (1991) and Hume (1992) proposed that front vowels are coronal, rather than
dorsal (Sagey 1986). But this is the wrong generalization, since it fails to explain the following
contrast in Mandarin Chinese: *si, *?i, ?i ‘west’ (?) (Lee-Kim 2014). As this example shows,
the Mandarin high front vowel /i/ may only be preceded by a palatal ([-anterior][+distributed])
sibilant. Anterior and retroflex sibilants, which of course are also coronal, may not precede this
vowel. Instead of si and ?i, Mandarin has these consonants followed by the syllabic, non-vocalic
coronal sonorants [? ? ] and [? ? ], sometimes incorrectly referred to as ‘apical vowels’. As I will
show, neither anterior nor retroflex consonants pattern with front vowels. But fortition of front
vowels can result in palatal consonants and front vowels do pattern with palatal consonants. I
will argue that this is because front vowels are palatal. The Mandarin data cited is then the result
of AGREE(PAL), AGREE(ANT), and AGREE(RET) being higher ranked than IDENT(Amax), a
constraint which preserves vocalic apertures… (continued in attached file)

Speaker: Haoming Li (MIT)

Title: Conditional semantics for permission and weak necessity

Time: Thursday, May 7, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: The classic analyses of permission and weak necessity view them as existential and universal quantification over a modal base with one or two ordering sources. In this talk, I will advance the alternative view that both permission and weak necessity involve an underlying conditional semantics. I will draw analogies between permission and weak necessity on the one hand and conditionals on the other hand across several phenomena, many of which are puzzling for the classic accounts, including free choice/simplification of disjunctive antecedents, Sobel and Reverse Sobel sequences, homogeneity, and performative uses. I will then deliver a concrete implementation based on von Fintel’s (2001) dynamic account of conditionals and Chung’s (2018) work on Korean deontic modals. I will show that the approach naturally captures the parallels mentioned above and derives a stipulation about the nature of the modal base for such modals. If times allows, I will also compare and contrast the present approach with other approaches in the literature to similar empirical puzzles and other work which motivates a conditional semantics for modals, like McHugh (2026), which was previously presented at LingLunch.

Speaker: Edward Flemming (MIT) and Amy Li (MIT)

Title: An optimization-based approach to phonetic grammar

Time: Thursday, April 30, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: A phonetic grammar maps phonological representations onto acoustic or articulatory trajectories. In the tonal domain, this involves mapping tone categories onto f0 trajectories that are aligned to the segmental string (Pierrehumbert 1980). One challenge of modeling a phonetic grammar is to derive variation in the realization of phonological units as a function of variation in the context. To address this challenge, we develop an optimization-based model of phonetic grammar where the constraints on phonetic realization are derived from phonological representations and articulatory limitations. The model is illustrated through a case study of the Mandarin rising tone, focusing on variation in realization due to varying speech rate.

Speaker: Ioannis Katochoritis (MIT)
Title: To Unlock is to (Re)Merge: Locality Domains, Intervention and Minimal Compliance
Time: Tuesday, April 28, 1:00pm - 2pm
Location: 32-D461

Speaker: Jian-Leat Siah (UCLA)

Title: How Language Experience Reshapes the P-Map: The Case of Final Nasalization in Serudung Murut

Time: , 5pm - 6:30pm

Location: 32-D831



Abstract: In this talk, I present my dissertation research testing Steriade (2001/2008)’s P-Map hypothesis, which posits that learners are biased toward alternations that minimize perceptual deviations between input and output forms. In the case of word-final voiced obstruents, the P-Map predicts that final devoicing should be the uniquely preferred repair strategy cross-linguistically. Experimental results from American English listeners in a perceptual AXB task support this prediction. However, results from Serudung Murut (Austronesian) listeners, whose phonological grammar employs (laryngo-)nasalization to avoid voiced stops in word-final position, demonstrate that the perceptual biases posited by the P-Map are not immutable but can be reshaped through exposure to alternations that contradict the P-Map rankings. This synchronic restructuring of the P-Map is especially evident among speakers with advanced proficiency, highlighting the role of language experience in phonological learning.

Speaker: Norvin Richards (MIT)

Title: Long-distance agreement by proxy in Passamaquoddy-Wolastoqey

Time: Tuesday, April 21, 1:00pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461

Passamaquoddy-Wolastoqey has long-distance agreement: the verb of a matrix clause can (optionally) agree with nominals in a complement clause, even if the complement clause appears to be a full-fledged tensed clause.  I will argue that this long-distance agreement should be treated as an instance of what I’ve called ‘agreement by proxy’.  In this case, the C of the embedded clause has Agreed with the nominals in that clause, and probes in the higher clause, although considerations of locality prevent them from agreeing with any DPs in the embedded clause directly, can agree with the features on embedded C, thereby effectively agreeing with the DPs of the embedded clause.

LEAP Workshop – Cora Lesure and Maya Honda

Title: Communicating Your Research

Time: Tuesdays  5pm – 6pm

Location: 32-D461

We invite you to the LEAP (Linguistics Education and Pedagogy) workshop on Communicating Your Research. Here is the complete schedule of the four-session workshop:

April 14th (last week): Defining the knowledge gap

• What does your audience know, and what do you want them to learn from you?

April 21st (this week): Bridging the knowledge gap

• Given your audience’s prior knowledge, how do you provide essential content in order to facilitate their understanding?

April 28: Evaluating success

• How will you know that understanding has been achieved?

May 12th: Research Slam: Workshop participants will give their presentations!

Workshop sessions take place on Tuesdays from 5-6pm in 32-D461. Note that we will skip May 5th and that the Research Slam will take place during the final week of the semester.

 Come for the snacks! Stay for the workshop!

Do the impressive abilities of neural-network Large Language Models in generating rich, well-formed syntax falsify fundamental principles of generative linguistic theory? The answer I will argue for is: no. But it will be a rather nuanced “no”, trying to identify the proper treatment of generative AI for generative linguistics. Specifically, I will consider these principles:

1. Computability: Generating natural language with rich, human-level syntax requires use of symbolic grammatical rule systems.
2. Explanation: Theoretical explanation in generative linguistics requires built-in discrete symbolic structure.
3. Acquisition: Children’s ability to acquire language requires innate knowledge of grammatical rule systems.
4. Universals: Linguistic universals can only be explained from innate limitations on what languages are learnable.

The quantity of discussion of these questions will decrease sharply from 1–4, the bulk of the presentation focused on 1. The discussion of 1 takes off from Smolensky, Fernandez, Zhou, Opper, Davies & Gao (JAIR 2025; arXiv:2410.17498).

Speaker: Yurika Aonuki (MIT) & William Pacheco (MIT)

Title: Questions and conditionals with disjunction in Gitksan & My Language, My Tools: AI-Assisted Documentation of Ki?w? Keres

Time: Thursday, April 16, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461

This week’s LingLunch will consist of two talks.

Talk 1: Questions and conditionals with disjunction in Gitksan (Yurika Aonuki, MIT)

Abstract: A morpheme ji in Gitksan (Rigsby 1986; Hunt 1993; Aonuki 2025) (and cognates in Nisga’a (Tarpent 1987) and Sm’algyax (Sasama 2001; Brown 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026)) introduce conditional antecedents and embedded polar questions. At the same time, ji is also allowed in declarative attitude complements when the attitude holder is uncertain or wrong (Hunt 1993; Gogag et al. in prep; Aonuki 2025); similar patterns are observed in Sm’algyax (Brown 2022, 2023). I will argue that there are reasons to attempt a unified analysis of ji in conditional antecedents and questions on one hand and declarative complements on the other. Against this background, I will provide novel data from disjunction, which shows that ji can introduce each disjunct in conditional antecedents, embedded alternative questions, and polar questions with disjunction. I will propose that ji constrains the set of epistemic possibilities associated with a speech or thought event, via the alternative semantic value of its argument. The proposal highlights a shared component between questions and uncertainty and has implications for an ongoing debate about the semantic relationship between polar and alternative questions (Roelofsen and Van Gool 2010; Pruitt and Roelofsen 2011; Meertens 2021).

*This will be a practice talk for GLOW and SULA-TripleA.

Talk 2: My Language, My Tools: AI-Assisted Documentation of Ki?w? Keres (William Pacheco, MIT)
Abstract: Ki?w? W?k???i is an underdocumented dialect of Keres — a language isolate spoken in seven Pueblos in New Mexico. I am a native speaker and relatively new to linguistics, and I quickly found that the tools available for documenting my dialect weren’t built with my needs in mind.

Speaker: Giovanni Roversi (MIT) & Jéssica Mendes (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)

Title: Light-ish attitudes, heavy complements: the view from Äiwoo” (GLOW practice talk, LFRG take-over)

Time: Tuesday, April 14, 1:00pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461

Abstract: Some attitude predicates in various unrelated languages have been reported to have variable flavor interpretations, covering doxastic (“think”), assertive (“say”), and bouletic (“want”) readings; cf. Navajo (Bogal-Allbritten 2016) and Koryak (Mo?nik & Abramovitz 2019, Mo?nik 2025). These have prompted analyses where much of the semantic contribution that distinguishes these readings is taken away from the lexical entry of the attitude verb itself (against the standard Hintikkan view), and rather offloaded to the semantics of the complement clause. Based on novel fieldwork data, we report on another such attitude verb in Äiwoo (Austronesian; Solomon Islands), and we show that in this language there is clearer morphological evidence for this type of analysis: overt elements in the embedded clause determine the reading of the matrix attitude predicate, whose interpretation is derived fully compositionally, and the semantics of these elements is independently verifiable from their use in unembedded contexts. We arrive at a picture where the attitude predicate itself is relatively underspecified, but not fully (against e.g. Bogal-Allbritten). We draw (tentative) cross-linguistic predictions about the range of meanings we expect “variable-flavor” attitudes to cover: these should not extend beyond what can be composed out of independently available elements already in the language (chiefly, relatively underspecified attitudes and already existing modals). Thus, we predict these kind of verbs to receive “think, say, want” interpretations, but not readings like “forget”, “imagine”, “dream”, which cannot be composed out of these simpler more basic atoms.

Note: This week’s Syntax Square will feature a special LFRG take-over: the talk will be fully focused on semantics, so we especially encourage those with an interest in semantics to attend. The presentation will also serve as a practice talk for GLOW, so it’s a great opportunity to hear the work in progress and offer feedback.

LEAP Workshop 4/14 - Cora Lesure and Maya Honda

Title: Communicating Your Research: Defining the Knowledge Gap

Time: Tuesday April 14, 5pm - 6pm

Location: 32-D461

We invite you to the first-ever LEAP (Linguistics Education and Pedagogy) workshop on Communicating Your Research. Across four one-hour sessions, we will explore how the task of communicating key aspects of your linguistics research (eg., your GP or your thesis) can be informed by formal pedagogical theory, and vice versa.

Workshop sessions will take place on Tuesdays from 5-6pm starting this week, in 32-D461. The Research Slam will take place during the final week of the semester on May 12th.

This week, we begin with “Defining the Knowledge Gap”, considering the questions, “What does your audience already know, and what do you want them to learn from you?”

Snacks will be served!

On behalf of LEAP (Linguistics Education and Pedagogy), the department’s outreach effort to K-12 students, Christopher Legerme, Cora Lesure, Vincent Zu (MIT Chem E), and Jacob Kodner (Harvard Linguistics) designed and team-taught a Saturday high school linguistics course at Spring HSSP, an initiative of the student-run MIT ESP (Educational Studies Program). The six-week-long course, An Introduction to Linguistics: The Science of Language, concluded last Saturday. 

Across the six weeks, students examined the linguistics of poetry, as well as phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and machine learning in diverse languages. The teaching team focused on bringing to students’ awareness their unconscious knowledge of language, using the tools of science to formulate and test ideas about the hidden structures of language, and identifying and appreciating similarities as well as differences across diverse languages. The 15 high school students who attended each week can now answer the question that Cora posed to them the first day, What is Linguistics? 

The course grew out of earlier work that the team has done, both individually and collectively, at Spark and Splash, day-long events also organized by MIT ESP, as well as in partnership with teachers for Maya Honda’s Linguistics in K-12 Education seminar.

Speaker: Amy Li (MIT)

Title: The potential effect of phoneme inventory crowding on phonetic variation

Time: Monday April 6, 5pm - 6:30pm

Location: 32-D831



Abstract: Does the crowdedness of a phoneme inventory affect the variability of the realizations of its phonemes? In particular, does a more crowded phoneme inventory reduce the variability of its phonemes? Lavoie (2002) provides some preliminary evidence for such an effect by comparing /k/ in the spontaneous speech of English and Spanish, finding that the percent of phonetically fricative-like or approximant-like realizations is much lower in Spanish (7%), which contrasts /x/ with /k/, than English (21%), which does not. In this presentation, I will discuss my work in progress on the topic, including a new model (and some variants) I’m proposing within Dispersion Theory and my attempts to find evidence for such a cross-linguistic effect on vowel inventories.

Speaker: Joseph Sabbagh (University of Texas Arlington)

Title: The Dynamic Existential in Tagalog

Time: Tuesday, April 7, 1:00pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: This presentation discusses existential sentences based around a verbal existential predicate (magkaroon) in Tagalog. Such sentences are peculiar because, while they appear to be unaccusative, with a single DP argument projected as an internal argument (=the E(xistential) C(lause) pivot), the EC-pivot surfaces with accusative/dependent case-marked marking. The sole argument of ordinary unaccusative verbs, by contrast, are marked with subject/topic-case. Thus these dynamic existential sentences are problematic for language internal reasons as well as more broadly given proposed universals like Burzio’s Generalization. After demonstrating the the EC-pivot is indeed an internal argument of an apparently unaccusative predicate, I propose that the (verbal) existential predicate is in fact a possessive predicate that projects an external argument. This argument is overt in possessive sentences (which are formed with the same predicate), but covert in existential sentences. The hypothesized covert argument opens up an analysis of the accusative/dependent case marking of the EC-pivot assuming a Dependent Theory of Case. Precedents for such an account from Russian, Icelandic, and Greek are cited; and I conclude with some speculations about the typology of expletives and their availability (overt or covert) across languages.

Abstract:

This talk addresses three cases of anti-singularity in questions, illustrated in (1a)-(1c). They all convey that the speaker expects that the answer will name more than one individual:

(1)   a. Which books did you buy?                            English

        b. Was    hast du   alles gekauft?                    German

             What have you all    bought

             “What all have you bought?”

        c. Quiénes   se       fueron pronto?                  Spanish

             Who-PL REFL left       early

             “Who left early?”

The anti-singularity of (1a) has been explained as arising from competition with its singular version: which book did you buy?, which has a uniqueness presupposition – only one book can be named. This explanation does not extend to the other two cases. There is no uniqueness presupposition in the version of (1b) without alles or in the version of (1c) that has a singular wh quién.

The proper analysis of the anti-singularity observed in (1b)-(1c), I argue, requires us to pivot from consideration of number proper. Drawing inspiration from work on so-called optional plural markers, specifically the Cuzco Quechua morpheme kuna, I show how anti-singularity can be a bi-product of a presupposition of sortability – it should be possible to partition the set denoted by the noun complement along some dimension, such as type, size, color etc.

Speaker: Shigeru Miyagawa (MIT)

Title: Birth of a Language in the Backlands of Brazil

Time: Thursday, April 2, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: It is assumed that in order to acquire a language, children must be exposed to a language during the critical period, which generally lasts until puberty. Here, we report on Cena, an emergent sign language that has developed among a small group of deaf people in an isolated town in the state of Piauí, Brazil. Starting three generations ago, it has developed into a fully functioning communicative system with all characteristics of a typical human language even though Cena developed in a linguistic vacuum. What makes Cena interesting is that we are reasonably certain that Cena had no external input from the national sign language, Libras, or any other language during its formation. Cena challenges the assumption that to acquire the first language, the child must be exposed to a fully developed language. It developed from homesigns to an emergent sign language that is used for all aspects of village life. Cena also lends credence to the interactional model of language acquisition, which considers the interactions between the child and the caregivers to be the crucial element. The nativist model of language acquisition, which assumes a universal system underlying language, also plays a part. Through interaction, what arose is a system with characteristics essential to all human language.

Based on the article by: Anderson Almeida-Silva; Remo Nitschke; Vitor A. Nóbrega; Fernando Valls Yoshida; Shigeru Miyagawa

Cognitive Science (December 2025)
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cogs.70159

Title: To Unlock is to (Re)Merge: Locality Domains, Intervention and Minimal Compliance

Speaker: Ioannis Katochoritis (MIT)

Time: March 17, 2026,  1 pm - 2 pm 

Place: 32-D461

Speaker: Eyal Marco (MIT), joint work with Ezer Rasin (Tel-Aviv University)

Title: On the nature of phonological cyclicity: Evidence from Nazarene Arabic

Time: Monday, March 16th, 5pm - 6:30pm

Location: 32-D831

The semantics conference Theoretical Linguistics at Keio was held at Keio University on March 14-16, 2o26. 

The following members of our community presented at the conference:

• Cooper Roberts (3rd year): Part is part (plus pragmatics)
• Viola Schmitt (faculty): Individuation across categories
• Adèle Hénot-Mortier (PhD 2025): “Remind-me” presuppositions with iterated Speech Acts
• Yasutada Sudo (PhD 2012)[UCL], Chris Davis & Tim Jantarungsee: Varieties of sortal restrictions: The case of ingestion verbs
• Christopher Tancredi (PhD 1992)[Keio University]: Epistemic vs. Non-epistemic Modals in Subjective Semantics

The GLOW in Asia 2^nd Workshop for Young Scholars was held at Nanzan University on March 13-15, 2026. Third-year student Cooper Roberts gave a talk titled “Honor omnivorously: The syntax of politeness in Kikai Amami”.  Second-year student Vlad Orlov presented a poster with Daria Belova (Institute of Linguistics RAS/HSE University, Moscow) titled “Detransitivization as agreement with an implicit argument: The case of Tatyshly Udmurt”.

Speaker: Yimei Xiang (Rutgers University)

Title: Function alternations of the Mandarin particle ye: from ‘also’ to ‘even’

Time: Thursday, March 12, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: The Mandarin adverb ye exhibits both a simple additive use (‘also’) and a scalar additive use (‘even’). This alternation is unlikely to be accidental: across genetically and typologically diverse languages, additive markers frequently extend to scalar interpretations. Why does additivity so often give rise to scalarity, rather than to some other meaning component? Mandarin offers a particularly revealing testing ground for this question, as the ‘even’ use of ye overlaps with that of another multifunctional adverb, dou, which displays a distributor–’even’ alternation.

Building on Heim’s (1982, 1983, 1992) model of dynamic semantics, I propose a unified analysis of the two uses of ye. I argue that in both cases ye presupposes Vacuity of Anti-Exclusion (VAE). This condition derives focus-sensitivity and additivity, and—when exclusion is defined in terms of likelihood—scalarity as well. On this view, the scalarity presupposition of ‘even’ ye is not an independent lexical requirement, but a natural consequence of how exclusion is parametrized.

This account clarifies both the parallels and the contrasts between ye and dou in scalar environments. I argue that the ‘also’–’even’ alternation of ye parallels the distributor–’even’ alternation of dou. Both particles can associate with minimizers, a possibility licensed by their shared scalar inference. At the same time, their difference in additivity yields distinct evaluative flavors as well as different distributional patterns in concessive constructions.

Finally, the talk revisits the “independence” requirement of additive expressions. I argue that independence emerges from the interaction between the VAE requirement and constraints on the QUD. This analysis also accounts for cases in which apparent violations of independence do not result in deviance.

Speaker: Jian-Leat Siah (UCLA), joint work with Sam Zukoff and Feng-fan Hsieh

Title: Resolving Reduplicative Opacity in Malay Nasal Spreading: An Argument for Base–Reduplicant Correspondence Theory

Time: Monday, March 9th, 5pm - 6:30pm

Location: 32-D831



Abstract: In Malay (Austronesian), nasality spreads iteratively and rightward from nasal consonants to following vowels and glides, but is blocked by supralaryngeal consonants. In reduplicated forms, Onn (1976) reported overapplication of nasal spreading (e.g., [w?ã??-w?ã??]): the first syllable of the reduplicant acquires nasality even though there is no local trigger preceding it. This pattern carries significant theoretical implications because only parallelist (McCarthy & Prince 1995) but not serial/derivational theories of reduplication (Inkelas & Zoll 2005; Kiparsky 2010; McCarthy et al. 2012) can account for it. In this talk, we present acoustic data from 30 native speakers of Malay showing that nasal spreading in reduplication displays substantial variation both within and across individuals. In reduplicated words such as /aba?-aba?/ ‘brothers’, all logically possible combinations of oral and nasal realizations were attested, including underapplication ([aba?-aba?]), normal application ([aba?-a?ba?]), unmotivated “pathological” application ([a?ba?-aba?]), and crucially, overapplication ([a?ba?-a?ba?]). Of these, overapplication emerged as the most frequent variant, corroborating Onn’s (1976) descriptive observations and providing support to parallelist theories of reduplication. The study further reveals a phonetic correspondence effect, whereby vowels in the reduplicant and base tend to exhibit matching degrees of nasality/orality. To capture these variable and gradient patterns, we develop a constraint-based model within the framework of generative phonetics, in which constraint violations are assessed scalarly rather than categorically (Flemming 2001; Lefkowitz 2017). The model achieves a strong fit to the experimental data, demonstrating how integrating phonetic detail into a formal grammar can shed new light on longstanding questions at the morphology-phonology interface.

Congratulations to our very recent alum Omri Doron (PhD 2025), who has received a Marie Sk?odowska-Curie fellowship!  He will be leading a two-year project titled “Mapping complexity in Language” under the supervision of Pavel Caha at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic,  Omri is currently a visiting lecturer at UMass Amherst.

Speaker: Dean McHugh (University of Edinburgh)

Title: Conditional Modality with Alternatives

Time: Thursday, March 5, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: This talk brings together two ideas. First, that statements under a modal are interpreted as conditional antecedents. ‘Possibly A’ states that if A were true, there would be some case where the relevant ideals are met. Dually, ‘necessarily A’ states that if A were false, there would be no case where the relevant ideals are met. Second, conditional antecedents are interpreted via sets of alternatives, with some items—such as disjunction and ‘any’—introducing multiple alternatives. Combining them returns, in a uniform and automatic way, a solution to three challenges facing the standard theory of modality: free choice inferences, independence inferences, and counterexamples to substitution of logical equivalents.

Speaker: Junshu Jin and Michael Kenstowicz (MIT)
Title: Perception of English Lexical Stress by 2nd-Language Learners
Time: Monday, February 23rd, 5pm - 6:30pm
Location: 32-D831

Abstract: In this presentation we briefly review two earlier studies on the perception of lexical stress contrasts in English by native Mandarin speakers. We then discuss the findings of Jin & Zheng’s (2025) study comparing the perception of English stress by three groups of speakers: native English (control), native Mandarin, and Yanbian Korean. The results indicate that native English speakers and L2 learners weight pitch cues similarly; however, they differed significantly in the weight of vowel quality and duration cues. For L2 learners, Mandarin speakers weighted vowel quality and duration cues more similarly to native English speakers, and they weighted these two cues heavier, compared to Yanbian Korean Chinese. The study provides support for the Language Transfer Theory and tests Cue-Weighting Theory with implications for L2 phonetic teaching and learning. 

Speaker: David Pesetsky (MIT)

Title: A Sparse Theory of Argument Alternations

Time: Thursday, February 19th, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: Argument alternations such as active~passive are common in the languages of the world, with several stable properties. Consequently, we should seek a maximally sparse account of such alternations that does not stipulate their existence by positing alternation-specific entities such as VoiceP or special probes. Ideally, these alternations and their properties should emerge as by-products of the interaction of more fundamental entities and operations. This talk argues for a sparse theory of argument alternations in that vein, in which two components interact to yield their existence and key properties, building on Collins (2005, 2024) and influenced by Newman (2025) and discussion in last Spring’s seminar co-taught with Peter Grishin. Neither is specific to argument alternations; both merely generalize phenomena already known from other domains.

1. Generalized Dependent Case: The flagging of local c-command relations familiar under the rubric dependent case is not limited to nominals. Non-nominal phrases such as VP may both trigger and receive dependent case as well. This provides an account of morphemes specific to one alternant in an alternation, including passive morphology on V and by-phrase morphology, as well as morphemes that emerge and disappear in ditransitive alternations. Their presence correlates with the presence/absence of hyperlocal VP-fronting.
2. Generalized Insatiability: The “Merge XP” feature on a head may apply more than once to the same element so long as some new c-command relation is created (i.e. so long as something changes). This permits hyperlocal complement-to-specifier movement over an intervening element (contra Abels 2003) – offering a simplification and new characterization of the VP-fronting central to Collins’ accounts of passive and other argument alternations. No alternation-specific feature drives this movement. It is just the same Merge feature that added the complement in the first place.

Speaker: Shigeru Miyagawa (MIT), Despina Oikonomou (University of Crete), Onur Özsoy (University of Cologne), Caroline Heycock (University of Edinburgh), Giorgios Vardakis (University of Padova), Rumeysa Bekta? (Tokat University)

Title: Condition C amelioration effects in wh-movement: An interaction between pronominal type and d-linking

Time: Tuesday, February 10th, 1pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: While wh-movement has been argued to involve obligatory reconstruction, leading to a Condition C effect (Chomsky 1981; Barss 1986; Lebeaux 1988; Heycock 1995; Fox 1999), experimental studies in English and German have shown that, in wh-NP-movement, the Condition C effect is not robust (Adger et al. 2017; Bruening & Al-Khalaf 2019; Stockwell et al. 2021; Salzmann et al. 2023). Stockwell et al. 2021 and Salzmann et al. 2023 suggest that the (strong/weak/null) type of pronominals may be relevant. Along these lines, we investigate anaphora resolution under wh-reconstruction in Italian and Greek, languages which, unlike English, bear both null and overt person pronouns. We present data which reveal a robust correlation of pronouns and Condition C effects: null pronouns resist coreference consistently whereas overt pronouns allow it. Conceiving this contrast is crucial for determining how restrictive the nature of the Condition C as a grammatical phenomenon is. See https://tinyurl.com/4eha8dws for a longer, NELS 56 abstract.

Speaker: Amir Anvari (MIT)
Title: How to be ignorant
Time: Wednesday, February 11th, 1pm - 2pm
Location: 32-D461

Abstract: I discuss two observations that are puzzling for a rather plausible, pragmatic conception of the etiology of ignorance inferences. The first is that certain sentences do not trigger certain ignorance inferences even in highly favorable contexts (Feinmann 2023). The second is that uninformative sentences cannot be used as acceptable vehicles to convey ignorance. I will argue that the latter observation provides a strong motivation for the claim that relevance is closed under speakers’ beliefs (Fox 2016). This claim, in turn, requires adopting Meyer’s (2013) grammatical theory of ignorance computation. I will then show that the two puzzling observations can be addressed using two independently motivated assumptions about exhaustion.

Speaker: Si Berrebi (MIT)
Title: Category mergers are irrecoverable even with robust distributional evidence
Time: Monday, February 9th, 5pm - 6:30pm
Location: 32-D831

Abstract: Can a covert phonological category be learned based on the distribution, without phonetic evidence? Although this idea was debated extensively, it has yet to be tested whether individual speakers have successfully acquired covert categories. I examine a case from Modern Hebrew in which [?] and [?] have undergone a merger in the majority dialect, yet historical alternations triggered by the pharyngeal are preserved in hundreds of words. Speakers of a minority dialect still produce [?] and [?] as distinct, thus allowing for a direct comparison between the status of /?/ among speakers who have phonetic evidence for the distinction, and those who received only phonological evidence. Using a new linguistic game paradigm, validated by a small study of non-merged dialect speakers, I show that merged Hebrew speakers generally cannot represent /?/ as distinct from [?] based on its distribution. I’ll discuss tentative conclusions and future directions for this project.

Course announcements in this post:

• Topics in Syntax (24.956)
• Topics in Experimental Phonology (24.967)
• Topics in Semantics (24.979)

• Instructor: Sabine Iatridou, Elise Nerman, David Pesetsky
• Time: Monday, 2pm-5pm
• Room: 32-D461

This class will explore what is known and what is unknown about the internal and external syntax of nominals. We chose the term “nominals” rather than “NP” or “DP” because the headedness of nominals is in fact a topic of continual debate — a remarkable lack of scientific consensus for such a basic question concerning one of the fundamental building blocks of human language. In contrast to the verbal domain, where there is also debate but also significant (justified) consensus, many other fundamental aspects of nominal syntax remain deeply puzzling. What functional elements enter into their maximal extended projections, and how closely (if at all) does their arrangement parallel what is found in the verbal domain? What can nominalized clauses such as gerunds reveal about the parallels and non-parallels between nominals and clauses? Do nouns take complements analogous to complements of verbs, prepositions, and adjectives? Where do relative clauses fit into the picture, and what laws govern the syntax of modification more generally? Is concord within the nominal an instance of Agree or something else? How should we understand constructions seemingly special to the nominal domain such as construct state, polydefiniteness, and others?

Our plan for the beginning of the semester starts as follows, probably one class per topic:

1. The headedness of nominals

2. Gerunds

3. Construct State

— and then we will be off and running.

Course requirements: active attendance and participation, meetings with instructors to develop final paper, final paper

24.967: Topics in Experimental Phonology

• Instructor: Adam Albright & Edward Flemming
• Time: Wednesday, 10am-1pm
• Room: 32-D461

The field of phonology has increasingly looked to experimental results to confirm and extend its understanding of phonological patterns. In this course, we will examine some of the issues involved in deriving experimentally testable predictions from a theory, designing and running an experiment, and interpreting the results.

The class has several goals:

• Consider the relation between linguistic theory, empirical predictions, and experimental results
• Gain practical knowledge in designing and carrying out experiments in the lab and on-line, and performing data analysis using R
• Gain familiarity with some commonly used experimental paradigms, comparing what they can tell us about the linguistic system

The emphasis this year will be on statistical analysis. The course will be organized around the statistical models that are most applicable to linguistic experiments:

• Linear models and linear mixed-effects models
• Generalized linear (mixed) models: logistic/probit regression, ordinal logistic regression, log-linear models
• Factor coding for interpretable statistical analysis
• Possibly: Bayesian linear models

The application of these models will be illustrated through case studies selected based on the interests of the participants. Candidates include: Coarticulation, perceptual similarity, the P-Map Hypothesis, statistics of the lexicon, wug/blick tests and Universal Grammar/learning biases. Experimental paradigms examined are likely to include production, perceptual identification and discrimination, artificial language learning, and acceptability judgments.

Requirements for students taking the course for credit:

• Readings and class participation
• Regular assignments (modest and practical in nature)

• Instructor: Gennaro Chierchia & Danny Fox
• Time: Thursday, 2:30pm-5:30pm
• Room:
  • Harvard: Boylston G 02
  • MIT: 32D-461

Speaker: Amanda Michel (MIT)

Title: A Variable Account of Norwegian Stress

Time: Tuesday, December 8th, 5pm - 6:30pm

Location: 32-D831



Abstract: The stress system of Norwegian has traditionally been argued to be fixed/predictable with a robust set of exceptions. Much of the analysis of Norwegian stress is based on loanwords, as the inventory of native word shapes is limited. In this talk, I will present my ongoing work with my former advisor (Anya Hogoboom, College of William & Mary). We put forth an alternative account in multiple steps. We first seek to explain stress variability diachronically, looking to the placement of stress on the donor word for a given loanword. We then propose a variable model of the stress phonology utilizing MaxEnt and find that speakers are sensitive to the distribution of stress assignment via a nonce word production experiment.

Speaker: Sabine Iatridou (MIT)

Title: Superlatives meet Definiteness in Bulgarian and Greek

Time: Thursday, December 11, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: The aim of this paper (joint work with Artemis Alexiadou and Roumyana Pancheva) is to enrich the debate on the nature of absolute and relative readings of superlatives with data from Bulgarian and Greek and explore possible conclusions from them. We investigate three phenomena exhibited by definite DPs: polydefiniteness, clitic doubling, and clitic left dislocation, and show that the first two preclude relative readings, while the latter allows relative readings in contexts of contrastive topicalization. This leads us to conclude that the absolute-relative distinction in superlatives is a case of a genuine semantic ambiguity, with definiteness playing a central role, but also that there is an important role for context. Our findings also reveal similarities and differences among clitic doubling, clitic left dislocation, and polydefiniteness, in both Bulgarian and Greek.

On November 22rd and 23rd, Hani Al Naeem, Christopher Legerme, Cora Lesure, Vincent Zu (MIT Chemical Engineering postdoctoral associate), and Jacob Kodner (Harvard Linguistics graduate student) taught over 50 ninth through twelfth grade students at Splash, a weekend extravaganza of courses organized by MIT ESP (Educational Studies Program).

Hani and Christopher offered “Sounds in Motion: Exploring the Science of Speech”; Cora offered “Rhyme and Reason: Exploring the Linguistics of Poetry”; Vincent offered “Linguists vs. Machine: Who Had the Telescope?”; and Jacob offered “The Beauty and Complexity of Language: Introduction to Linguistics”. The courses were designed by each instructor and developed and vetted through a collaborative process. Maya Honda observed all of the classes and attests to the great job everyone did sharing their knowledge and passion for linguistics with the Splash students.

Speaker: Juan Cancel (MIT)

Title: Cross-Categorial Syncretisms: Theoretical Predictions and Empirical Observations

Time: Thursday, December 4th, 5pm - 6pm

Location: 32-D769



Abstract: Syncretisms and their generalizations have been the topic of much discussion in the morphological literature for a few years already (ex: Caha 2009, Starke 2017, Zompì 2023, etc). Nonetheless, a kind of syncretism that hasn’t been addressed much in that same literature are syncretisms that span the paradigms of different lexical categories (ex: nouns and verbs). In this presentation, I will be looking at these ‘cross-categorial syncretisms’ in terms of Distributed Morphology (Halle and Marantz 1993), argue about why we should expect them to exist, and make note of what specific features we would expect to behave as such. Finally, I will go over various examples from language families such as Turkic, Inuit-Yupik-Unangan, and Uralic in order to show not only that they indeed exist, but that they seem to behave in ways that comply with our theoretical frameworks as well.

Speaker: Tam Berulava (MIT)
Title: Case-Matching Effects in Long-Distance Wh-Questions in Georgian
Time: Tuesday, December 2nd, 1pm - 2pm
Location: 32-D461

Abstract: I will present an ongoing project on long-distance wh-questions in Georgian, focusing on the interaction between cross-clausal wh-movement and case. Building on recent claims that Georgian lacks true cross-clausal wh-movement and instead uses only proleptic question constructions, I argue that genuine wh-extraction from embedded clauses is in fact available, but its distribution is tightly constrained. In particular, I show that acceptability systematically tracks (i) the case configuration between the matrix subject and the extracted wh-phrase and (ii) the structural size of the embedded clause, giving rise to robust “case matching” effects in long-distance questions. These effects indicate that the extracted wh-phrase is, in some way, visible to the matrix-level case-assigning algorithm, raising the natural question of how—and why—such cross-clausal visibility is possible.

Speaker: Johanna Alstott (MIT)

Title: A cautionary note on word learning paradigms and presupposition triggering

Time: Thursday, December 4, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: Cross-linguistically, predicates with both initial-state and change-of-state components tend to encode them as presupposition and assertion, respectively. Bade et al. (2024) argue on the basis of a series of artificial word learning experiments that this cross-linguistic tendency reflects conceptual biases privileging changes-of-state over initial-states. In their experiments, they gauged how participants encoded the initial-state and change-of-state entailments of a nonce verb wug, and they interpret their results as suggesting that participants generally encoded the initial-state entailment as a presupposition and encoded the change-of-state entailment as the assertion. This finding, they argue, favors their conceptual-bias hypothesis over competing accounts. In this talk (joint work with Athulya Aravind), we further test the validity of Bade et al.’s paradigm via an additional experiment where we both try to replicate their original effect and, in parallel, ascertain whether their results generalize to a nonce initial-state/change-of-state predicate other than the one that they test. We not only fail to extend Bade et al.’s results to our new nonce word but also fail to replicate their original effect: our participants overwhelmingly treated Bade et al.’s wug and our new nonce word as non-presuppositional. A closer look at Bade et al.’s original studies suggests that non-presuppositional construals were common there, too, and we discuss several reasons why this could have been the case. All told, our outlook is pessimistic: adult artificial word-learning tasks do not, in fact, illuminate the mechanisms of presupposition triggering.

Speaker: Iva Kova? (Vienna/UMass Amherst)

Title: Scope in NPI licensing

Time: Wednesday, December 3rd, 12:30pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: Licensing of weak NPIs like any is subject to at least three scope-related constraints: certain elements, such as every, may not take scope between the NPI and its licenser (Linebarger 1980, 1987), the NPI must scope below its closest licenser (Homer 2020, Barker 2022), and it must be c-commanded by its licenser on the surface (Ladusaw 1979, 1980). In this talk, I bring these three constraints together by drawing a connection between NPI licensing and conditions that apply to scope taking of regular quantifiers (Fox 1995, Mayr & Spector 2010) and their linear order (Bobaljik & Wurmbrand 2012). I propose that NPI licensing is computed incrementally and explore an implementation in terms of Quantifier Raising and an interplay between spell-out domains and interface (LF and PF) principles regulating copy choice. In brief, under certain clearly defined conditions, NPIs like any disambiguate scope relations by marking narrow scope (Barker 2018), but syntactic domains force them to do so locally. If on the right track, this approach provides an argument in favour of an architecture of grammar where PF and LF domains can be distinct and PF has access to LF.

Speaker: Paul Meisenbichler (MIT)
Title: Reference to individuals across worlds and constraints on de re phenomena (Part 2)
Time: Wednesday, November 26th, 1pm - 2pm
Location: 32-D461

Abstract: I will continue our discussion from November 12 about how certain ideas from counterpart theory (CT, see Lewis 1986) could contribute to our understanding of de re/de dicto phenomena. The central tenet of CT is the ontological assumption that individuals exist in only one world. In CT, reference across worlds must therefore be established in an indirect way (i.e. as a relation between an individual in one world and its counterparts in other worlds). In some of the recent literature, it has been suggested that blocking (direct) transworld reference could help us understand some well-known constraints on transparent/opaque readings (e.g. Percus (2013), Sauerland (2014), Cable (2018)). I want to explore these proposals and discuss whether adopting a counterpart ontology is a move worth pursuing.

Speaker: Heidi Durresi (MIT)
Title: Comparing different predictions of learnability on typology
Time: Monday, November 24th, 5pm - 6:30pm
Location: 32-D831

Abstract: Stanton (2016) is not only an argument for learnability shaping typology, but also that the Gradual Learning Algorithm (GLA; Boersma 1997, Magri 2012) is the vehicle for it. In this talk, I will discuss some preliminary ideas on comparing the typological predictions of alternative learning models on pathological stress patterns. Learning strategies discussed include Error-Selective Learning (Tessier 2007) and Expectation Driven Learning (Jarosz 2015).

Speaker: James Cooper Roberts (MIT)

Title: Part is part (plus pragmatics)

Time: Thursday, November 20th, 5pm - 6pm

Location: 32-D769



Abstract: In this work, I argue that the natural language item part (and its translational equivalents) is the same as the mereological notion of PROPER PART, full stop. While this seems trivially true, state-of-the-art semantics often assumes this is not the case; Link (1983) posits two parthood relations for part of an individual and part of a plurality (MATERIAL vs. ATOMIC parts), and those who assume one relation posit additional constraints on the transitivity of parthood (Moltmann, 1997; Wagiel, 2021). The latter is done in service of the observation that parts of atomic individuals seemingly cannot be part of a plurality. For example, a world where only Jerry Seinfeld’s hand is completely covered in paint is not a verifying case for (1).

(1) Part of the New Yorkers are completely covered in paint.

I will argue against the approaches outlined above, opting to instead include parts of atoms in the denotation of plural partitives. The interpretation we get for (1), I propose, is actually the result of pragmatics rather than semantics (Grice, 1975’s MAXIM OF QUANTITY). This position is bolstered by the fact that the “inclusive” reading of a plural partitive becomes available under negation and epistemic uncertainty (cf. plurals, Sauerland et al. 2005).

[This is a practice talk for my upcoming presentation at OASIS 5.]

Speaker: Rotsuprit Saengthong (MIT)
Title: Clause Size Reduction by Projection Feature
Time: Tuesday, November 18th, 1pm - 2pm
Location: 32-D461

Abstract: I will present an ongoing project on clausal complementation. I have observed that when tested with restructuring diagnostics as used in Wurmbrand (2001), clauses containing functional elements (e.g., C and T) behave like full CPs in some environments, but in other environments, they behave as if they are smaller than expected given the presence of those functional elements. Such variation is evident in Thai control constructions, where infinitival complements contain the same morphemes as full CPs, yet lack the defining properties of CPs. For instance, certain clauses include C and T morphemes but behave syntactically like vPs. These facts suggest that the mechanisms of structure building—specifically Merge and Labeling/Projection—may operate differently in such environments. I propose that in Merge (?, ?), there may be what I tentatively call a Projection feature, which determines which head is selected for projection. I further argue that clausal reduction arises as a consequence of this operation.

Speaker: Amy Li (MIT)
Title: A phonetic correlate of velar palatalization: shorter front cavity
Time: Monday, November 17th, 5pm - 6:30pm
Location: 32-D831

Abstract: I will start this talk by practicing presenting the poster that I will bring to the ASA (poster abstract below).

Velar palatalization is a common sound change involving a velar stop becoming a palatal affricate or fricative before a front vocoid. To gain insight into its phonetic mechanisms, we test two hypotheses about factors conditioning velar palatalization by comparing similar languages with and without the change: (1) the conditioning vowels are fronter in languages with the change, resulting in fronter closure of the velar through coarticulatory assimilation; or (2) languages with the change have stronger coarticulation of velar stops with following segments, resulting in greater fronting preceding front vocoids. Specifically, we compare two Chinese languages, Mandarin, which underwent velar palatalization in the 16th-17th centuries ({k, kh, x} became {t?, t?h, ?} before high front vowels), and Cantonese, which has not undergone the change in the last millennium. Our results support hypothesis (1) but not (2). We find that Mandarin speakers produce [i] and [y] with a higher front cavity resonance (third formant for [i] and second formant for [y]), implying a shorter front cavity. Velar coarticulation, measured by locus equation slope, does not differ significantly between the two languages. This suggests that the phonetic preconditions of velar palatalization lie in an especially front articulation of the conditioning vocoid.

Then, I will discuss two new hypotheses in response to my results: (1) the conditioning vowels have small enough front cavities in languages with the velar palatalization change that that they can be considered coronal, so coarticulation of the velar consonant with this coronal vowel results in the coronal output of the change; and (2) the conditioning vowels have shorter front cavities in languages with the change due to longer tongue constrictions, which facilitate frication given coarticulation with the velar consonant. I will share some of my attempts to test these new hypotheses. Finally, I will present my planned next steps of the project, including making new recordings comparing (some varieties of) Cretan Greek, in which {k, kh, x} became {t?, t?h, ?} before [i] and [e], and standard modern Greek.

Speaker: Daniar Kasenov (NYU)

Title: Nonce word wellformedness and abstract URs: the case of Russian yers

Time: Thursday, November 13th, 5pm - 6pm

Location: 32-D769



Abstract: Nonce word studies are part of the toolbox to probe productivity, especially of non-automatic phonological alternations, such as Russian vowel-zero alternations (Russian yers). Existing work (Gouskova, Becker 2013; Becker, Gouskova 2016) shows that Russian speakers extend phonotactic tendencies regarding which words do and do not undergo the alternations to nonce items. Becker and Gouskova argue that the results support Gouskova’s (2012) diacritic-based account of Russian yers against approaches that rely on abstract contrasts between vowels. In this talk, I wish to explore how a proponent of the abstract UR approach might account for Becker and Gouskova’s results without ignoring the experimental results altogether. I present preliminary results that a simple bigram model over URs and SRs might do the trick (cf. Scheer’s 2019 argument that the effects reported by Becker and Gouskova are “lexical”).

Speaker: Paul Meisenbichler (MIT)

Title: Reference to individuals across worlds and constraints on de re phenomena

Time: Wednesday, November 12th, 1pm - 2pm

Location: 32-D461



Abstract: In this LFRG, I want to lead a (mostly informal) discussion on the role that counterpart theory (CT, see Lewis 1986) should play in our approaches to de re/de dicto phenomena. The central tenet of CT is the ontological assumption that individuals exist in only one world. In CT, reference across worlds must therefore be established in an indirect way (i.e. as a relation between an individual in one world and its counterparts in other worlds). In some of the recent literature, it has been suggested that blocking (direct) transworld reference could help us understand some well-known constraints on transparent/opaque readings (e.g. Percus (2013), Sauerland (2014), Cable (2018)). I want to explore these proposals and discuss whether adopting a counterpart ontology is a move worth pursuing.

Speaker: Ogloo Jurkhaichin (MIT)

Title: The Nature of ‘Edge’: Evidence from Cross-clausal A-movement in Mongolian

Time: Thursday, November 6th, 5pm - 6pm

Location: 32-D769



Abstract: Syntactic operations are bounded by phases, in which the edge is typically taken to be the highest specifier (Fox & Pesetsky 2005; Rackowski & Richards 2005; Boškovi? 2016, a.o.). In this talk, I will argue that the edge need not be only the highest specifier; a lower specifier of the clausal periphery may also act as an escape hatch for further syntactic movement. This is evidenced by the novel observation that Mongolian permits cross-clausal A-movement to escape phases in which the highest specifier is an ? position (contra Gong 2022, 2023). In particular, given the Ban on Improper Movement, I propose to posit a lower A-specifier that facilitates subsequent cross-clausal A-movement.