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This class is strongly recommended for those interested in syntax and\/or the syntax-semantics interface.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIt explores many topics, all of which have the property that they have not been taught in the 24.951\/24.952 classes of the previous two years. Each topic will be covered in at most two class sessions. Registered students will be required to write three snippets. The first snippet has to be on a topic taught in the first 4 weeks, the second on a topic of the second 4 weeks, and the third on a topic taught in the last 4 weeks.<\/p>\n
Some topics we plan to cover include (subject to change):<\/p>\n
\n- Wh-predicates\u00a0<\/li>\n
- V-initial languages<\/li>\n
- Clefts and Pseudoclefts<\/li>\n
- Quexistentials<\/li>\n
- Category-less adjectives<\/li>\n
- Ne-que exceptives<\/li>\n
- Indexical shift<\/li>\n
- Plural pronoun construction<\/li>\n
- Asymmetric coordination<\/li>\n
- The Coordinate Structure Constraint<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This class is offered biannually, so if you are considering taking it, please note that the next time it will be offered will be in the \u009228-\u009229 academic year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n24.964 Topics in Phonology: Phonetics and phonology in generative grammar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Instructor: Edward Flemming<\/li>\n
- Time: Friday, 10am-1pm<\/li>\n
- Location: 32-D461<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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:<\/p>\n
\n- Where is the dividing line between phonetics and phonology, and why?<\/li>\n
- What information is passed from the phonology to the phonetics? Just the output of the phonology? Underlying representations? Information about the system of contrasts?<\/li>\n
- Are there inputs to the phonetics that do not come from the phonology? E.g. speech rate, hyper-\/hypoarticulation.<\/li>\n
- Does any information flow from the phonetics to the phonology? Does the phonology anticipate language-specific aspects of phonetic realization?<\/li>\n
- Are these components organized serially? If so, are there opaque interactions between them?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n24.981 Topics in Computational Phonology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Instructor: Adam Albright<\/li>\n
- Time: Wednesday, 10am-1pm<\/li>\n
- Location: 32-D831<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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.<\/p>\n
This class is intended to provide an introduction to the theory and practice of computational models of phonology.\u00a0 We will discuss recent theoretical work informed by computational implementations, and tools for modeling phonological knowledge of various kinds.\u00a0 Special attention will be paid to the relation between formal learning models and empirical data concerning early phonological acquisition.<\/p>\n
Topics may include: (subject to substantial revision, according to needs or interests of participants)<\/p>\n
\n- Statistical “baseline” models (n-gram models, exemplar models)<\/li>\n
- Algorithms for constraint weighting and constraint ranking (recursive constraint demotion, biased constraint demotion, the GLA; perceptron learning and maximum entropy weighting)<\/li>\n
- Algorithms for constraint discovery (Albright and Hayes 2006; Hayes and Wilson 2008)<\/li>\n
- Integrating learned and innate constraints<\/li>\n
- Bayesian inference for phonology and morphology<\/li>\n
- Models of morphological decomposition and morphological productivity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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.
\n*** Depending on interests and goals of students, we may experiment with AI-assisted coding this semester<\/p>\n
Course requirements:<\/p>\n
\n- Weekly readings<\/li>\n
- Participation in class discussions<\/li>\n
- Written assignments (small problem sets)<\/li>\n
- Final project (presentation + writeup)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n24.979 Topics in Semantics: Presupposition, Anaphora, and Reference<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Instructor: Amir Anvari, Danny Fox, Martin Hackl<\/li>\n
- Time: Wednesday, 10am-1pm<\/li>\n
- Location: 32-D461<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In this\u00a0seminar\u00a0we 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.<\/p>\n
Requirements:<\/p>\n