Polinsky Lab Meeting:
Jeffrey T. Runner (University of Rochester)
Binding constraints in action: implications for processing
Wednesday, February 19 | 5:30pm | 2 Arrow Street (4th floor conference room)
In this talk I will present the results of two visual world eye-tracking experiments. The first, done in collaboration with Kellan Head, was designed to test two claims in the literature: (a) that the binding theory is a set of "linked" constraints as in the classic binding theory (Chomsky 1981) and HPSG's binding theory (Sag, Wasow & Bender 2003); and (b) that the binding theory applies as an initial filter on processing (Nicol & Swinney 1989, Sturt 2003). Experiment 1 results instead support two different claims: (a) that the constraint(s) on pronouns and the constraint(s) on reflexives are separate constraints that apply differently and with different timelines, in line with "primitives of binding" theory, Reuland (2001, 2011); and (b) that neither constraint applies as an initial filter on processing, as in Badecker & Straub (2001). Experiment 2, done in collaboration with Kim Morse, further explores the relationship between pronouns and reflexives, showing even more clearly that the resolution of the appropriate antecedent for pronouns is delayed compared to that of reflexives. This project started as an examination of the on-line effects of the constraints of the binding theory, developing an approach based on Nicol & Swinney 1989, Badecker & Straub 2001, and Sturt 2003. Recent work, however, implicates the critical role of memory access in reflexive interpretation (Dillon et al. 2013). Thus, I will also try to relate the current results to current models of memory access.
Language Universals and Linguistic Diversity Colloquium
Benjamin Bruening (University of Delaware)
Subject-Verb Inversion as Generalized Alignment
Friday, February 21 | 4:30pm | Boylston 103
This talk explores the idea that what is behind subject-verb inversion in many languages, including subject-auxiliary inversion in English, is phonological alignment, as in the theory of Generalized Alignment (McCarthy and Prince 1993). Specifically, a projection of C needs to be aligned with an edge of the tensed verb. I show that this explains many facts about subject-auxiliary inversion in English, including facts that are puzzling for traditional views of that phenomenon. I also explore cross-linguistic variation in how the Align constraint can be stated, and show that differences between English and Stylistic Inversion in French fall out from the way Align constraints can vary.
Fieldwork Updates
Jenny Lee spent the semester in Papua New Guinea, collecting data on a previously unstudied language, Ranmo (a dialect of Blafe), spoken by around 300 in Western Province. The language has a very complex inflectional morphology, with many implications for the syntax/morphology interface to be spelled out. She enjoyed working with consultants, planting yams, and bathing in the rain/creek with children, but will not miss the 40-km bike ride through the jungle.
