Polinsky Lab Meeting:
Jeffrey T. Runner (University of Rochester)
Binding constraints in action: implications for processing
Wednesday, February 5 cancelled due to snowstorm RESCHEDULED TBA | 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.
MIT Colloquium 
Raj Singh (Carleton)
Implicature and free-choice signatures: embedding, processing complexity, and child development
Friday, February 7 | 3:30-5pm | 32-141
Fieldwork Updates
Nick Longenbaugh ('14) went to Auckland to do field work on Niuean over the winter break. He looked at processing time asymmetries in relative clauses and raising. Nick visited Auckland and surroundings, and here are some photos from the trip:
SCLA Conference (SCLC - 2014)