# Week of Feb 24 February 24, 2025 ## **Harvard Linguistics Colloquium Talk Series** The second talk of the Harvard Linguistics Colloquium Talk Series is take place this **Friday February 28 at 12pm** in the **Fong Auditorium**. Please find the details below. Hope to see lots of you there! **Title**: Disjunction and Possibility **Speaker**: [Matthew Mandelkern](https://mmandelkern.github.io/) (NYU) **Time**: Friday February 28 @ 12pm **Location**: The Fong Auditorium, Boylston Hall (1st floor) **Abstract**: I explore constructions which contain an embedded disjunction ⌜p or q⌝ which is interpreted as (p∨q) ∧♢p∧♢q, where ♢ is a possibility modal whose flavor is epistemic, circumstantial, or deontic. I argue that no extant theory can account for these interpretations. I propose that the best way to do so is with a direct theory on which ⌜p or q⌝ simply means (p∨q) ∧♢p∧♢q. In addition to accounting for the novel cases I discuss, this theory explains both wide- and narrow-scope free choice inferences, in a similar way as the theories of Zimmermann (2000); Geurts (2005); Goldstein (2019). It also accounts for recent observations about the relation between disjunction and possibility from Degano et al. 2025; Feinmann 2023. ## **LangCog** The next LangCog meeting of the semester will be on **Tuesday, February 25 from 5:30-7:00pm**! It will take place in **William James Hall, Room #1550**. The speaker next week is Victor Gomes (post-doc at the Snedeker lab), and the title and abstract of the talk can be found below. Food will be available at the meeting, and you can find the schedule for the remainder of the semester on our [website](https://sites.harvard.edu/langcog/). **Title**: More senses, more problems: The development of polyseme learning under uncertainty **Abstract**: Acquiring multiple meanings for a word is often proposed to be difficult for word learners. However, the degree of difficulty may depend on the meanings: prior work has demonstrated that word-learning is easier for both adults and children when words' multiple meanings are related (i.e., polysemous, like "cap") than unrelated (i.e., homophonous, like "bat").However, it remains an open question how learners infer polysemous meanings if learners encounter these words in more referentially ambiguous contexts. In two studies, we examine children’s and adults’ learning of polysemes under uncertainty, using both artificial stimuli from prior work (Study 1) and attested non-English polysemes (Study 2). Results suggest that while adults are often able to take advantage of similarities between referents to infer polysemous meanings across multiple exposures, children generally struggle to do so. This indicates that polyseme learning improves with age and suggests that current computational models of cross-situational word learning may capture children’s word learning strategies better than those of adults. ## **Hill at the Harvard Linguistics Colloquium Talk Series** The first talk for Harvard Linguistics Colloquium Talk Series of the semester was given by [Joseph C. Hill](http://www.josephchill.com/) (Gallaudet University) on Friday February 14. The talk was titled *"The Significance of History of Racism and Audism: The Influence of Educational and Research Decisions on the Study of Black American Sign Language"*. Thank you so much, Joseph, for the talk that brought together so many strands! ![Hill Talk](/sites/g/files/omnuum5001/files/2025-02/hill-talk.JPG) ## **Andrew Fisher Show hosted by ASL Program** Harvard research shows that laughter is good for you! So do yourself a favor and join us **Thursday, March 6** for an evening of some much needed humor. Our ASL Program is hosting Deaf comedian, **Andrew Fisher** for a show in **Fong Auditorium (Boylston Hall, 1st floor) at 7pm**. We hope you'll join us as laughter is a great thing – and most especially when it’s contagious! Bio: Andrew Fisher is an unexpected comedian performing unexpected comedy. Born deaf and hilarious, he has put his unique perspective to work as one of the most captivating comedians on the New York scene. With his roots in the comedy clubs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, he has been expanding his audiences by performing at colleges and universities. Most recently, Andrew was selected as a finalist for the Hoboken Comedy Festival. He is also a well-respected filmmaker whose debut comedic film has received rave reviews from audiences across the country. Though it may seem unexpected for all audiences to be able to enjoy jokes told in American Sign Language, Sean Kelly, editor of National Lampoon magazine and former writer for SNL, has lauded Andrew's ability to take advantage of his disconnect with the audience. Through a combination of flawless physical comedy and expertly timed delivery, Andrew will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about what makes comedy work. ![Andrew Fisher](/sites/g/files/omnuum5001/files/2025-02/andrew-fisher.jpeg) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)