Past Talks (2012-2013)
Auxiliary reduction in English
Arto Anttila (Stanford)
When: May 2nd
English auxiliary reduction (e.g., I will ~ I’ll, I have ~ I’ve) is possible in some contexts, e.g., I’ll do this thing; I’ve thought about it, but blocked in others, e.g., *I think, therefore I’m; *You and I’ve been there too often. How exactly do these contexts differ? I pursue the hypothesis that the two key factors behind auxiliary reduction are stress and phrasing: (i) auxiliary reduction is blocked if the host phrase or the auxiliary carries a sufficient degree of phrasal stress; (ii) monosyllabic function words (e.g., I, you, it, am, will, have) enter into a stressability hierarchy that plays a role in both auxiliary reduction and phrasal stress assignment. I take preliminary steps towards testing this analysis on the Buckeye Corpus of American English conversational speech, focusing on the reduction of will/shall.
(And a thanks to COGS for helping funding this event.)
English auxiliary reduction (e.g., I will ~ I’ll, I have ~ I’ve) is possible in some contexts, e.g., I’ll do this thing; I’ve thought about it, but blocked in others, e.g., *I think, therefore I’m; *You and I’ve been there too often. How exactly do these contexts differ? I pursue the hypothesis that the two key factors behind auxiliary reduction are stress and phrasing: (i) auxiliary reduction is blocked if the host phrase or the auxiliary carries a sufficient degree of phrasal stress; (ii) monosyllabic function words (e.g., I, you, it, am, will, have) enter into a stressability hierarchy that plays a role in both auxiliary reduction and phrasal stress assignment. I take preliminary steps towards testing this analysis on the Buckeye Corpus of American English conversational speech, focusing on the reduction of will/shall.
(And a thanks to COGS for helping funding this event.)
"Vagueness, Imprecision, and Tolerance" (GLEEFUL Keynote Address)
Chris Kennedy (University of Chicago)
When: April 6th, 2:15pm-3:45pm
Where: B342 Wells
When I say “the theater is packed tonight” or “there are a lot of people in the theater tonight,” my utterance leaves a certain amount of uncertainty about the actual number of people in the theater. The same uncertainty is usually present when I say “the theater is full tonight” (even if the number of seats in the theater is known) or “there are 1000 people in the theater tonight.” In all cases, this can be traced back to the fact that we use and interpret utterances like these tolerantly: small differences in the actual number of people in the theater typically do not affect our willingness either to make these utterances or to accept a speaker's utterance of them. However, there is an important difference between the two sets of utterances: "the theater is full" and "there are 1000 people in the theater" can be used or understood in a way that is fully precise, but "the theater is packed" and "there are a lot of people in the theater" cannot be so used or understood. This distinction — the possibility of “natural precisifications” — is one of several empirical properties that distinguish vague terms like 'packed' and 'a lot' from (potentially) imprecise ones like 'full' and '1000'.
The central theoretical question is how to account for these and other empirical differences while at the same time explaining why both kinds of expressions can be tolerant. Does the shared property of tolerance indicate that both vague and imprecise expressions have the same core semantic analysis (one in which all meanings are fundamentally tolerant); or does the difference in precisification reflect a core semantic distinction that is sometimes blurred by use? My goal in this talk is to present some arguments in favor of the latter position. I will begin by providing linguistic and experimental evidence which argues in favor of a distinction between vagueness as a fundamentally semantic phenomenon and imprecision as a fundamentally pragmatic one. I will then argue that any reasonable pragmatic model of imprecision is one that will give rise to the phenomenological properties associated with tolerance, for exactly the same reasons that the semantic features of vague terms give rise to these properties. I will conclude with a discussion of the broader implications of this distinction for our theories of linguistic meaning.
Where: B342 Wells
When I say “the theater is packed tonight” or “there are a lot of people in the theater tonight,” my utterance leaves a certain amount of uncertainty about the actual number of people in the theater. The same uncertainty is usually present when I say “the theater is full tonight” (even if the number of seats in the theater is known) or “there are 1000 people in the theater tonight.” In all cases, this can be traced back to the fact that we use and interpret utterances like these tolerantly: small differences in the actual number of people in the theater typically do not affect our willingness either to make these utterances or to accept a speaker's utterance of them. However, there is an important difference between the two sets of utterances: "the theater is full" and "there are 1000 people in the theater" can be used or understood in a way that is fully precise, but "the theater is packed" and "there are a lot of people in the theater" cannot be so used or understood. This distinction — the possibility of “natural precisifications” — is one of several empirical properties that distinguish vague terms like 'packed' and 'a lot' from (potentially) imprecise ones like 'full' and '1000'.
The central theoretical question is how to account for these and other empirical differences while at the same time explaining why both kinds of expressions can be tolerant. Does the shared property of tolerance indicate that both vague and imprecise expressions have the same core semantic analysis (one in which all meanings are fundamentally tolerant); or does the difference in precisification reflect a core semantic distinction that is sometimes blurred by use? My goal in this talk is to present some arguments in favor of the latter position. I will begin by providing linguistic and experimental evidence which argues in favor of a distinction between vagueness as a fundamentally semantic phenomenon and imprecision as a fundamentally pragmatic one. I will then argue that any reasonable pragmatic model of imprecision is one that will give rise to the phenomenological properties associated with tolerance, for exactly the same reasons that the semantic features of vague terms give rise to these properties. I will conclude with a discussion of the broader implications of this distinction for our theories of linguistic meaning.
Fishing for the grammar: investigating syntactic knowledge in children under three (MSULC 2013 Keynote Address)
Megan Sutton (University of Maryland)
When: April 5th
While the aim of language acquisition research is often to describe the nature of the child's developing grammar, we face a challenge in that the grammar itself is not visible to us- we must rely on observable behavior. And further, children's behavior is not directly indicative of their grammatical knowledge, in two important ways. First, behavior is inherently a function of both a child's grammatical knowledge and the deployment processes required to implement this knowledge in real time. Second, in certain situations both accurate adult-like grammar and a grammar relying on a non-adult heuristic can yield the same behavior.
I'll present as a test case research investigating the developmental pattern of children's acquisition of Principle C. Principle C is the Binding Theory constraint which blocks a reflexive interpretation of sentences like "she likes Katie" (i.e. such a sentence can't mean that Katie likes herself). I will show evidence from two lines of study exploring children's understanding of Principle C at 30 months. The first capitalizes on differences in behavior which are indicative of differences in deployment capabilities; from this we can make inferences about the underlying knowledge that children are relying on, in terms of whether this knowledge is structurally dependent, as in adults. The second line of studies aims to contrast behavior predicted by adult-like knowledge of Principle C and that predicted by various non-adult heuristics that children could use as alternative interpretive methods; I will show that in each case adult-like knowledge of Principle C is the only way to account for all of children's behavior at 30 months. Taken together, these results suggest that at the youngest ages at which we are (as of yet) able to test children's knowledge of Principle C, children are adult-like not only in their behavior but also in the underlying knowledge which drives it.
At the broadest level, this work illustrates the delicate balance between measures of grammatical knowledge and grammatical performance. Drawing inferences about the state of underlying knowledge directly from observed behavior is not straightforward; rather, accurate diagnosis of children's grammatical competence requires specification of the effect of the deployment systems required to implement such knowledge, as well as careful comparison of performance across many contexts.
While the aim of language acquisition research is often to describe the nature of the child's developing grammar, we face a challenge in that the grammar itself is not visible to us- we must rely on observable behavior. And further, children's behavior is not directly indicative of their grammatical knowledge, in two important ways. First, behavior is inherently a function of both a child's grammatical knowledge and the deployment processes required to implement this knowledge in real time. Second, in certain situations both accurate adult-like grammar and a grammar relying on a non-adult heuristic can yield the same behavior.
I'll present as a test case research investigating the developmental pattern of children's acquisition of Principle C. Principle C is the Binding Theory constraint which blocks a reflexive interpretation of sentences like "she likes Katie" (i.e. such a sentence can't mean that Katie likes herself). I will show evidence from two lines of study exploring children's understanding of Principle C at 30 months. The first capitalizes on differences in behavior which are indicative of differences in deployment capabilities; from this we can make inferences about the underlying knowledge that children are relying on, in terms of whether this knowledge is structurally dependent, as in adults. The second line of studies aims to contrast behavior predicted by adult-like knowledge of Principle C and that predicted by various non-adult heuristics that children could use as alternative interpretive methods; I will show that in each case adult-like knowledge of Principle C is the only way to account for all of children's behavior at 30 months. Taken together, these results suggest that at the youngest ages at which we are (as of yet) able to test children's knowledge of Principle C, children are adult-like not only in their behavior but also in the underlying knowledge which drives it.
At the broadest level, this work illustrates the delicate balance between measures of grammatical knowledge and grammatical performance. Drawing inferences about the state of underlying knowledge directly from observed behavior is not straightforward; rather, accurate diagnosis of children's grammatical competence requires specification of the effect of the deployment systems required to implement such knowledge, as well as careful comparison of performance across many contexts.
"Language change from an individual-difference perspective"
Alan Yu (University of Chicago)
When: March 14th
Linguists usually discuss language in terms of groups of speakers, even though it is often acknowledged that no two individuals speak alike. The focus on language as a group-level phenomenon can obscure important insights only apparent when systematic individual variation is taken into account. In this talk, I offer experimental evidence from Cantonese and English, showing that speakers vary significantly and systematically along certain individual-difference dimensions, including autistic traits, in their responses to the effects of the lexicon and coarticulation in speech perception and production. I discuss the implications of individual difference studies for understanding the origins of language variation and change.
Linguists usually discuss language in terms of groups of speakers, even though it is often acknowledged that no two individuals speak alike. The focus on language as a group-level phenomenon can obscure important insights only apparent when systematic individual variation is taken into account. In this talk, I offer experimental evidence from Cantonese and English, showing that speakers vary significantly and systematically along certain individual-difference dimensions, including autistic traits, in their responses to the effects of the lexicon and coarticulation in speech perception and production. I discuss the implications of individual difference studies for understanding the origins of language variation and change.
"Generating expectations and meanings in language comprehension and production"
Colin Phillips (University of Maryland)
When: February 21st
We often have expectations about utterances before they are uttered. How we do this, in language production and comprehension alike, has implications for practical concerns and for theoretical questions about language architecture. The ability to generate reliable expectations may be a key enabler of robust language understanding in noisy environments. Understanding the (non-)parallels between the generative mechanisms engaged in comprehension and production is essential for any attempt to close the gap between grammatical 'knowledge' and language use systems. In this talk I explore how we generate expectations about word-level and sentence-level meanings. One set of studies uses behavioral interference paradigms to examine the time-course of verb generation when Japanese speakers plan their utterances. Two other series of studies focus on electrophysiological evidence for the generation of verb expectations in Chinese, Spanish, and English. Evidence for advance generation of verb meanings is found in comprehension and production alike. But we find that different types of linguistic information drive expectations on different time scales. In verb-final clauses, verb expectations are initially driven only by lexical associations, and effects of compositional interpretations are observed only after a delay. Similar mechanisms operate in production and comprehension, but they yield different outputs, depending on the information available to the language user in a specific task.
We often have expectations about utterances before they are uttered. How we do this, in language production and comprehension alike, has implications for practical concerns and for theoretical questions about language architecture. The ability to generate reliable expectations may be a key enabler of robust language understanding in noisy environments. Understanding the (non-)parallels between the generative mechanisms engaged in comprehension and production is essential for any attempt to close the gap between grammatical 'knowledge' and language use systems. In this talk I explore how we generate expectations about word-level and sentence-level meanings. One set of studies uses behavioral interference paradigms to examine the time-course of verb generation when Japanese speakers plan their utterances. Two other series of studies focus on electrophysiological evidence for the generation of verb expectations in Chinese, Spanish, and English. Evidence for advance generation of verb meanings is found in comprehension and production alike. But we find that different types of linguistic information drive expectations on different time scales. In verb-final clauses, verb expectations are initially driven only by lexical associations, and effects of compositional interpretations are observed only after a delay. Similar mechanisms operate in production and comprehension, but they yield different outputs, depending on the information available to the language user in a specific task.
"Theories of Language Comprehension and the Role of Social Identity"
Julie Boland (University of Michigan)
When: February 7th
A major question in psycholinguistics has been the extent to which language processing, and in particular syntactic processing, is encapsulated from the rest of cognition. Over the years, this question has grown more nuanced, with widespread agreement that non-linguistic knowledge is used “late” in processing (e.g., for lexical and syntactic ambiguity resolution), but continuing debate about the use of non-linguistic knowledge in “early” processes... [full abstract]
A major question in psycholinguistics has been the extent to which language processing, and in particular syntactic processing, is encapsulated from the rest of cognition. Over the years, this question has grown more nuanced, with widespread agreement that non-linguistic knowledge is used “late” in processing (e.g., for lexical and syntactic ambiguity resolution), but continuing debate about the use of non-linguistic knowledge in “early” processes... [full abstract]
"Three Approaches to Age & Aging in Sociolinguistics"
Richard Cameron (University of Illinois - Chicago)
When: January 31st
Within sociolinguistics, age may be researched in multiple ways. In Cameron (2007) I proposed that in current sociolinguistic practice one may find three fundamental types of social facts or constructs. These are:
Within sociolinguistics, age may be researched in multiple ways. In Cameron (2007) I proposed that in current sociolinguistic practice one may find three fundamental types of social facts or constructs. These are:
- an act or action of language use that requires, minimally, two interacting people for its performance or one person acting as two.
- language use that is connected to the identity or identities, be they achieved or attributed, of a speaker or speakers.
- language use that is involved in the expression of ideology... [full abstract]
"Do adult second language learners teach themselves? Insights from eye movements and verbal reports"
Aline Godfroid (Michigan State University)
When: January 17th
Attention and awareness have long been identified as strong facilitators of adult second language (L2) learning (e.g., Baars, 1988; Robinson, 1995; Schmidt, 1990). Whereas early claims about the role of these mechanisms were based on pre-test – post-test comparisons, recent methodological innovations obviate the need for such indirect evidence, allowing instead to observe the effects of attention and awareness during or immediately after processing. In this talk, I report on my work with two such methodologies—eye tracking and verbal reports—as means to study adult L2 learners’ processing of unfamiliar language forms... [full abstract]
Attention and awareness have long been identified as strong facilitators of adult second language (L2) learning (e.g., Baars, 1988; Robinson, 1995; Schmidt, 1990). Whereas early claims about the role of these mechanisms were based on pre-test – post-test comparisons, recent methodological innovations obviate the need for such indirect evidence, allowing instead to observe the effects of attention and awareness during or immediately after processing. In this talk, I report on my work with two such methodologies—eye tracking and verbal reports—as means to study adult L2 learners’ processing of unfamiliar language forms... [full abstract]
"Running and running, or running around? Two kinds of pluractionality in Badiaranke"
Rebecca Cover (Ohio State University)
When: December 6th
Badiaranke employs two cross-linguistically common strategies for marking pluractionality (verbal plurality): reduplication and suffixation. I argue that reduplication, but not the suffix (-ra:n-), encodes eventuality multiplication: repetitiveness or repetition for events, and intensification for states. Of Lasersohn’s (1995) three types of distributive pluractionality --- temporal, spatial, and participant non-overlap – reduplication can express only the first. In contrast, -ra:n- encodes meanings not involving multiplication: it can convey distributivity across space or participants, as well as non-distributive readings, including unexpected event realization and inchoativity. Although such readings seem distant from event plurality, they are common readings of pluractional markers cross-linguistically (Cusic 1981:74-81).
Badiaranke employs two cross-linguistically common strategies for marking pluractionality (verbal plurality): reduplication and suffixation. I argue that reduplication, but not the suffix (-ra:n-), encodes eventuality multiplication: repetitiveness or repetition for events, and intensification for states. Of Lasersohn’s (1995) three types of distributive pluractionality --- temporal, spatial, and participant non-overlap – reduplication can express only the first. In contrast, -ra:n- encodes meanings not involving multiplication: it can convey distributivity across space or participants, as well as non-distributive readings, including unexpected event realization and inchoativity. Although such readings seem distant from event plurality, they are common readings of pluractional markers cross-linguistically (Cusic 1981:74-81).
"Perception, Production and Acquisition of Basque Sibilant Phonemes by Non-Native Speakers"
Melissa Baese-Berk (Michigan State University)
When: November 1st
Differences in perception and production of non-native contrasts are thought to be driven by the relationship between sound inventories of the native and target languages (Best, McRoberts, and Goodell, 2001). I will present a set of studies examining the perception, production, and acquisition of Basque sibilant fricatives and affricates by native Spanish speakers. Basque has a 3-way place contrast for sibilant fricatives and affricates, but
Spanish has a much sparser inventory for sibilant phonemes. In a first set of studies, we examine baseline perception and production abilities of the Basque sibilant phonemes by native Spanish speakers. We demonstrate that Spanish listeners are able to leverage their ability to discriminate and produce a manner contrast in their native language to perceive and produce a new contrast in Basque. However, they are unable to leverage place contrasts in the same way. In a second set of studies, we trained native Spanish listeners to perceive and produce these contrasts. The results of these studies demonstrate a complex pattern of learning, partially dependent on training modality (i.e., perception or production training). The implications of these findings for the relationship between perception and production will be discussed.
Differences in perception and production of non-native contrasts are thought to be driven by the relationship between sound inventories of the native and target languages (Best, McRoberts, and Goodell, 2001). I will present a set of studies examining the perception, production, and acquisition of Basque sibilant fricatives and affricates by native Spanish speakers. Basque has a 3-way place contrast for sibilant fricatives and affricates, but
Spanish has a much sparser inventory for sibilant phonemes. In a first set of studies, we examine baseline perception and production abilities of the Basque sibilant phonemes by native Spanish speakers. We demonstrate that Spanish listeners are able to leverage their ability to discriminate and produce a manner contrast in their native language to perceive and produce a new contrast in Basque. However, they are unable to leverage place contrasts in the same way. In a second set of studies, we trained native Spanish listeners to perceive and produce these contrasts. The results of these studies demonstrate a complex pattern of learning, partially dependent on training modality (i.e., perception or production training). The implications of these findings for the relationship between perception and production will be discussed.
"Asymmetries in the acquisition of subject pronouns: the case of Italian"
Manuela Pinto (Utrecht University)
When: October 16th
Research on pronouns has focused on distributional properties deriving them from structural distinctions (Cardinaletti & Starke 1999, Déchaine & Wiltschko 2002). Occasionally, it was observed that the acquisition of 1st and 2nd person pronouns precedes that of 3rd person (Chiat 1978, Clark 1985, Serratrice et al. 2004). These were also the author’s findings in a longitudinal study of three Italian corpora from CHILDES: 3rd person subject pronouns systematically emerge later than 1st and 2nd person. To date, no formal account has been proposed for this asymmetry. This paper explores how linguistic theory may account for this order of acquisition. In addition, the proposed explanation aims at reflecting not only the grammatical development of the child, but also its cognitive maturation... [full abstract]
Research on pronouns has focused on distributional properties deriving them from structural distinctions (Cardinaletti & Starke 1999, Déchaine & Wiltschko 2002). Occasionally, it was observed that the acquisition of 1st and 2nd person pronouns precedes that of 3rd person (Chiat 1978, Clark 1985, Serratrice et al. 2004). These were also the author’s findings in a longitudinal study of three Italian corpora from CHILDES: 3rd person subject pronouns systematically emerge later than 1st and 2nd person. To date, no formal account has been proposed for this asymmetry. This paper explores how linguistic theory may account for this order of acquisition. In addition, the proposed explanation aims at reflecting not only the grammatical development of the child, but also its cognitive maturation... [full abstract]
"Advancing and resisting enregisterment in northern Ohio"
Kathryn Campbell-Kibler (Ohio State University)
When: October 4th
The Inland North, while a staple of dialectological and variationist research, has been only unevenly recognized by non-linguists as a variety distinct from those found in the Midland and West. In a series of studies, I have investigated the emergence of the construct of the "Cleveland" or "Northern Ohio" accent, which appears to be inspired at least in part by Inland North features. Based on elicited perceptual dialectology data, spontaneous observations on Twitter and acoustic data, I describe the various positions speakers take with respect to this emerging construct and suggest connections between ideological stance and linguistic behavior.
The Inland North, while a staple of dialectological and variationist research, has been only unevenly recognized by non-linguists as a variety distinct from those found in the Midland and West. In a series of studies, I have investigated the emergence of the construct of the "Cleveland" or "Northern Ohio" accent, which appears to be inspired at least in part by Inland North features. Based on elicited perceptual dialectology data, spontaneous observations on Twitter and acoustic data, I describe the various positions speakers take with respect to this emerging construct and suggest connections between ideological stance and linguistic behavior.
"When variability affects acquisition of grammatical morphology: the acquisition of number"
Cristina Schmitt (Michigan State University)
When: September 13th, 4:30pm
There are two main sources of variability in natural languages: sociolinguistic (probabilistic) variability and parametric variation. Although sociolinguistic variation has long been recognized as an integral part of the linguistic system, its impact on the acquisition of grammar has barely been explored. We present experimental data from Chilean Spanish (ChS) and Brazilian Portuguese (BrP), two languages in which there is significant sociolinguistic variation in the production of plural morphology but which also differ parametrically in the licensing of bare count nouns in argument position. We argue that the acquisition patterns in the two languages differ, but are consistent with the idea that input variability may cause ambiguity and delay acquisition of categorical properties... [full abstract]
There are two main sources of variability in natural languages: sociolinguistic (probabilistic) variability and parametric variation. Although sociolinguistic variation has long been recognized as an integral part of the linguistic system, its impact on the acquisition of grammar has barely been explored. We present experimental data from Chilean Spanish (ChS) and Brazilian Portuguese (BrP), two languages in which there is significant sociolinguistic variation in the production of plural morphology but which also differ parametrically in the licensing of bare count nouns in argument position. We argue that the acquisition patterns in the two languages differ, but are consistent with the idea that input variability may cause ambiguity and delay acquisition of categorical properties... [full abstract]