Mayfest 2025 - Constraints on Meaning
When and why are certain meanings missing?
Research
Research at our top-ranked department spans syntax, semantics, phonology, language acquisition, computational linguistics, psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics.
Connections between our core competencies are strong, with theoretical, experimental and computational work typically pursued in tandem.
A network of collaboration at all levels sustains a research climate that is both vigorous and friendly. Here new ideas develop in conversation, stimulated by the steady activity of our labs and research groups, frequent student meetings with faculty, regular talks by local and invited scholars and collaborations with the broader University of Maryland language science community, the largest and most integrated language science research community in North America.
Featured Research News
Parametric Change in French
Syntactic change in French, from a parametric perspective.
Non-ARHU Contributor(s): Catherine Cravero-Dolan
Dates:
Syntactic change in French, from a parametric perspective.
The Structure of Noun Phrases in Chinese and its Consequences
A dissertation on nominal syntax in Chinese.
Non-ARHU Contributor(s): Qiming Chen
Dates:
A dissertation on nominal syntax in Chinese.
Aspect and the Syntax of Noun Phrases
The verbal syntax of aspectual classes.
Non-ARHU Contributor(s): Cristina Schmitt
Dates:
This dissertation shows that there are syntactic constraints involved in the aspectual interpretation of the VP that involve the internal structure of the verbal complements. Although a simple compositional semantics would predict certain interpretations, the syntactic computational system has its own mechanisms, and the relevant configurations do not always obtain. Consequently, certain readings end up being blocked. Chapter 1 defines the relevant output conditions for aspectual interpretation based on the semantic work of Verkuyl (1995) and Krifka (1989), and proposes a syntactic configuration within the Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory (Chomsky 1993) at which aspect is calculated. Chapter 2 shows that two classic cases of apparent grammaticalization of aspect, Finnish and Slavic can be reduced to independently needed elements in the grammar: A-quantifiers and movement to AgrO for Case checking. Chapter 3 examines Accusative Clitic Doubling in Spanish and provides a new analysis which accounts for the aspectual interpretations of the construction. Chapter 4 proposes a theory of Determiner Transparency in which definite determiners in relative clauses, certain kinds of adjectives and demonstratives do not select for their head NP and as a result, durative reading of the VP predicate are obtained if the head is non-quantized. Chapter 5 extends the analysis to "type" expressions, measure phrases and possessives (genitives). Chapter 6 provides an aspectual analysis of the copula verbs 'ser' and 'estar' in BrazilianPortuguese, and argues against their being the grammaticalization of the stage-level and individual-level distinction.
Syntactic and paratactic word order effects
A dissertation on word order patterns cross-linguistically.
Non-ARHU Contributor(s): Joel M. Hoffman
Dates:
A dissertation on word order patterns cross-linguistically.
The growth of the phrase marker : evidence from subjects
A dissertation on phrase structure and subjects.
Non-ARHU Contributor(s): Susan Mary Powers
Dates:
A dissertation on phrase structure and subjects.
The syntax of tense
A dissertation on the syntactic encoding of tense.
Non-ARHU Contributor(s): Ellen Thompson
Dates:
A dissertation on the syntactic encoding of tense.
Case, Periphrastic do and the Loss of Verb Movement in English
A dissertation on syntactic change in Middle English and its consequences for theories of clause structure.
Dates:
A dissertation on syntactic change in Middle English and its consequences for theories of clause structure.
The Copy Theory of Movement and Linearization of Chains in the Minimalist Program
"Movement" is formation of a chain of copies and deletion of all but one.
Non-ARHU Contributor(s): Jairo Nunes
Dates:
This dissertation is concerned with movement operations within the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1995). Exploring the copy theory of movement, it focusses on two issues: (i) why can traces not be phonetically realized?; and (ii) what is the theoretical status of the operation Move in a system where syntactic objects are derivationally assembled? I propose that a chain cannot surface with more than one link phonetically realized because it cannot be linearized in accordance with Kayne's (1994) Linear Correspondence Axiom. Assuming that the head of a chain and its trace(s) are nondistinct copies, they induce violations of the irreflexivity and asymmetry conditions on linear order, canceling the derivation. Deletion of all but one chain link in the phonological component (Chain Reduction) is forced upon nontrivial chains in order to permit their linearization. The choice of the links to be deleted is determined by economy considerations regarding the elimination of formal features in the phonological component. Assuming that only the chain link which is in the checking domain of a head H is affected by a checking relation with H, the head of a chain will always have fewer formal features (if any) to be eliminated in the phonological component than its trace(s). Deletion of traces for purposes of linearization is thus more economical than deletion of the head of a chain because it requires fewer subsequent applications of deletion of formal features. As for the status of Move, I propose that it is not an operation of the computational system, but is rather a description of the interaction of the independent operations Copy, Merge, Form Chain, and Chain Reduction. Evidence for this proposal is provided by instances of "sideward movement", where a given constituent C of a syntactic object K is copied and merges C with a syntactic object L, unconnected to K. Under this analysis of movement, the linearization of chains in the phonological component constrains sideward movement in such a way that it makes it possible to subsume the core properties of parasitic gap and across-the-board extraction constructions under the properties of standard movement.
Adult Access to Universal Grammar in Second Language Acquisition
Does UG guide language learning in adulthood?
Non-ARHU Contributor(s):Jeanne Downey-Vanover
Dates:
Does UG guide language learning in adulthood?
The syntax of Korean and its implications for parsing theory
A dissertation on the syntax and parsing of Korean.
Non-ARHU Contributor(s): Sungki Suh
Dates:
A dissertation on the syntax and parsing of Korean.