Course Description
This course investigates the view of syntactic objects as bundles of features, which merge and agree with other bundles of features to build structure. In particular, we will explore how subset relationships between different feature bundles have consequences for the order of operations. Subset relationships between feature bundles make it so that some derivational choices feed others, and some bleed others. As a result, relationships between feature bundles define what consequences we should observe from different orders of operations.
We will explore the consequences of this approach in the domain of agreement, Merge and their interaction in several languages and contexts, including: Romance past participle agreement, cross-linguistic variation in the morphosyntax of subject vs. object wh-questions, and A/A-bar interactions.
Area Tags: Syntax, Variation, Linguistic Frameworks
(Session 1) Tuesday/Friday 9:00-10:20
Location: ILC N101
Instructor: Elise Newman
Elise Newman is a postdoc at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses primarily on syntax, with additional interests in semantics/pragmatics and first language acquisition. Her dissertation investigates wh-movement/Voice interactions in a variety of languages and contexts, and what it can teach us about the inventory of syntactic features and categories. Since receiving her PhD in 2021 from MIT, she has been working with researchers at Edinburgh, the University of Göttingen, and ZAS on a grant studying syntactic locality effects more generally.
