The LNAT3 programme is now online and can be consulted on the following page:
https://www.crissp.be/events/lnat-3-the-semantics-and-pragmatics-of-logical-constants/programme/
The topic of LNAT3 is ‘The semantics and pragmatics of logical constants’ and the conference will take place on February 5-6. More information is available on https://www.crissp.be/lnat3.
Numerals raise a host of linguistic issues of a syntactic, morphological, and semantic nature. From a syntactic point of view, they sit on the divide between lexical and functional categories, and occupy a fixed position in the extended nominal projection. Morphologically, they often constitute a productive and fairly transparent category, but their categorial status remains under discussion: do they constitute a word class of their own, or are they nominal or adjectival in nature? Semantically, numerals are clearly akin to quantification in general, but at the same time they can differ from regular quantifiers in being more specific or precise in their denotation.
This workshop aims to bring together researchers working on the (morpho)syntax and semantics of numerals and numerical expressions. It will focus on questions including, but not limited to, the following:
The (morpho)syntax of numerals and numerical expressions
Contributions on the syntax of numerals may relate to the following research questions:
The semantics of numerals and numerical expressions
These are the requirements:
Please note that you are only allowed to present one single-authored paper at SLE 2015. In addition, you may either have a joint paper (but not as a first author) or be a discussant in a workshop. Two co-authored papers are also allowed. The abstracts will be reviewed by the SLE 2015 scientific committee, as well as by the workshop convenors.
All workshop participants pay the conference fee that corresponds to their category – though everybody is invited to become a member and get a reduction. See http://sle2015.eu/fees and http://www.societaslinguistica.eu/membership/join.php. No reduction for one-day participation is possible.
The SLE nor CRISSP have funds for inviting (keynote) speakers within the framework of a workshop. Workshop speakers pay the same conference fee as regular participants.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at Jolijn.sonnaert@kuleuven.be.
CRISSP is happy to announce the the third edition of Logic Now and Then (LNAT3), which will take place on February 5-6, 2015.
The conference will be devoted to the relationship between the semantics and pragmatics of logical constants (connectives, quantifiers, modal operators). Its aim is to critically assess and contribute to semantic and pragmatic theories developed for constructions containing such operators in natural language. On the one hand, we hope to bring together cutting edge contributions to debates that are currently in full swing, but at the same time, we very much invite contributions of a more historical nature, which shed light on antecedents of current views and issues, thereby placing them in a wider diachronic perspective. In short, the semantics and pragmatics of logical constants now and then.
Invited speakers
CRISSP invites provisional abstracts (300 words) for a Numerals workshop at next year’s SLE conference, which will take place in Leiden on September, 2-5, 2015. We are currently looking for provisional participants for our workshop.
The deadline for the submission of workshop proposals with SLE is 25 November 2014. This proposal needs to be accompanied by a topic description, as well as a (provisional) list of workshop participants and their provisional abstracts (max. 300 words per abstract). Please send your provisional abstract to jolijn.sonnaert@kuleuven.be by 23 November at the latest.
Notification of acceptance/rejection of a workshop proposal will be by 15 December 2014. After a workshop proposal has been accepted, the convenors will be requested to invite their participants to submit their full abstracts by 15 January 2015. These full abstracts will be evaluated individually by the SLE Scientific Committee and the convenors.
CRISSP is happy to announce a CRISSP Lecture Series with Ian Roberts (University of Cambridge) on December 16-19, 2014. The title of the Lecture Series is ‘Parameter Hierarchies and Comparative Syntax’.
Abstract
This course looks at a way to break new ground in syntactic theory by reconceptualising the principles-and-parameters approach to comparative syntax, retaining its strengths and attempting to deal with its perceived weaknesses. The central idea is to organise the parameters of Universal Grammar (UG) into hierarchies, which define the ways in which properties of individually variant categories may act in concert; this creates macroparametric effects from the combined action of many microparameters. The highest position in a hierarchy defines a macroparameter, a major typological property, lower positions define successively more local properties. Parameter-setting in language acquisition starts at the highest position as this is the simplest choice; acquirers will “move down the hierarchy” when confronted with primary linguistic data (PLD) incompatible with a high setting. Hence the hierarchies simultaneously define learning paths and typological properties.
In this way, the criticism that formal comparative syntax has little to offer typological studies can potentially be answered. Lastly, a more purely theoretical component of the talk aims to show that the nature of the hierarchies is determined, not directly by UG, but by UG interacting with domain-general principles of simplicity and efficiency. The lectures will focus on the cross-linguistic analysis of null arguments, head movement and Case/agreement phenomena.
Research funded by the ERC Advanced Grant No. 269752.
We are happy two new installments in the CRISSP Seminar series:
CRISSP is happy to announce the the third edition of Logic Now and Then (LNAT3), which will take place on February 5-6, 2015.
The conference will be devoted to the relationship between the semantics and pragmatics of logical constants (connectives, quantifiers, modal operators). Its aim is to critically assess and contribute to semantic and pragmatic theories developed for constructions containing such operators in natural language. On the one hand, we hope to bring together cutting edge contributions to debates that are currently in full swing, but at the same time, we very much invite contributions of a more historical nature, which shed light on antecedents of current views and issues, thereby placing them in a wider diachronic perspective. In short, the semantics and pragmatics of logical constants now and then.
Invited speakers
Marijke De Belder (CRISSP) will give a talk at the Syntax Interface Lectures Utrecht on 27 October, 2014.
Title of the talk: ‘On vowel lengthening in Dutch diminutives.’
> Visit the website of the Syntax Interface Lectures Utrecht
Jeroen van Craenenbroeck (CRISSP) and Marjo van Koppen (Universiteit Utrecht) are invited speakers at the Workshop ‘Variation in C. Macro- and Micro-comparative Approaches to Complementizers and the CP Phase’ in Venice.
They will gave a talk entitled ‘When Flanders Met Brabant: Microvariation in the Dutch C-domain’ on Wednesday 22 October 2014.
CRISSP is happy to announce another installment in the CRISSP Seminar series:
Lecturer: Jóhanna Barðdal (Ghent University)
Title: How to Identify Cognates in Syntax: Taking Watkins’ Legacy One Step Further
Date & time: Monday October 13, 2014, 17.00-18.30
Location: CRISSP/KULeuven HUBrussel, Stormstraat 2 (Hermes building), room 3101
Participation: free
Abstract:
As a reaction to three different proposals on how to reconstruct basic word order for Proto-Indo-European, Watkins and his contemporaries in the Seventies succeeded in aborting any attempt at reconstructing syntax for a long time to come. As a consequence, syntactic reconstruction has generally been regarded as a stranded enterprise by historical linguists for several different reasons, one of which is the alleged difficulty in identifying cognates in syntax. Later, Watkins (1995) proposed a research program aiming at reconstructing larger units of grammar, including syntactic structures, by means of identifying morphological flags that are parts of larger syntactic entities. As a response to this, we show how cognate argument structure constructions may be identified, through a) cognate lexical verbs, b) cognate case frames, c) cognate predicate structure and d) cognate case morphology. We then propose to advance Watkins’ program, by identifying cognate argument structure constructions with the aid of noncognate, but synonymous, lexical predicates. As a consequence, it will not only be possible to identify cognate argument structure constructions across a deeper time span, but also to carry out semantic reconstruction on the basis of lexical-semantic verb classes.