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No registration required. Everybody welcome!
Schedule:
24 Nov 2011
| 09:30-12:30 |
Géraldine Legendre: "Syntactic representation and optimization: three
cases studies in French (code-switching, auxiliary selection, and
acquisition of inflection)"
The unit offers an introduction into Optimality-Theoretic syntax. It is
argued that some abstract representations (such as IP) and an
optimization-based approach are necessary. The argument is grounded in
three empirical domains tied to the study of French: 1) code-switching
(French-Wolof vs. other types of CS), 2) auxiliary selection in the past
tense (French vs. Italian (dialects)/ German/Dutch), and 3) acquisition
of verbal inflection in French based on spontaneous production. It will
be demonstrated how Optimality Theory provides insights on
cross-linguistic variation and the tools needed to handle it (minimally
abstract representations, scales, harmonic alignment, constraint
re-ranking, factorial typologies, and 'floating' constraints). It will
be shown how the same tools can be used in other domains, too, including
diachronic change.
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| 14:00-16:00 |
Géraldine Legendre: reading group and/or individual meetings |
25 Nov 2011
| 09:30-12:30 |
Markus Bader: "How grammar constraints usage -- a case study of German verb syntax"
This
lecture discusses experimental results and corpus data concerning the
formation of verbal clusters in German, with a focus on the so-called
'bekommen'-passive and on verbal clusters involving modal verbs and
'lassen' in complex tense forms. Clusters of the latter type are
well-known for their word order which deviates from the German default
order ("selected verb precedes selecting verb") by means of "auxiliar
inversion" --- 'hat lesen wollen' instead of 'lesen wollen hat'.
Data
from verb cluster formation are used to address the following issues:
First, what is the relationship between gradient perception of
grammaticality and frequency of occurence? In particular, is it possible
to determine which comes first? Second, how can patterns of
micro-variation be accounted for within syntactic theory?
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14:00-15:30
(KG III, 3301)
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Panel discussion with Aria Adli, Markus Bader, Lars Konieczny, Géraldine
Legendre, Guido Seiler (chair): Where does grammar come in? |
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