Below please find the most current research seminar schedule. Please note that this schedule is subject to revisions and frequent updates.

Unless otherwise noted, all research seminars take place on Wednesdays at 12:15 pm, in Room 103 of the Linguistics department building at Totem Field Studios ("TFS 103"), located at 2613 West Mall (see contact page for directions).

January - May 2012

January 18
Vera Hohaus
Context Dependency and the Semantics of the Positive in Samoan
Time: 12:15-1:45
Location: TFS 103

January 25
James Crippen
Some properties of relative clauses in Tlingit
Time: 12:15-1:45
Location: TFS 103

February 1
Lisa Cheng (Leiden University)
Mapping phonology to syntax: Evidence from two Bantu languages
Time: 12:15-1:45
Location: TFS 103

February 29
Carmela Toews
Everything I Know About Siamou Perfectives and Imperfectives.
Time: 12:15-1:45
Location: TFS 103
Abstract: I give an overview of the perfective and imperfective in Siamou, discussing phonological form, syntactic position (briefly), and meaning. I argue that the perfective is a low-tone suffix and that the imperfective is a mid-tone nasal suffix. I consider the possibility that perfective and imperfective aspect are syntactically lower than other aspects in Siamou. I show that the Siamou perfective and imperfective generally fit with cross-linguistic patterns for these aspects, including, for example, culmination entailments, but likely differ from other languages with regard to stative verbs.

March 21
Gitksan Research Group
Research on Gitksan at UBC
Time: 12:15-1:45
Location: TFS 103 Abstract: In this talk we present an overview of our current and planned research on Gitksan (Tsimshianic). We briefly present our projects on consonant-vowel interactions, ejectives, noun modification, focus, rhythm, and plurals in the language. We also present one of the traditional legends we have collected and analyzed.

March 28
Heather Bliss
Title: Argument expressions, argument structure, and argument licensing: A proposal for Blackfoot
Time: 12:15-1:45
Location: TFS 103
Abstract: In this talk, I sketch out a proposal for Blackfoot’s “non-configurational” properties that takes one step further the insight of the Pronominal Argument Hypothesis (cf. Jelinek 1984, Baker 1991) that there can be a disconnect between argument expressions on the one hand and argument structure and licensing on the other. Specifically, I propose that, argument expressions do not function as concerted units to satisfy argument structure and licensing requirements in the clause. Rather, they span across the various syntactic domains in the clausal spine, with NPs satisfying argument structure requirements in the thematic domain (vP layer), and Determiners (or other nominal heads) satisfying argument licensing requirements in the grammatical domain (IP layer). These pieces of nominal expressions may be composed in the discourse domain (CP layer) where they are linearized and satisfy information structural requirements. Under this model, all grammatical arguments are external arguments, licensed vP-externally. I propose that they are introduced via a generalized Voice head (akin to an Applicative head) that, in principle, can select for any verbal functional category (e..g CP, IP, AspP, vP). Further, I propose that Blackfoot’s verb agreement and other argument-licensing morphology instantiates these Voice heads at different levels in the clausal spine.

April 4
Field Methods Class Presentations
Time: 12:15-1:45
Location: TFS 103