The Theta-Criterion, UTAH and the Projection of External Arguments in the Passive

This is a new paper that follows up on three recent papers that I have written, all posted on Lingbuzz. In Collins (2018a,b) and Angelopoulos, Collins and Terzi (2018) we argue that the external argument in the passive is syntactically projected in the same way as in the active (reviving the essential idea of Chomsky 1957). In this paper, I explore the principles that determine the projection of arguments, including the Theta-Criterion and UTAH.

https://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004351

Responses to Seminar Research Questions (Fall 2018)

At the beginning of my Fall 2018 seminar "Argument Structure in Minimalist Syntax", I gave a list of research questions that we would address during the course. Here is a summary of the answers to those questions.

On the Phi-Features of the Implicit Argument in the Passive

Abstract: Using the distribution of reflexives and bound pronouns, this paper investigates the phi-features of the implicit argument of the short passive in English. I show that there are three cases: (a) null versions of generic one and you, (b) a null existential quantifier expression lacking phi-features, and (c) a null definite pro with any combination of phi-features.

https://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004331

Poverty Relief in Rural Botswana

I have started this GoFundMe site to help people in rural Botswana with
basic needs of food, clothing and education. Please consider donating to it:

Poverty Relief in Rural Botswana
https://www.gofundme.com/poverty-relief-in-rural-botswana

On Archiving

Here is the presentation given at the most recent meeting of the NYU Fieldwork Discussion Group. Lots of interesting information that is useful for fieldworkers.

Undergraduate Linguistics Competition

When I was an undergraduate one of the most popular events at MIT was the robot building contest. 

Using * in Google Searches for Syntactic Research

Google has turned out to be a revolutionary tool in syntactic research. It makes example sentences of different constructions easily available, and makes it possible for a syntactician to explore the limits of their knowledge much more efficiently. Doing Google searches in syntactic research can easily become an obsession. In this essay, I will discuss the use of *.

Fieldwork Discussion Group: Grant Writing Workshop

We had our first (non-organizational) meeting of the Fieldwork Discussion Group Friday September 14 2018 at NYU. It was a workshop/panel discussion on grant writing for fieldwork. The panelists where Jason, Gillian, Zvjezdana and me. We each talked five minutes about our fieldwork grants, and then opened the floor to questions from the students. Here were their excellent questions:

1. How do you know if a language is endangered?
2. How do you approach the broader impacts section of the grant?
3. Who is your audience when you write a grant?
4. When you are creating a budget are there certain items that
are hard to predict?
5. When do you apply for a DDRIG in your graduate education?
6. What is the timing of the IRB approval when applying for a grant?
7. What made you choose (addressed to Jason) the EAGER grant program at NSF?
8. How did you first get your foot in the door doing fieldwork?
9. How did you find immigrants to work with in NYC?

History of the By-Phrase in Generative Syntax (1957 to 2005)

This the handout of my first lecture in my seminar on argument structure this semester.

Handout

Fieldwork Discussion Group

A group that we recently started at NYU for people interested in fieldwork. It normally takes place on Fridays from 3:30 to 5:00, on days when there is no colloquium. If you are interested in attending, let me know.

Syntax Game

Syntax Game

Review of Compositional Semantics, by Pauline Jacobson

Review of Compositional Semantics, by Pauline Jacobson

New Personal Website

Please take a look at my new personal website, designed by Zach Wellstood.
See if the papers are accessible. If there are any problems, please let me know.
If you have any feedback, please let me know.

https://christopherthadcollins.com/

A Syntactician Goes to CoLang 2018

A Syntactician Goes to CoLang 2018

Chris Collins

July 2018

NYU

Seminar in Syntax: Argument Structure in Minimalist Syntax

Seminar in Syntax                                                                                                    Fall 2018

Argument Structure in Minimalist Syntax

NSF Grant on Khoisan Languages

Abstract Title: Developing the next generation of researchers investigating the

Khoisan languages (BCS-1760980)

Institution: New York University

Abstract Date: 03/14/2018

Summary of Research 2017-2018

The writing season is coming up. I need to plan out what I will work on this summer.

Proposal for Volume on Smuggling

Proposal for Volume on Smuggling

Editors:            Adriana Belletti, Chris Collins

Publisher:        Oxford University Press

Teaching Statement (December 2017) (abridged)

Here is an abridged version of my teaching statement. The only section that has been modified is the advising section, where I removed the names and work of particular students.

Syllabus: The Khoisan Languages

Here is the syllabus for the seminar (graduate, advanced undergraduate) that I am teaching this semester (Spring 2018). I also pasted it below.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ag9brtte0sbnwrv/The%20Khoisan%20Languages%20%28Syllabus%29.pdf?dl=0

I also post the syllabus for the same seminar that I taught in 1999. You can see how much
the field has grown, and how much I have learned, since then.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mouyb9gbur964tz/Collins%201999%20%28Syllabus%20Syntax%20of%20Khoisan%20Languages%29.pdf?dl=0