Yushan Salon Talk Video (July 23, 2024): A Merge-Based Approach to Argument Structure

Abstract: This talk outlines the Merge-based approach to argument structure developed in Collins 2024 (updating, defending and extending Collins 2005). The predictions of the Merge-based theory of implicit arguments and by-phrases will be compared to the predictions made by non-Merge based theories, such as Bruening 2013.

Yushan Salon Talk Video

My Second Saturn Return

Saturn takes approximately 29.4 years to orbit the sun. 

Astrologers believe that when Saturn returns to its position at the time you were born, you reach a new stage of life. As one astrologer explained it to my friend ZW, when Saturn returns, it is like entering a narrow door, and you can only carry so many things with you. The metaphor indicates a time of change from one stage to another, with significant consequences.

Phasal versus Non-Phasal Movement

Abstract: In this short speculative blog post, I introduce the distinction between phasal and non-phasal movement. I show how the distinction fits in with the distinction between A and A’-movement. I discuss the implications of the distinction in resolving the freezing dilemma for smuggling.

*by it

 I recently noticed this paradigm. It is likely that other people have noticed the same thing, but I did not search very hard for references. The bottom line is that clausal expletive it cannot the complement of a by-phrase in the passive. At the end of the note, I offer some tentative ideas about why this generalization holds.

My Five Year Research/Writing Plan (2024-2029)

In the next five years, I will accomplish the following research and writing projects. There are many other issues that I am interested in, but these are the ones for which I have been able to write up concrete proposals. Surprisingly all of these projects have the flavor of returning to my roots.

1. A comprehensive grammar of the Kpele dialect of Ewe. This is the language that I know best, other than English. I want to combine my years of experience writing Khoisan grammars with my knowledge of Ewe and Kpelegbe, and write a comprehensive grammar. Doing this project will involve fieldwork in Togo during the summers of 2025, 2026 and 2027. It will also require applying for a research permit for Togo during the academic year 2024-2025. I should have a complete draft by Fall 2027.

Grammar of the Kpele Dialect of Ewe

2. An interactive map of Ewe dialects. This is a sister project to the Kpelegbe grammar. Both projects aim to increase knowledge of syntactic variation between Ewe dialects. As opposed to the Kpelegbe grammar, the Ewe dialect map will require a large international team, and significant funding. Therefore, I will have to write up and submit a grant proposal during Fall 2024. Once I get funding, the project will take four years to complete.

Ewe Dialect Map

3. Autobiography. For the last several years I have been assembling materials and writing excerpts of my autobiography. I am interested in how my life fits together, and why I choose the path I did, and what that path has led to. I am also interested in presenting my discoveries for a general audience. It will take me at least two or three more years to complete the writing. Then I need to find a publisher.

The Autobiography of Christopher Thad Collins

4. Quotative Inversion. One of my first syntactic loves was quotative inversion. I discovered many things about it early on in my career. Now, I would like to return to it, and see what more can be said. I will give a seminar on quotative inversion during academic year 2025-2026. It should take two years to write.

Quotative Inversion Monograph

Fall 2024 Seminar: Morphology as Syntax (Collins and Kayne, NYU)

Course Description: 

This seminar will develop the program sketched in Collins and Kayne (2023) (MaS or "Morphology as Syntax"). We will attempt to show that pursuing a syntactic approach to various questions that might otherwise be called ‘morphological’ yields deeper insights than could otherwise be achieved.  

Yushan Salon Talk Handout (July 23, 2024): A Merge-Based Approach to Argument Structure

Abstract: This talk outlines the Merge-based approach to argument structure developed in Collins 2024 (updating, defending and extending Collins 2005). The predictions of the Merge-based theory of implicit arguments and by-phrases will be compared to the predictions made by non-Merge based theories, such as Bruening2013.

Yushan Salon Talk Handout

Please register if you are interested

https://ordinaryworkinggrammarian.blogspot.com/2024/07/a-merge-based-approach-to-argument.html

Writing the Sasi Dictionary: Some Personal Recollections

Introduction

Writing the Sasi dictionary was difficult. The purpose of this piece is to explain to a general audience (of non-linguists) why I found it so difficult. From this, they might get an idea of the challenges that a field linguist faces in their day-to-day work.

Book Proposal: A Grammar of the Kpele Dialect of Ewe (Kpelegbe)

Ewe is a Kwa language spoken in West Africa in Ghana, Togo and Benin. Kpelegbe is a dialect of Ewe spoken in Kpele canton in Togo, on the road from Kpalime to Atakpame. While there is quite a bit of linguistic literature concerning standard Ewe, there is far less documentation of the many Ewe dialects.

I propose to write a comprehensive grammar of the Kpele dialect of Ewe. It will be at around 500 pages long (single spaced, 12 font), and will include a phonological sketch. All words and phrases in the grammar will be tone marked, and there will be a complete account of tone.

A Merge-Based Approach to Argument Structure (Upcoming talk July 23, 2024)

Here is an announcement of my upcoming talk. If you wish to attend online, you need to contact the organizers (see the e-mail address on the announcement). You need to register. I will be giving a very condensed version of my monograph, focusing on the higher level principles. You can find a pre-publication version here: Principles of Argument Structure (Final pre-publication version).

Summary of Fieldwork Skills for NSF Project (2018-2024)

The following is a list of basic fieldwork skills that the students involved in my NSF research project learned. The particular skills taught varied by student and field trip.

Sasi Dictionary (Botswana)(ToC)

 

A Grammatical Sketch of Kuasi (Botswana) (Cover)

 

Sasi Dictionary (Botswana)(Cover)

 

Principles of Argument Structure (Combined Excerpts)

Here are a series of four short excerpts from my forthcoming MIT Press monograph giving a taste of some of the theoretical issues that I engage with.

Principles of Argument Structure (Final Prepublication Version, April 28 2023)

Excerpt 1: The Wedge

Excerpt 2: VoiceP

Excerpt 3: Formal Semantics

Excerpt 4: Collins 2005 vs Bruening 2013

Principles of Argument Structure (Excerpt 4: Collins 2005 vs Bruening 2013)

  To summarize the discussion, we have the following two theories and their properties:

(5) Collins 2005a (see also Angelopoulos et. al. 2020):

a. Principles: Theta-Criterion/Argument Criterion

b. Prediction: Implicit arguments are syntactically projected.

c. Empirical support: distribution of reflexives, reciprocals, pronouns, Helke expressions and secondary predicates in the short passive in English.

(6) Bruening 2013 (see also Legate 2014 and Alexiadou et. al. 2015):

a. Principles: No Theta-Criterion/Argument Criterion, only formal semantics

b. Prediction: Implicit arguments are not syntactically projected.

c. Empirical problems: distribution of reflexives, reciprocals, pronouns, Helke expressions and secondary predicates in the short passive in English.

Book Proposal: In Search of the Roots of Human Language

In Search of the Roots of Human Language: 

The Autobiography of Christopher Thad Collins

Synopsis/Back Cover:

Follow the life journey of a mild-mannered professor from modest beginnings, deep into the heart of Africa in search of the meaning of life and the secrets of human language.

Principles of Argument Structure (Final Pre-publication Version, April 28 2023)

 Dedication

This monograph is dedicated to my three great syntax teachers, Noam Chomsky, Richard Kayne and Paul Postal. Their influence can be felt on every page.

Principles of Argument Structure (Final Pre-Publication Version)

Principles of Argument Structure (Excerpt 3: Formal Semantics)

 The discussion above raises the question of where formal semantics goes wrong as a theory of argument structure? The basic problem is that formal semantics (as presented in standard textbooks) is far too unrestricted to serve as theory of anything, even natural language semantics. As Chomsky notes in Collins 2021:

(35) “Work in formal semantics has been some of the most exciting parts of the field in recent years, but it hasn’t been treated with the kind of critical analysis that other parts of syntax (including generative phonology) have been within generative grammar since its origins. Questions about explanatory power, simplicity, learnability, generality, evolvability, and so. More as a descriptive technology. That raises questions.”

Photos of Summer 2024 Tshila Expedition

A few photos of our recent NSF funded expedition in Botswana to document Tshila (a Khoe Kwadi language) during the summer of 2024.

The team standing in front of the village sign. From left to right, Kagiso, Chris, Andre and Akuwa. John David is not pictured since he had to leave a bit early. As can be seen, the village is built on sand in the Kalahari desert.

A picture of John David lounging on the back of my Toyota Land Cruiser, a super powerful vehicle that can drive through deep sand without even engaging the 4x4.

The next two photos are of our house in the village. After struggling with accommodation in Diphuduhudu, I realize how lucky we were to find this house, which we rented from one of the subchiefs. We really loved it. It was spacious with tiled floors, and some black couches in the living room. It had two bedrooms, a living room (the office), a shower room and a kitchen. The outhouse is pictured to the right, only a short walk from the main house, and pretty much reserved just for us. I paid them over the phone. So it was cozy and convenient.

Another view of the house with my beloved solar panel. We powered three computers, and countless phones, since the neighbors kept popping in for us to charge their phones. Only on the last few cloudy

days in the village did we face any real problem with solar power, but even then we managed to finish the day with enough power.

The photo below shows the fire where we would heat up water for showers (in order to make our gas supply last longer). The desert gets very cold at night and in the morning down into the 30s. It is really lovely to take a hot bucket shower after a long day at work.

A view of my work setup, including computer (powered by solar panel), Zoom H4n as audio-interface, notebook (I am old school, and enter everything in a notebook) and plenty of Setswana dictionaries.

A picture of me working with the consultants.

John David and Andre took a mini-expedition into Khutse to see the animals. Khutse is only a few kilometers from the village (less than five kilometers). The wild animals, including lions and elephants, sometimes make their way outside of the park into the village.

The bare shelves of the village store. This picture just highlights how difficult it is to buy food in the village. There are only a few tuck shops and this mostly empty store.

The incredible beauty of the Milky Way Galaxy at night. Never before have I seen such a beautiful display of the night sky.

NSF Fieldwork by the Numbers (2018-2024)

 This research reported on below was done under the NSF grant “Developing the next generation of researchers investigating Khoisan languages” (Award Abstract # 1760980). The duration of the grant was from June 1, 2018 to August 31, 2024. The grant was extended twice because of the pandemic.

Tshila Fieldwork 2024 by the Numbers

From May 27 2024 to June 28 2024, Andre, John David and I did fieldwork on Tshila, an endangered Khoe-Kwadi language spoken in southeastern Botswana. We did the fieldwork in Kaudwane, which is on the edge of the Khutse game reserve. The purpose of this note is to summarize the work done during our trip.

Monograph Proposal: Quotative Inversion

Abstract: This monograph presents a theory of quotative inversion within the Merge-based theory argument structure of Collins 2024a, building on work on quotative inversion by Collins and Branigan 1997, Collins 1997, Collins 2003, Bruening 2016, Murphy 2022, and Storment 2024, forthcoming. In this theory, the quotative operator is smuggled by VP movement over the in-situ subject (on smuggling see Collins 2005 and Belletti and Collins 2020, amongst many others), and then undergoes A-movement to Spec TP. In developing the analysis, the author summarizes all known data concerning quotative inversion in English, and summarizes what is known about cross-linguistic variation. Lastly, the author proposes a general theory of voice encompassing not only the passive construction, but also quotative inversion and related constructions.

1. Introduction

2. A-Movement of the Quotative Operator

3. The Position of the Subject

4. Smuggling of the Quotative Operator

5. Successive Cyclic Inversion

6. The Transitivity Constraint

7. Related Inversion Constructions

8. Cross-Linguistic Variation

9. Theoretical Consequences

10. Conclusion

Selected References

Belletti, Adriana and Chris Collins. 2020. Smuggling in Syntax. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bruening, Benjamin. 2016. Alignment in Syntax: Inversion in English. Syntax 19, 111-155.

Collins, Chris and Phil Branigan. 1997. Quotative Inversion. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 15, 1-41.

(https://ordinaryworkinggrammarian.blogspot.com/2020/12/quotative-inversion-collins-and.html#more)

Collins, Chris. 1997. Local Economy. MIT Press, Cambridge.

Collins, Chris. 2003. The Distribution of Particle Verbs in Quotative Inversion. Manuscript, Cornell University.

(https://ordinaryworkinggrammarian.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-distribution-of-particles-in.html)

Collins, Chris. 2005. A Smuggling Approach to the Passive in English. Syntax  8, 81-120.

(https://ordinaryworkinggrammarian.blogspot.com/2020/12/a-smuggling-approach-to-passive-in.html)

Collins, Chris. 2024a. Principles of Argument Structure: A Merge-Based Approach. MIT Press, Cambridge.

Collins, Chris. 2024b. Successive Cyclic Inversion. Ms., NYU.

(https://ordinaryworkinggrammarian.blogspot.com/2024/07/successive-cyclic-inversion.html)

Collins, Chris. 2024c. Two More Arguments for A-Movement in Quotative Inversion. Ms., NYU.

(https://ordinaryworkinggrammarian.blogspot.com/2024/07/two-more-arguments-for-movement-in.html)

Murphy, Andrew. 2022. Parasitic Gaps Diagnose A-Movement in Quotative and Locative Inversion. Snippets 43.

Storment, John David. 2024. Quotative Inversion as Smuggling: Evidence from Setswana and English. Presented May 3, 2024 at the 55th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, Montreal, Québec.

Storment, John David. Forthcoming. Projecting (Your) Voice: A Theory of Inversion and Circumvention. Doctoral Dissertation, Stony Brook, New York.

Principles of Argument Structure (Excerpt 2: VoiceP)

 In this chapter I compared two conceptions of VoiceP, the Projection Theory and the Realization Theory. I discussed a number of analyses using Kratzer’s 1996 framework. In each case, they either (a) violate the Terminological Assumption (6), or (b) are empirically inaccurate or incomplete. 

I suggested the Realization Theory (e.g., Collins 2005a) as an alternative way to think about voice. Lastly, I argued that the Kratzerian conception of VoiceP as introducing the external argument is actually inconsistent with the Merge-based theory of argument structure outlined in chapter 1.

There is by now a large literature adopting the theoretical assumptions of Kratzer 1996. It is possible that in some paper the smoking gun has been found crucially linking the projection of the external argument to VoiceP. Alternatively, the whole project is doomed to fail since it conflates two very different syntactic systems: argument structure and voice.

Principles of Argument Structure (Excerpt 1: The Wedge)

In chapters 2 and 3, I argued that the implicit argument in the passive is syntactically projected on the basis of the distribution of reflexives, reciprocals, pronouns, Helke expressions and secondary predicates. I will now argue that all implicit arguments (across different constructions and different languages) are syntactically projected, whether or not any syntactic data actually support that conclusion for a particular construction in a particular language. I will call this argument the wedge, because of its far-ranging consequences. The metaphor is that the generalizations about the English passive help to pry open a much larger generalization concerning implicit arguments cross-linguistically.

Two More Arguments for A-Movement in Quotative Inversion

Abstract: Collins 1997, 2003 claims that quotative inversion and locative inversion involve A-movement to Spec TP (see also Storment 2024). This claim has recently been argued for on the basis of the distribution of parasitic gaps by Murphy 2022. The purpose of this short squib is to provide two additional arguments for A-movement in quotative inversion. 

Two More Arguments for A-Movement in Quotative Inversion

The Last Syntactician

The Last Syntactician

Chapter 1: Where are the others?

A Grammatical Sketch of Kuasi (Botswana) (ToC)

A Grammatical Sketch of Kuasi (Botswana)

Book Proposal: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Implicit Arguments

Editor: Chris Collins

The purpose of this volume is to promote cross-disciplinary research on the topic of implicit arguments. Potential contributors are encouraged to contact me at cc116@nyu.edu.

An implicit argument is an argument of a predicate that is not expressed (e.g., in writing, in speech, or in signing). Consider the passive sentence: ‘The book was written quickly and at great expense.’ In this sentence, there is an understood agent of writing that is not expressed anywhere in the sentence. Such an understood agent is called an ‘implicit argument’. Implicit arguments are found in many other constructions in English as well, such as evaluative adjectives, middles and nominalizations.

Implicit arguments are important theoretically since they raise sharp questions about the relationship between meaning and form. There seems to be a mismatch between the form of the sentence and how it is interpreted, bringing up the following questions: How is information about the implicit argument represented linguistically? How is the interpretation of the implicit argument recovered by the addressee? How could a computer be programmed to understand implicit arguments? How do children acquire implicit arguments? How does the brain process implicit arguments?

This book gathers together contributions from experts in various fields, including philosophers, computational linguists, corpus linguists, syntacticians (of various frameworks), semanticists, typologists, child language researchers, psycholinguists, neurolinguists and applied linguists. The book also aims at increasing cross-linguistic research on implicit arguments.

Principles of Argument Structure (cover no typo)

 

Principles of Argument Structure (Back Cover Summary)

 A new theory of argument structure, based on the syntactic operation Merge and presented through an in-depth analysis of properties of the English passive construction.

In Principles of Argument Structure, Chris Collins investigates principles of argument structure in minimalist syntax through an in-depth analysis of properties of the English passive construction. He formulates a new theory of argument structure based on the only structure-building operation in minimalist syntax, Merge, which puts together two syntactic objects to form a larger one. This new theory should give rise to detailed cross-linguistic work on the syntactic and semantic properties of implicit arguments.

Collins presents an update and defense of his influential 2005 theory of the passive, including a completely original theory of implicit arguments. He makes a direct empirical argument for the Theta-Criterion against various claims that it should be eliminated. He also discusses the conception of voice in syntactic theory, arguing that VoiceP does not introduce external arguments, a position otherwise widely accepted in the field. He shows how the ‘smuggling’ approach to the passive extends naturally to the dative alternation accounting for a number of striking c-command asymmetries. He compares syntactic and semantic approaches to argument structure, outlining conceptual problems with adopting formal semantics as the basis for a theory of argument structure.

The book will be of interest not only to syntacticians and semanticists, but also to typologists investigating the cross-linguistic properties of the passive, psycholinguists and computer scientists working on natural language understanding, and philosophers thinking about the issue of “implicit content.” It includes an appendix that provides common-sense guidelines for doing syntactic research using internet data.

Successive Cyclic Inversion

 Abstract: This paper introduces the concept of successive cyclic inversion, combining the analyses of quotative inversion in Collins 2003 and of the dative alternation in Collins 2022/2024. The paper shows how successive cyclic inversion can be used to explain certain perplexing word order differences between the passive and quotative inversion.

Successive Cyclic Inversion

Principles of Argument Structure (ToC)

Acknowledgments

1 A Merge-Based Approach to Argument Structure

2 The Phi-Features of the Implicit Argument

3 Secondary Predicates and the Implicit Argument

4 A Theory of Implicit Arguments

5 Out of Africa

6 by-Phrases

7 Derivations

8 Two Conceptions of VoiceP

9 The Dative Alternation

10 On the Tension with Formal Semantics

11 Conclusion

Appendix: Internet Searches as a Tool in Syntactic Research

References

The Non-Binary Pronoun Wars

The grammatical phenomena of the English language mostly exist under the radar, invisible to the people who produce them. We use language completely unconscious of the intricacies involved. 

A startling recent exception has surfaced over the past decade. In America we are in the midst of a cultural upheaval in the use of language. The youth of our country have boldly pushed forth a conception of language, rupturing the traditions of their parents and grandparents. They have exercised agency over a normally completely inflexible grammatical system. It appears that they have taken control of English grammar! I am talking about how the young people of today choose the pronouns that they use to refer to themselves.