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 *.