Back to Cornell (September 25-27 2024)

In this post, I write down some of my thoughts and observations on returning to Cornell to give a talk, after almost two decades away. It is loosely based on my Facebook posts.

Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 2:28pm

I am in the Newark airport, heading back to Ithaca for the first time in almost two decades. I have been invited to give a talk at the Cornell Department of Linguistics, where I taught from 1993-2005. Naturally, I will be talking about my recent MIT Press monograph.

I am curious to see how the department has changed, and to meet some of my colleagues (many of whom I have not seen for the entire time I have been at NYU). Like me, everybody has probably become a bit dusty and grey. I am also interested in meeting the newcomers and seeing what they have done with the department.

People may know that Ithaca, and the Finger Lakes, is an area of tremendous natural beauty. Although it is a bit too early for fall colors, the finger lakes were some of the best viewing spots in the whole country.

So here I am in the Newark airport, thinking about arrival in Ithaca after all these years.

Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 5:40pm

Got into the Ithaca airport, and it is raining. It seems like a typical Ithaca fall day. There were no taxis to be found! Everybody just got their own Uber. But since I foolishly have never gotten a smart phone, I was on the curb. Finally, I found a kind soul, a worker at the airport, who dialed "Ithaca Dispatch" for me for a taxi on his personal phone. Then the taxi ended up taking more than half an hour to get there. It took me an hour to get out of the airport. Finally, I arrived at the hotel, and what I most notice (compared to NYC) is the vast amount of space in the room. It is really like a master bedroom; a whole family could sleep there. A whole village! Whereas even 200 dollars in NYC will buy you only the smallest of rooms. And you will be lucky to get that rate.

Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 9:40am

At Cornell, they have given me an office that looks out over the valley where parts of Ithaca can be seen. I would probably be able to see Cayuga lake, but the view is blocked by trees. The air from the window is fresh, and has the smell of the lake, and trees and grass in it. Imagine that I used to have such an office and took it entirely for granted. Just going to work as if there was nothing special and wonderful about my office window view. In NYC, even though I have been teaching at NYU for nearly two decades, my office still faces the sides of other buildings, as if I am in a parody of early 1900s tenement living. Some professors get a street view with sunshine, but I have never risen to that level in the department. Who would I contact to get a sunny office? By what politic maneuvers could I ensure proper vitamin D? I don’t have the slightest idea.

As I was walking to Morrill Hall this morning, on the steep hill from downtown Ithaca to the campus, I was struck by how quiet things are. Even though there are people on the streets and cars driving by, compared to NYC it is silent. There is very little ambient machine and vent noise.

I was also a bit taken aback by friendly smiles and hellos from people on the street. As I was walking up the hill, two college girls, maybe 20 years old, turned back as they passed me and flashed smiles saying “hello”. I think if that happened in NYC, I would probably be suspicious, wondering what their angle was. Such is life in NYC.

Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 10:20

I saw John Whitman in the hallway, and caught up a bit. Most of my colleagues have retired or passed way now, although a couple are still around teaching. Some who have retired include: Wayne Harbert, John Bowers, Wayles Browne, Sally McConell-Ginet, Draga Zec, John Wolfe. Some who have passed away include: James Gair, Carol Rosen. I fondly remember having interesting and intense syntax discussions with all of these people. Believe it or not, Carol Rosen was one of my favorites. She had a sharp mind, and was always willing to tell me about relational grammar. She actually prepared materials and gave me little lessons with diagrams written in colored ink! The only faculty members still left from my time are Abby Cohn, John Whitman, Molly Diesing, Mats Rooth and Dorit Abusch. Most of the faculty is new.

I learned that there is a big recent effort to teach the Cayuga language at Cornell now, and that John Whitman is involved in doing research and documentation on Cayuga. This effort is somehow involved with a reestablishment of Cayuga land at the northern part of the lake (I am not clear on the details). I am so jealous. When I was at Cornell, I always wanted to get involved in Iroquoian languages, but it never seemed possible. There did not seem to be any way in. If I had stayed at Cornell, I would probably have been part of that Cayuga language effort.

At times, during my day here, my heart sinks, and I ask, did I make a huge mistake? I could have lived out my days in Ithaca, in its rolling hills and lush green valleys. The summers are lazy and hot, and you can hear the cicadas buzzing loudly in the trees. The winters are cold and harsh, with large dumps of snow creating ideal sledding conditions. My children and I would take our slides and hurl down the hill in back of Morrill Hall after a snowfall. Other families would be there too, with the undergraduates joining in as well. Everybody screaming and laughing.

Because Ithaca is hours away from any metropolitan area, it has a kind of isolated feel, a kind of modern-day Shangri-La. There is no way to rush quickly off to NYC for a show, or to do some shopping. Cornell and Ithaca College define the town, and everything there is somehow related to those two centers of higher education. When I worked here, it sometimes felt dangerously easily to lose track of what was happening in the outside world, with only the tenure clock forcing me to actually go conferences and write papers.

But there is no turning back. There is no going home. I am too old to relocate. I asked a few people if there would be any chance of returning to Cornell. I just got surprised stares, as if their dog had just started speaking English. Don’t worry. I am only joking. I know there is no money for a senior hire.

I went to lunch with the students, and compared notes between my era (1993-2005) and now. The students are very smart and alert. They have lots of cool syntax ideas. Many of them now are engaged in computational linguistics and ‘experimental’ linguistics. I have a great time with them over lunch. I tell them what it is like to live in NYC, and how much rents are in the city. I tell them how the grads at NYU get by. I ask them about Cornell and what they know about its recent past. Do they know this person and that person? I was struck by how much has actually stayed the same. The department still goes on a picnic to Stewart Park every year, just as we used to do in the past. The colloquium talks still take place in Morrill Hall 106, and the administrative staff is still in the same offices on the second floor of Morrill Hall. It was like I just stepped back into the past, and continued from where I left off. When I walked up the steps, I had a time shift. I knew exactly where to go. I was not at all disoriented. Which era was I in? It did not feel any different to me from 19 years ago.

Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 9:24pm

My talk lasted from 4:30 to 5:30. I will post the Zoom link later. The audience went wild with questions. There was a solid half hour of questions, and no end in site. People just kept asking more and more. Finally, all questions had to stop. Afterwards people told me: “…interesting data, lovely argumentation, and an excellent presentation.” and “Very nice and compelling!” 

At the end of the talk, I gave away four free copies of the book. They were gone in a snap, and people were asking if I had any more (I didn’t). One faculty member grabbed one, but then gave it to graduate student who really wanted it. I was impressed that there were undergraduates present, and that the came to the reception. A small group of four undergrads surrounded me, and asked “Can you explain what you meant by the existential interpretation of the passive?” I was overjoyed. I went on and on giving them examples, and they were eager to hear the explanations. Later on, I learned that they had actually been given extra credit for attending the talk, but no matter, I was happy to see them there.

After the talk, and reception we all headed downtown to Mia, an Asian restaurant on the commons. Because of my Field Methods course (on Thai), I only ordered Thai food, and Thai beer. There were three faculty members, me, and five graduate students at the dinner. I had all kinds of interesting conversations about many different things: the Ottomon empire, Alexandria, Ladino, formalization in syntax, the Thai language, why having a 4x4 is a good idea. Just your basic range of topics at a linguistics dinner.

Friday, September 27, 2024 at 3:22pm

Sitting in the Ithaca airport, waiting to go home. 

I had lunch today with a colleague and her partner. They were telling me a lot about strokes: different kinds of stroke, symptoms of stroke, what to do if you have symptoms, treatment for stroke victims, rehabilitation. We talked a long time about Chomsky and his stroke, and his prospects for rehabilitation. Lots of useful information for me. Lots of things to think about for my health. It got me thinking about age again.

I drove around Ithaca a bit, saw Cayuga Heights again, and drove by our old house (I will post a photo later) on Muriel street. The owners have really done a great job with it. They painted it and put up a fence. It looks cute. There were two big dogs peering through the fence at us as we were taking pictures. 

Ithaca exist as it always has. It never really changes. The quintessential college town. Cute houses nestled in trees and bushes on the hills surrounding Cayuga lake. The inside of a typical Ithaca house is so completely different than any apartment in NYC. You look out onto trees and a yard. Space is not at a premium. The air smells completely different.