Syllabus: Syntax II (Spring 2019)

Here is my graduate Syntax II syllabus for Spring 2019. Comments welcome!

Fieldwork Discussion Group (Spring 2019)

We have an exciting lineup for Spring 2019. I hope you can attend.

Giving a Talk -- Some Practical Advice

I just attended the 2019 LSA meeting in NYC at the Sheraton Hotel. I attended every day, from Thursday January 3rd to Sunday January 6th, and saw many talks. Based on that experience, I have written up some notes on how to give a talk at the LSA.

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