Although the relative versus absolute ambiguity in superlatives is well established, there is no ... more Although the relative versus absolute ambiguity in superlatives is well established, there is no consensus regarding how the comparison classes which gives rise to these ambiguities are determined. Two factors, the LF syntax of –est and focus, have been said to determine the comparison classes. In this paper, I provide novel data from Malayalam, a language without adjectives, which require both a movement theory of superlatives and focus to derive the readings.
The aspectual structure of the adjective. Spanish ser and estar (joint work with Mythili Menon). Hispanic Linguistics: Current issues and new directions, Alfonso Morales-Front, Michael J. Ferreira, Ronald P. Leow and Cristina Sanz (eds.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins., 2020
This paper argues that the stage-level and individual-level distinctions for adjectival predicate... more This paper argues that the stage-level and individual-level distinctions for adjectival predicates, diagnosed in Spanish by the copulas ser and estar, can be derived by positing a sortal distinction in the temporal arguments in the syntax: the temporal argument of individual-level adjectives denotes time intervals, whereas the time argument of stage-level adjectives denotes time instants. We provide evidence from the (un-)acceptability of certain temporal modifiers, the progressive, and lifetime effects. We furthermore show how our account can also explain other instances of the ser and estar distribution beyond adjectives, such as verbal and adjectival passives and locative constructions with and without eventive subjects.
The phenomenon of syntactic priming is well studied in the literature, but the mechanisms behind ... more The phenomenon of syntactic priming is well studied in the literature, but the mechanisms behind it are still unclear. In this study, we trained English-speaking participants in artificial language sequences with dependencies which are either adjacent or non-adjacent. The participants then wrote completions to relative clause (RC) fragments. We found that participants, who learn non-adjacent dependencies in the artificial language, exhibit a bias to write high-attachment (non-adjacent) continuations for RCs, when compared to participants in a control condition who exhibit low-attachment (adjacent) biases in RCs. The implications for theories of syntactic priming and its relations to implicit learning are discussed.
Although the relative versus absolute ambiguity in superlatives is well established, there is no ... more Although the relative versus absolute ambiguity in superlatives is well established, there is no consensus regarding how the comparison classes which gives rise to these ambiguities are determined. Two factors, the LF syntax of –est and focus, have been said to determine the comparison classes. In this paper, I provide novel data from Malayalam, a language without adjectives, which require both a movement theory of superlatives and focus to derive the readings.
The aspectual structure of the adjective. Spanish ser and estar (joint work with Mythili Menon). Hispanic Linguistics: Current issues and new directions, Alfonso Morales-Front, Michael J. Ferreira, Ronald P. Leow and Cristina Sanz (eds.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins., 2020
This paper argues that the stage-level and individual-level distinctions for adjectival predicate... more This paper argues that the stage-level and individual-level distinctions for adjectival predicates, diagnosed in Spanish by the copulas ser and estar, can be derived by positing a sortal distinction in the temporal arguments in the syntax: the temporal argument of individual-level adjectives denotes time intervals, whereas the time argument of stage-level adjectives denotes time instants. We provide evidence from the (un-)acceptability of certain temporal modifiers, the progressive, and lifetime effects. We furthermore show how our account can also explain other instances of the ser and estar distribution beyond adjectives, such as verbal and adjectival passives and locative constructions with and without eventive subjects.
The phenomenon of syntactic priming is well studied in the literature, but the mechanisms behind ... more The phenomenon of syntactic priming is well studied in the literature, but the mechanisms behind it are still unclear. In this study, we trained English-speaking participants in artificial language sequences with dependencies which are either adjacent or non-adjacent. The participants then wrote completions to relative clause (RC) fragments. We found that participants, who learn non-adjacent dependencies in the artificial language, exhibit a bias to write high-attachment (non-adjacent) continuations for RCs, when compared to participants in a control condition who exhibit low-attachment (adjacent) biases in RCs. The implications for theories of syntactic priming and its relations to implicit learning are discussed.
Uploads
Books by Mythili Menon
Talks by Mythili Menon
Papers by Mythili Menon