|
Research
on the syntax/semantics interface at Brown is concerned with the question
of just how the semantics "fits" meanings together (what
are the combinatorics of semantic composition), how these tie in with
the syntactic composition, and how these two systems work together.
Jacobson's work is conducted primarily
within the tradition of Categorial Grammar combined with a model-theoretic
semantics; the former posits a transparent relationship between the
syntactic and semantic composition, and draws heavily from tools developed
in logic. She is particularly concerned with the question of what
phenomena should be accounted for in the syntax and what in the semantics,
and her work focuses in particular on phenomena such as the binding
of pronouns, quantifier scopes, extraction, and the interaction of
these.
Johnson's work examines the logical
and computational properties of such models of syntax and semantics;
it is concerned with "resource sensitive'' systems in general
as well as the logic of feature structures. Jacobson and Johnson are
also both concerned with the boundaries between semantics and pragmatics,
and with topics in mathematical linguistics.
Sedivy's work is concerned with the
relationship between representational theories of syntax and semantics,
and models of human language processing.
Courses in these areas include general and introductory courses in
syntactic theory in general (comparing several different theories;
CG131) and in
Categorial Grammar in particular (CG136); a general introductory course
in semantics (CG112)
and a more advanced introduction to formal semantics (CG113) . In
addition, there are special seminars and workshops; most recently
on Conversational Implicatures. We also offer courses on the interface
of syntax and semantics with computational and mathematical linguistics
and psycholinguistics (e.g., CG142).
|
