Time: Very short (30 min) organizational meeting TUESDAY AT 3PM, Room 215
About: This semester Hadas and mitcho will organize a reading group on the syntax, semantics, and typology of (bare) wh-indefinites.
In many languages, wh-words can be used as indefinite pronouns under certain conditions. This occurs in a number of languages which are spoken and studied in the department, and therefore came up as a potentially interesting topic in our fall semester seminar. The use of wh-words as indefinites is well known cross-linguistically, and there is some work looking specifically at wh-indefinites in a particular language, but there is relatively little work that combines formal theory with a broad, cross-linguistic empirical base.
We are expecting this to be a very hands-on “reading group,” combining reading of relevant literature with participants presenting relevant data on wh-indefinites in languages they speak and/or study. We hope and believe that there is a group paper that could come out of this.
Please come to the organizational meeting if you are interested in participating in any way. Please also let Hadas or mitcho know if you are interested but unable to make that time.