Department of Linguistics & Cognitive Science presents talk by Dr. Lauren Clemens & Dr. Rebecca Tollan

​Title: "Word Order and Object Marking in Copala Triqui: Lessons from Experimental Fieldwork"

Abstract: Differential Object Marking is a cross-linguistic phenomenon in which certain kinds of objects (e.g., pronominal, human) are more usually syntactically case marked than other kinds (e.g., common nouns, inanimates). However, it is rarer among verb-initial languages than among verb-medial and verb-final languages (Sinnemäki, 2009). We explore connections between word order and object marking through the lens of Copala Triqui (Oto-Manguean), a language which exhibits both VSO and SVO word orders, and in which marking of certain categories of nouns is optional. We discuss results from two experimental fieldwork studies looking at how noun saliency and sentence acceptability are influenced by the interaction of word order and object marking.​​​

​Dr. Lauren Clemens is an Associate Professor at University at Albany, State University of New York. Her primary interests are formal syntax, prosody, and the interface between them. She is also interested in the relationship between syntax and sentence processing. Dr. Clemens’ work relies on data from the Polynesian, Mayan, and Otomanguean language families.​

​Dr. Rebecca Tollan is an Assistant Professor at the University of Delaware. Her research investigates how human languages are structured and how these structures are processed and understood by speakers. She works on several topics in syntax and psycholinguistics, including subjecthood and thematic relations, case and agreement, and long-distance dependencies, looking at data from a variety of languages, including the Polynesian language, Niuean. She is interested in the relationship between cross-linguistic syntax, sentence processing, and information structure, and her research makes use of a mix of formal and experimental techniques.​​