Semantics 2018: Looking Ahead

  • March 10, 2018: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Integrative Learning Center, S211

Semantics 2018: Looking Ahead was a workshop that was free and open to everyone. No registration was necessary. It was a fast-paced and forward looking event, not a retrospective or homage. Most talks were Lightning Talks (5 minutes) or Flash Talks (10 or 15 minutes) with slides presented in a single stream for each session. A few talks led into less familiar territories and were therefore be a little longer (20 or 30 minutes). The traditional discussion sessions after talks were eliminated and replaced by three long coffee breaks and a lunch break, offering opportunities for more intense face-to-face interactions with the speakers in smaller groups. The talks were meant to inspire curiosity to know more about the topic. Presenters might have supporting materials on their personal websites. You can download the full program with paper titles and abstracts here .

  • 9:00 to 10:30:  Is there a Future for Semantics? Semantics in the Age of Alpha Zero.

Moderator: Amy Rose Deal (UC Berkeley)

Speakers: Noah Constant (Google Research) and Kyle Rawlins (Johns Hopkins University).

Discussions over coffee

  • 10:30 to 2:30:  Foundations, Interfaces, Universals, Variation

Moderators: Valentine Hacquard (University of Maryland), Hadas Kotek (New York University), Craige Roberts (New York University)

Session 1 (starting at 10:30)

Luis Alonso-Ovalle & Aron Hirsch (McGill University): Strong “Only”.

Roger Schwarzschild (MIT): 5 minutes on Focus.

Caroline Féry (Goethe University Frankfurt): Focus and Intonation in French versus German.

Ana Arregui (University of Ottawa): Exploring the Conditional Mood.

Amy Rose Deal (UC Berkeley): Semantic Typology.

Ilaria Frana (Kore University of Enna) & Keir Moulton (Simon Fraser University): Concealed Propositions.

Paula Menéndez-Benito (University of Tübingen) & Keir Moulton (Simon Fraser University): Reasoning and Evidence: Sources and Direction.

Discussions over coffee until 12:00

Session 2 (Starting at 12:00)

Aynat Rubinstein (Hebrew University) & Paul Portner (Georgetown University): Discernible but not Obvious:  Varieties of Epistemic Adjectives.

Sarah Murray (Cornell University): Logical Connectives in Natural Languages.

Min-Joo Kim (Texas Tech University): Relative Clauses & Demonstratives.

Suzi Lima (University of Toronto) & Susan Rothstein (Bar Ilan University): A Typology of the  Count/Mass Distinction in Brazil: Some Methodological Remarks.

Junko Shimoyama & Bernhard Schwarz (McGill University): A Note on ‘Such That’ Relatives.

Ede Zimmermann (Goethe University Frankfurt): Extensions in Semantics.

Sandro Zucchi (University of Milan): McGee’s Counterexample to Modus Ponens & Minimal Change Theories of Counterfactuals.

Discussions over Lunch until 2:00 (Blue Wall Cafeteria suggested, not organized).

Session 3 on Sign Languages (starting at 2:00)

Kate Davidson (Harvard University) & Sandro Zucchi (University of Milan): Natural Language Semantics in Signing Modes: Visual and Tactile Sign Languages.

  • 2:30 to 3:00: Semantics for the Next Generation

Moderator: Shai Cohen (Emory University)

Suzi Lima (University of Toronto): Teaching Semantics in the Field.

Andrew McKenzie (University of Kansas): The Flipped Semantics Classroom.

  • 3:00 to 4:30: Building Bridges Within Cognitive Science

Moderator: Orin Percus (University of Nantes)

Kai von Fintel (MIT): Bridges to Philosophy.

Jonathan Phillips (Harvard University): Bridges to Moral Psychology, Cognitive Development.

Florian Schwarz (University of Pennsylvania): Bridges to the Psychology of Language.

Discussions over coffee

  • 4:30 to 5:00: Building Bridges within the Humanities

Moderator: Alexander Williams (University of Maryland)

Daniel Altshuler (Hampshire College): Building Bridges with Literary Scholars, Film Makers, and Artists.

  • 5:00 to 6:00: Building Bridges to Society

Moderator: Satoshi Tomioka (University of Delaware)

Andrew McKenzie (University of Kansas): Deixis in the Operating Room.

Christopher Davis (University of the Ryukyus): Language Documentation, Theory-Inspired Fieldwork, Giving Back to the Community.

Aynat Rubinstein (Hebrew University): Semantics and Time Travel

Michael Terry (University of North Carolina): the Cognitive Load of Dialect Switching.