Learnability and cross-linguistic constraints on the meanings of clause-embedding predicates
Wataru Uegaki, University of Edinburgh
Tuesday, 27.10.2020
11:00 – 12:00
Room: [virtual Zoom talk]
A central question in semantic research is whether there are any cross-linguistically robust constraints on the possible denotations of lexical items of certain grammatical categories. Recent work has explored cross-linguistic constraints in the domain of clause-embedding predicates like “know”, “agree”, and “wonder” (Spector & Egré 2015; Theiler, Roelofsen & Aloni 2018; Uegaki 2019; Steinert-Threlkeld 2020). Within this line of work, two basic questions can be distinguished. The first is empirical: Which constraints, if any, do we find in the semantics of clause-embedding predicates? The second is theoretical: What may explain the existence of such universal semantic constraints? In this talk, I will talk about my recent collaborative projects on both of these fronts. Specifically, I will discuss two empirical proposals concerning cross-linguistic constraints on the meanings of clause-embedding predicates (joint work with Floris Roelofsen), and report on artificial-language experiments that aim to tap into how these constraints relate to learnability (joint work with Jennifer Culbertson).