LINGUIST List 13.2544

Mon Oct 7 2002

Confs: Data, Analyses, and "Results" in Ling, Italy

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Sergio Scalise, Meeting on "The results of linguistics"

THE NOTION OF "RESULTS OF LINGUISTICS"
First Meeting of ''Lingue e Linguaggio'' Bologna, March 2003
Biblioteca del Mulino, Strada Maggiore 37 

Abstract

The aim of the conference is to explore on different grounds the
crucial notion of "result" in linguistics. There are essentially three
directions wich may be worth pursuing: theoretical, historical and
external.

Linguistics has now a decidedly "scientific" status. The question is:
what is the theoretical basis for this widespread opinion? A first
answer is "methodology", but also the results obtained are crucial,
together with the possibility of verifying them. Probably different
theories in the last century have acquired different "received truths"
and also recent and influential developments of the framework, such as
minimalism and optimality, with their frequent and crucial invocation
of notions such as economy, simplicity, necessity and the like, may
have a deep impact on the way data, analyses and results in general
get evaluated in our field, and thus call for reflection.

Now that the different subfields have accumulated a huge mass of
generalizations, analyses and theories, it may be the moment to make
an estimation of which can be considered received results in each
domain.

Finally, linguistics is getting more and more usable and used by other
sciences, like neurosciences, psychology, computer science, genetics
etc, which must have developed, although perhaps only implicitly, some
clear and specific idea of what are the real results of linguistics,
which we may want to take into account.


AGENDA:
	
Friday, March 28

PRESENTATION

9.45-10.00 Caterina Donati (Urbino) and Sergio Scalise Bologna)

EPISTEMOLOGY

10.00-10.30 The notion of ''result'' in science (Paolo Leonardi - Bologna)
10.30-11.00 The notion of ''result'' in linguistics (Giulio Lepschy - Reading)
11.30-12.10 The notion of ''result'' in contemporary linguistics
 (Giorgio Graffi - Verona)
12.15-12-45 Discussion

LINGUISTICS

14.00-14.30 Phonetics (Cinzia Avesani - Padova and Mario Vayra - Arezzo)
14.30-15.00 Phonology (Marina Nespor - Ferrara)
15.00-15.30 Morphology (Andrew Spencer - Essex)
15.30-15.45 Break
15.45-16.15 Syntax (Richard Kayne - New York) 
16.15-16.45 Semantics (Denis Delfitto - Verona)
16.45-17.15 Diachrony (Ian Roberts - Cambridge)
17.15-17.30 Break
17.30- 18.30 Discussion


Saturday, March 29

LINGUISTICS AND OTHER SCIENCES

9.00-9.30 Neurosciences (Stefano Cappa - Milano)
9.30-10.00 Psycholinguitics (Patrizia Tabossi - Trieste )
10.00-10.30 Neuroimage and linguistics (Andrea Moro - Milano)
10.30-10.45 Break
10.45-11.15 Computer science (Robert Frank - Baltimore) 
11.15-11.45 Genetics (Edoardo Boncinelli - Trieste)
11.45-12.15 Acquisition (Juergen Meisel - Hamburg )
12.15-12.45 Discussion and conclusions 

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