Full Title: Myopia in Grammar

Date: 13-Jun-2024 - 14-Jun-2024
Location: Leipzig, Germany
Contact Person: Soeren E. Tebay
Meeting Email: [email protected]
Web Site: https://home.uni-leipzig.de/tebay/myopia.htm

Linguistic Field(s): Linguistic Theories; Morphology; Phonology; Semantics; Syntax

Call Deadline: 31-Jan-2024

Meeting Description:

In grammatical systems where morphological and syntactic structure is built incrementally or cyclically there is no 'look ahead'. Operations in a more embedded domain cannot be sensitive to more peripheral structure since this is only added later in the derivation. Similarly, the conditioning of iterative phonological rules (as in the modeling of vowel harmony) is blind to the overall result of its combined recursive application. In the terminology of Collins (1997) and Wilson (2003,2006), these processes are 'myopic' (see also Demuth & Gruber 1994 and Bobaljik 1995). In a mirror image to prospective myopia, grammatical operations also typically exhibit retrospective myopia which blocks 'looking back' in derivational history by mechanisms such as Bracket Erasure and Phases, especially the Phase Impenetrability Condition (Chomsky 2008, Müller 2010). In the last decades, myopia has become crucial as a litmus test for fundamental formal properties of grammatical systems, such as the assumption of Phases in minimalist syntax (Chomsky 2008) or for the stepwise optimization processes assumed in Harmonic Serialism (McCarthy 2016, Müller 2020, Torres-Tamarit 2016). The goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers with different theoretical backgrounds to advance the empirical and theoretical understanding of myopia.

Call for Papers:

The goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers with different theoretical backgrounds to advance the empirical and theoretical understanding of myopia. In particular, we welcome contributions which address the following topics and questions:

* The empirical extent of myopia across grammar: Myopic effects are documented in all modules of grammar (syntax, morphology, phonology and semantics). In morphology it has been argued that selection or allomorphy of affixal exponents cannot be sensitive to properties of more outwards affixes (Bobaljik 2000, Paster 2006, 2015, Embick 2010). There is an ongoing debate on the existence of (non-)myopic effects in vowel harmony (see Walker 2010, Kimper 2012, Mascaró 2019). In syntax, quantifier raising to an intermediate position may be blocked locally even when it would be motivated globally (Bobaljik & Wurmbrand 2013).
* Different formal models of myopia: Whereas myopia has often been equated with rule-based approaches, the development of Harmonic Serialism, Stratal OT and Cophonology Theory has led to a wide variety of formal means to model myopia differing in myopic domains and the way myopia is integrated in the architecture of grammar. However, it is still a largely open question how diverging theoretical models differ in their specific predictions.
* Myopia in grammar and computation: Jardine (2016) shows that the (absence of the) 'sour-grape' property of harmony processes crucial in theoretical work on Harmonic Serialism has a direct equivalent in terms of computational complexity. However, the types of myopia assumed in theoretical work and those relevant for computation do not perfectly coincide. We especially welcome contributions addressing this divide.

Abstract guidelines
* Max. 2 pages of A4 paper, including references, examples, tables and figures
* 12pt Times New Roman font or similar
* 1in (2.54cm) margins on all sides
* The abstract must not reveal the identity of the author in any way
* PDF format
Abstracts not following these guidelines will be rejected without review. Abstracts should be send to the following email adress: tebay [at] uni-leipzig.de

Deadline of submission: January 31 2024

Notification of acceptance: Mid March 2024

Website: https://home.uni-leipzig.de/tebay/myopia.htm