Radical discontinuity: syntax at the interface

In this dissertation, I examine discontinuous constituents in Ukrainian and Modern Greek and advance the Radical Discontinuity Hypothesis. I argue that discontinuous constituents in which an adjectival modifier surfaces in a distance from the noun it modifies do not result from splitting a single phrasal constituent by way of movement but are the product of long-distance concord. An adjectival modifier is base-generated at a distance from the noun and is licensed by agreement. I demonstrate that the Radical Discontinuity Hypothesis explains freedom of lexical item ordering in discontinuous constituents, complex cases of discontinuity that involve tripartitioning of the noun phrase, and contrasts in the availability of movement and discontinuity in similar syntactic environments. While the order between lexical categories that form an agreement-based discontinuous constituent is free, functional categories always linearly precede the left-most lexical item associated with the discontinuous constituent. I claim that the surface distribution of functional categories in discontinuous constituents is determined not in narrow syntax but in the course of linearization of syntactic structure at the interface with PF. I argue that the F-value ordering principle responsible for extended projection formation in narrow syntax (Grimshaw (2005)) also guides linearization of the hierarchical structure at PF. By establishing a correlation between the asymmetric c-command and the F-value based ordering of heads of an extended projection, I formulate the Mapping Constraint on Linearization (MCL) and offer a linearization algorithm that implements it. The MCL algorithm incorporates the F-value ordering principle into the LCA of Kayne (1994) and ensures that the F-value ordering relations are enforced in a linear string. The application of the MCL algorithm extends beyond the phenomenon of constituent discontinuity and is examined in relation to various movement transformations. The MLC algorithm restricts the output of both XP and head movement, accounts for the distribution of PP-modifiers and Genitive possessors in movement-based discontinuous constructions, and derives Determiner Spreading in Modern Greek. I also examine locality restriction on movement and agreement in Ukrainian and demonstrate that agreement is constrained not in terms of intervention effects but in terms of agreement domains, which are distinct from PIC.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 368-394)by Natalia Kariaev

Supervised learning of lexical semantic verb classes using frequency distributions

We report a number of computational experiments in supervised learning whose goal is to automatically classify a set of verbs into lexical semantic classes, based on frequency distribution approximations of grammatical features extracted from a very large annotated corpus. Distributions of five syntactic features that approximate transitivity alternations and thematic role assignments are sufficient to reduce error rate by 56% over chance. We conclude that corpus data is a usable repository of verb class information, and that corpusdriven extraction of grammatical features is a promising methodology for automatic lexical acquisition

An information-state approach to collaborative reference

We describe a dialogue system that works with its interlocutor to identify objects. Our contributions include a concise, modular architecture with reversible processes of understanding and generation, an information-state model of reference, and flexible links between semantics and collaborative problem solving.

Antisemitism and the Russian Revolution

Book synopsis: When the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917, they announced the overthrow of a world scarred by exploitation and domination. In the very moment of revolution, these sentiments were put to the test as antisemitic pogroms swept the former Pale of Settlement. The pogroms posed fundamental questions of the Bolshevik project, revealing the depth of antisemitism within sections of the working class, peasantry and Red Army. Antisemitism and the Russian Revolution offers the first book-length analysis of the Bolshevik response to antisemitism. Contrary to existing understandings, it reveals this campaign to have been led not by the Party leadership, as is often assumed, but by a loosely connected group of radicals who mobilized around a Jewish political subjectivity. By examining pogroms committed by the Red Army, Brendan McGeever also uncovers the explosive overlap between revolutionary politics and antisemitism, and the capacity for class to become racialized in a moment of crisis