Theoretical and Experimental Approaches to Agreement @ UMass Amherst

October 29th and 30th, 2015
UMass Amherst, Massachusetts, USA


The Department of Linguistics and Psychology is hosting a workshop on agreement in natural language, aimed at bringing together researchers investigating agreement from theoretical and experimental points of view. The goal of this workshop is to promote cross-talk between researchers investigating agreement from grammatical and psycholinguistic perspectives. This workshop will particularly focus on the ways in which linear order can affect agreement processes, as well as the question of how best to model linear order effects on agreement.

The workshop takes place on October 29th and 30th, a very picturesque time to visit Massachusett's Pioneer Valley! We invite anyone who is interested to attend. Registration is free, but if you would like to attend, please take a moment to RSVP here so that we have an accurate head count.

Please feel free to contact Brian Dillon at brian at linguist dot umass dot edu if you have any questions about the workshop or about visiting Amherst. Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you in Amherst!


Please note: the workshop is located in the Integrative Learning Center room N400 on Thursday, and in room S211 on Friday!
October 29th: Agreement and Linear Order
Location: Integrative Learning Center N400
9:00 Which NPs is this verb supposed to agree with, and when?
Brian Dillon (UMass Amherst)
10:00 On the relationship between grammar and memory: Insights from attraction
Julie Franck (Université de Genève)
11:00 Coffee Break
11:15 Where can linearity trump hierarchy in syntax?
Andrew Nevins (University College London)
12:15 Lunch
1:30 Conceptual and temporal factors influencing subject-verb agreement production
Maureen Gillespie (University of New Hampshire)
2:30 The linearization of agreement morphemes
Ellen Woolford
3:30 Coffee break
4:00 Open Discussion: Linear order and hierarchy in agreement
October 30th: Experimental and theoretical approaches to agreement
Location: Integrative Learning Center S211
9:00 On agreement and case, redux
Jonathan Bobaljik (UConn)
10:00 Why Is there a failure to agree with &P?
Jana Willer-Gold (Univeristy Collge London)
11:00 Coffee Break
11:15 Understanding variation in conjunct agreement
Martin Walkow
12:15 Lunch
1:30 Closest conjunct agreement in English: A comparison with number attraction
Lap-Ching Keung & Adrian Staub (UMass Amherst)
2:30 Licensing phi-features: Differential object agreement and the person case constraint
Laura Kalin (UConn)
3:30 Coffee break
4:00 Agreement processing: some steps beyond the feature hierarchy hypothesis
Franceso Vespignani (Università di Trento)