New Work

Publications

CV (.pdf)

Talks

Teaching: Linguistics 201 Section G

A Quote: "Certain of the work on model-theoretic semantics--the study of 'truth in possible worlds'--seems promising. In particular, I would like to mention the work of Jaakko Hintikka and his colleagues..." N. Chomsky. Language and Responsibility, 1977, pp72-73

Keir Moulton

keir at linguist dot umass dot edu

Post-doctoral Fellow, McGill University (SSHRCC Post-doctoral Fellowhsip)

Ph.D. University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 2009.
Dissertation:Natural Selection and the Syntax of Clausal Complementation
[filed diss] [defense handout]
Committee: Kyle Johnson and Angelika Kratzer (chairs), Rajesh Bhatt, Louise Antony

Research

Syntax, semantics, syntax and semantics; complementation and embedding, meanings of clausal projections, attitude ascription, argument structure, movement (especially of non-nominal categories). I am also interested in processing, in particular comprehension factors involve in ellipsis resolution. My CV.


Work

(Not) Moving Clauses [handout]
Talk Given at McGill, September 2009

Clausal Complementation and the Wager-class [paper]
[NELS 37 (2009 Volume) paper]

Introducing Clausal Complements [handout]
[caveat lector: An 'in between' stage of work found elsewhere]

Revisiting Postal's DOC: Lethal A-positions [handout]

Scope Relations and Infinitival Complements [paper]
Reports two experimental studies that show that inverse scope out of infinitivals is more difficult depending on the overlap between the situations denoted by the matrix and embeddded cluase. A proposal is made that quantifiers are easier to process if the membes of their sets are contained in the situations immediately in the scope of the quantifier.

Presupposed VPs find antecedents asserted ones don't [paper]
Experimental studies show that a preference of 'small antecedents' for ellipses in presuppositional contexts (such as ACD) is constrained by a principle of accommodation ~ Generals Paper no.2, under review.

Athapaskan Internal Heads are Definitely Not Indefinite [handout]

Strong Reflexivity and Attitudes de se [paper] [Dec 2005 Handout: revision of paper]
Explores two classes of ECM complements (Bresnan 1972) and argues using evidence from 'de se' that some attitude verbs are inherently reflexive; in doing so, the paper makes a proposal for the semantics of inherently reflexive verbs, and when applied to attitude verbs, derives 'de se' interpretations ~ Generals Paper no.1]

Control as Voice [pdf]

Considerations for a Property Theory of Control [pdf]

Publications

2007. Scope Relations and Infinitival Complements UMOP 35: Processing and Semantics, Jan Anderssen, et al, eds. GLSA: University of Massachusetts.

2007. Small Antecedents: Syntax or Pragmatics? Proceedings of the North East Linguistic Society 37. Elfner, E. and M. Walkow, eds. GLSA: University of Massachusetts.

2006. with A. Arregui, C. Clifton, and L. Frazier. Processing elided verb phrases with flawed antecedents: the recycling hypothesis. Journal of Memory and Language 55: 232-246.

2004. External Arguments and Gerunds. Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics 22: 121-136. C.Frigeni, ed. [pdf]

2003. Deep allophones in the Old English laryngeal system. Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics 20: 157-173. D.C.Hall, ed. [pdf]

2002. Clausal modification in Old English: the case of the correlative. Ms. Forum paper, University of Toronto. 

Talks

2007. "Clausal Complementation and the DOC paradigm: A selection-based apporach." To be Presented at NELS 38, University of Ottawa.

2007. "Athapaskan Internal Heads are definitely not Indefinite" To be presented at SULA Semantics of Under-represented Languages of the Americas. Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 2007.

2007. "Revisiting Postal's DOC: Lethal A-positions" Presented at ECO5, March 2007.

2006. "Small Antecedents: Syntax or Pragmatics?" NELS 37, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

2005. "Strong reflexivity and attitudes de se: Evidence from English ECM." Presented at ConSOLE XIV, University of the Basque Country, December 20.

2005. "Strong reflexivity and attitudes de se." Presented at SNEWS, University of Connecticutt, October 23.

2003. "The diachrony of CP." Presented to the Canadian Linguistic Association, Dalhousie University, Halifax, June 2003.

2002. "Deep Allophones." Presented to the Canadian Linguistics Association, University of Toronto, May 2002.

2002. "Voicing Opposition  in Old English fricative allophones." Presented at the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto Phonology Workshop, McGill University, February 2002.

2002. "Syntactic Clitics and Bound Pronouns." Presented at the Groundhog Day Binding Workshop, University of Toronto, February 2002.

2001. "The Language of Emotion and Exile in The Wanderer and King Lear." Presented at the 2nd Annual Student Conference on Old English and Modern Literature, University of Toronto, April 2001. 

Older Papers

Case Domains and Case Markedness within Nominalizations [pdf]

Processing entailed complements before subcategorized ones [pdf]

Links

UMass linguistics http://www.umass.edu/linguist

University of Toronto, Department of Linguistics http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/linguistics

F-Zero, UofT Linguistics Band http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~danhall/band/

Contact

keir is at linguist dot umass dot edu

Department of Linguistics, Rm 226 South College
150 Hicks Way
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003
U.S.A.
413.545.0885 

I am a member of the University of Massachusetts community.