Promoting interest in HPSG

[Ash Asudeh]

Hi all,

I think everyone has made some important points. I just wanted to follow
up a bit on Shalom and Rob's point. While it is true that theory-oriented
conferences are not necessarily the best way to get heavy participation,
general syntax conferences tend to get swamped by transformational
content, for a variety of institutional and demographic reasons.

Following up on Gosse and Paola's suggestions, it might be profitable for
folks working in the HPSG/LFG/FG paradigms to get together. But rather
than explicitly referring to particular frameworks, why not have a
(possibly annual) strongly linguistically-oriented conference on
non-derivational syntax/semantics (and even phonology)?  This opens up the
field completely, but ensures a broad point of convergence among the
participants. I bet you would also get a lot of transformational
syntacticians turning up to such an event, too, because it would offer
them a broad perspective on what's going on outside their niche, without
committing them to hearing a whole conference on a particular framework.
How about NAG: Non-derivational Approaches to Grammar?

The HPSG, LFG, FG, etc., conferences could then continue as well if the
relevant communities feel they are viable (I can vouch that the LFG
conference is doing well).

Best,
Ash