Call: Complex predicates, particles, and subevents

[Tracy Holloway King]

			   CALL FOR PAPERS

			       Workshop
	     Complex Predicates, Particles and Subevents

			University of Konstanz
			       SFB 471
		      September 30, October 1-2


The phenomenon of complex predicates across languages points towards a
tight correlation between the syntax of predication and the semantics
of events.  The exploration of this syntax/semantics interface has
taken many forms, but remains far from having reached a state of
accomplishment.  The aim of this workshop is to contribute to the
exploration of the syntax/semantics interface by paying special
attention to how the semantics of events is tied to the syntax of
complex predication.  Central phenomena under investigation are V-V
constructions as found in South Asian languages (Butt 1995) or
resultative readings which go along with auxiliary and verbal
selection as found in Romance (Folli and Ramchand 2001).  Of further
interest are N-V constructions such as in (3) or (4).

	  (1)	     nAdyA aa gayii
		     Nadya come went
		     'Nadya arrived.'    (Urdu)

          (2)	     Gianni ha	corso    nel    bosco	(Italian)
		     John   has run.Past in.the woods
		     'John has run in the woods (for an hour).'

		     Gianni e	corso    nel    bosco   (Italian)
		     John   is  run.Past in.the woods
		     'John has run in the woods (in a minute).'

          (3)	     shekast dAdan
		     defeat give
		     'to defeat'             (Persian)

		     shekast xordan
		     defeat eat
		     'to be defeated'	     (Persian)

	  (4)	     Er hot a kum arayn geton
		     he has a come in   done
		     'He came in.'		(Yiddish)


There is growing evidence that parts of complex (but still primary)
predication hook into "subevents" (Ramchand 2001) or "diminutivized
events" (Diesing 1998).  This type of syntax/semantics interplay is
heavily reminiscent of the elusive semantics associated with Germanic
particle verbs.  One question that arises is whether the syntax and
semantics of complex V-V or N-V predication can indeed be analyzed
along the same lines as the syntax and semantics of particle verbs.

      (5)      Er kommt an.
	       he come	at
	       'He arrives.'

A perhaps pertinent observation is that while Sanskrit made heavy use
of preverbs (or particle verbs) along the lines now found in Germanic,
the modern Indo-Aryan descendents in South Asia have purged themselves
of this construction.  In comparison, the South Asian languages make
much heavier use of V-V or N-V complex predication than is the case in
Germanic, where the Indo-European preverb/particle construction is
still very much in evidence.  Does this diachronic evidence as to
complementary distribution support the perceived close connection
between particles and complex predicates?

Another observation is that the phonological and prosodic properties
of complex predicates and particle verbs are special both from a
diachronic and a synchronic perspective in that they form separate
prosodic entities, but nevertheless are also dependent on another
prosodic word.  This dependency, however, does not lead to a gradual
loss of prosodic independence, as is observed with auxiliaries or
clitics, for example.  How can this be accounted for?

The possibility of a close connection between particles and complex
predicates has often been raised, but not been substantiated,
primarily because research on the Indo-Aryan (and Indo-Iranian) type
of complex predication is seldom treated by the same group of
researchers who work on particle verbs.  One goal of this workshop is
thus to bring together researchers on complex predicates (V-V and N-V)
and particle verbs.  The ultimate goal is to understand the
syntax/semantics/phonology interface of these constructions better in
terms of both synchronic and diachronic perspectives.


Invited Speakers:

David Adger (York) and Daniel Harbour (MIT)
Ashwini Deo (Stanford)
Paula Fikkert (Nijmegen) and Astrid Kraehenmann (Konstanz)
Gillian Ramchand (Oxford)
Peter Svenonius (Tromso)

We anticipate being able to accept another 8-10 papers.  Partial
reimbursement will be available.

The workshop is part of project A2 of the SFB 471 at the University of
Konstanz: http://ling.uni-konstanz.de/pages/proj/sfb471/welcome.htm

A web page for the workshop can be found at:

   http://ling.uni-konstanz.de/pages/conferences/cp/


Abstracts should be sent to:   miriam.butt at uni-konstanz.de

Abstract length:  1 page, with a second page for references and
		  examples, if necessary.

Deadline:	 June 20 (notification of acceptance by the 30th)
		 Note:  the deadline has been extended slightly.

Accepted Formats: PDF, PS, HTML or ASCII.  No Word or RTF files will
be accepted.

Alternative methods of submission:

	    Fax:  +49 7531 88 30 95

	    Snail Mail:  Miriam Butt
			 FB Sprachwissenschaft, Fach D186
			 Universitaet Konstanz
			 78457 Konstanz
			 Germany