Whamit!

Speaker: Norvin Richards (MIT)
Title: Extreme preposition stranding in Dinka and Passamaquoddy-Wolastoqey
Time: Tuesday, November 3, 1-2 PM
Location: 32-D461

Dinka and Passamaquoddy-Wolastoqey both have types of extraction which distinguish between DPs and non-DPs; the distinction has syntactic and morphological consequences in various parts of the clause.  Van Urk (2015) was able to use the Dinka version of this phenomenon to argue that PP extraction in Dinka involves converting the PP into a DP at a certain point along the movement path.  I’ll argue that Passamaquoddy can perform the same kind of conversion.  In both cases, the resulting DP participates in phi-agreement (and, in the Dinka example, case-assignment) as though it had never been the object of a preposition.  I’ll try to demonstrate that all of the above is true, and then talk about possible consequences.

The Department of Linguistics and Philosophy together with the Schwarzman College of Computing (SCC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge MA invites applications for a position in computational linguistics at the level of a tenure-track Assistant Professor, starting July 1, 2027, or as soon thereafter as possible.

We seek candidates whose research connects productively with current issues in core areas of linguistic theory as they interface with core computational questions. The successful candidate will have a PhD in Linguistics, Computer Science or a related field, and will be expected to participate in research, teaching and advising in Linguistics and in SCC. A PhD is required by the start of employment.

The successful candidate will have a shared appointment in both the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy and SCC in either the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) or the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), depending on best fit. Faculty duties include teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in computational linguistics and related educational programs of SCC; conducting research; and advising undergraduate and graduate students. The normal teaching load is three subjects per year.

Applicants should submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae, copies of research papers, evidence of teaching ability, and contact information for at least three referees. In addition, the application should include a statement outlining the applicant’s research interests, previous achievements, and plans, as well as the broader questions that this research promises to engage with.

The pay range for a 9-month academic appointment at the entry-level Assistant Professor rank (excluding summer salary): $135,000 – $138,000.
MIT provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the Institute reasonably expects to pay for a position at the time of posting. The pay offered to a selected candidate during hiring will be based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience and education/training, internal peer equity, and applicable legal requirements. This pay range represents base pay only and does not include any other benefits or compensation

Please submit online applications to: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/33177

Review of applications will begin on December 11, 2026. To ensure full consideration, applications should be complete by this date, but we will consider all applications submitted until the position is filled.

MIT is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and strongly encourage applications from individuals from all identities and backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive equitable consideration for employment based on their experience and qualifications and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, or national or ethnic origin. See MIT’s full policy on nondiscrimination. Employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background check, including verifying any finding of misconduct (or pending investigation) from prior employers.

Speaker: Vsevolod Masliukov (MIT)
Title: Two is Many: Dual Neutralization and Markedness
Time: Thursday, November 5th, 5pm - 6pm
Location: 32-D769

Abstract: This talk looks at a class of neutralizations in which the dual is replaced by the plural whenever two bundles of phi-features are spelled out within a single morphological word. I adopt a bivalent decomposition of number into [±singular] and [±augmented] (Harbour 2011) and argue that these patterns arise from postsyntactic Impoverishment of the marked [–augmented] value, which leaves an underspecified plural exponent to surface on semantic duals.
The core case comes from my fieldwork on Kazym Khanty (Uralic). There, possessed duals may take plural morphology while keeping both dual meaning and dual verb agreement. Crucially, this is possible only with possessors that rank high on a combined person–number markedness hierarchy. This supports Nevins’s (2011) view that marked values both trigger Impoverishment and are its targets.
Parallel data from Mehri, Third Mesa Hopi, Warlpiri and Nimboran suggest a broader generalization: two local phi-bundles are themselves a marked configuration, which can be resolved in different ways.

Speaker: Bingzi Yu (MIT)
Title: Which combinations of rule interactions are possible?
Time: Monday, November 2, 5pm-6:30pm
Location: 32-D831

Abstract:

In this talk, I will discuss a prediction inspired by Kim’s (2024) Realized-Input account of phonological opacity. Consider a language with the following three processes:

• Palatalization: t → tʃ / _i
• Raising: e → i / [-stress]
• Epenthesis: ∅ → i / C_C

In principle, both Raising and Epenthesis can create the context for Palatalization. In a rule-based framework, depending on the order of application, each rule can feed (yielding [tʃi]) or counterfeed Palatalization (yielding [ti]). This permits four combinations: both feed Palatalization, both counterfeed it, or one feeds it while the other counterfeeds it. However, are all four combinations attested? I predict that Raising and Epenthesis should interact with Palatalization in the same way, if all three rules apply within the same phonological domain: either both rules feed Palatalization or both rules counterfeed it. I will develop this prediction using the analysis in Kim (2024) and examine preliminary supporting evidence from São Paulo Brazilian Portuguese and perhaps a few other languages.

A paper entitled “The Complementary-Distribution Challenge for Phonological Learning: The Case of [h] and [ŋ] in English”, coauthored by second-year student Eyal Marco, alum Roni Katzir (PhD 2008), and Ezer Rasin (PhD 2018) has been accepted for publication in Linguistic Inquiry and is available online. Congratulations!

Here is the abstract:

The distribution of [h] and [ŋ] in English poses a well-known challenge for the structuralist assumption that segments in complementary distribution are allophones of the same phoneme. In this paper, we show that this distribution also poses a challenge within generative linguistics, a challenge of explanatory adequacy. The challenge is to explain why the English-learning child does not acquire a grammar in which [h] and [ŋ] are derived from the same underlying representation. The generative literature has not identified this as a problem, largely because of the assumption that [h] and [ŋ] are too phonetically dissimilar to participate in an alternation. However, we argue that phonetic accounts do not eliminate the challenge. We discuss simplicity-based theories of learning and show that under naive representational assumptions, simplicity-based learners prefer to derive [ŋ] from an underlying /h/, rather than a longer sequence of /ng/ (or an underlying /ŋ/), and therefore make wrong predictions about English speakers’ knowledge. The same learners, however, make correct predictions when combined with a representational framework that assumes underspecification and lexical redundancy rules. We therefore conclude that the acquisition problem can be addressed using simplicity-based learning, and that the complementary distribution of [h] and [ŋ] provides an argument for underspecification and lexical redundancy rules.

The paper can be read without a paywall at https://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/009103

Official site for paper: https://doi.org/10.1162/LING.a.614

Speaker: Faruk Akkuş (UMass Amherst)
Title: “Locating code-switching in the grammar”
When: Friday, November 6th, 3:30-5pm
Where: 32-141

Abstract:

This talk investigates “word”-internal language mixing among Turkish, Anatolian Arabic, and Northern Kurdish across verbal and nominal domains. Drawing on rarely studied trilingual code-switching data, the study explores how language contact shapes templatic and affixal morphology. To account for these patterns, the study adopts the No-Reversal Constraint (NRC, Akkuş 2025), which dictates that language mixing cannot switch back to a language that contributed a morpheme earlier in the derivation. Demonstrating that the NRC fares better than alternative formal approaches, this talk broadens the empirical coverage of the constraint and addresses two issues not discussed in Akkuş 2025. First, the NRC is shown to apply to morphosyntactic words prior to linearization, exerting a structural, bottom-up restriction (prohibiting [[A B] A] structures) rather than a simple left-to-right linear prohibition (*A-B-A). Second, language mixing occurs even without phonological or morphological integration – or when phonological processes do not track each other – confirming that these patterns reflect genuine code-switching rather than borrowing, and that the NRC operates independently of integration levels.

Speaker: Faruk Akkuş (UMass Amherst)
Title: “The case for case features in syntax and morphology”
When: Wednesday, November 4th, 1pm-2:30pm (Day 1) + Thursday, November 5th, 12:30-2pm (Day 2)
Where: 32-D461

Abstract:

This minicourse presents an analysis of argument indexation, the process by which arguments in a clause are coindexed with grammatical markers that bear their features. In particular, it examines how morphosyntactic operations that phi-features are involved with relate to their morphophonological behavior. The main case study is based on varieties of Central Kurdish, whose indexation properties interact with an alignment split of the type often called ‘split Ergative.’ From this, we develop a more general theory that can be applied to many other languages, some of which will be illustrated. A key line of argument is that agreement and clitic movement operations target specific cases, in a process called ‘Case Targeting’. The approach further hypothesizes that case labels like ‘Nominative’, ‘Ergative’, and so on are shorthand for decomposed feature bundles, both in the syntax and morphology. It is these features that are targeted by syntactic operations such as agreement and movement. In addition to requiring Case Targeting, the analysis of Central Kurdish implies that syntactic operations (agreement, clitic movement) and their morphophonological reflexes may be mismatched: agreement and movement can both produce affixes and clitics, contrary to many views of morphosyntax/morphophonology relations. The implications of these points are discussed focusing on indexing effects shown by (in)transitives, possessive constructions, along with the prepositional-arguments.

[This is based on joint work with David Embick and Mohammed Salih]

On Sunday November 1st, Amy, Christopher, Jad, Shota and Martin and close friends/family enjoyed the beautiful weather on Sunday hiking up Mt Major (NH).

Check out the beautiful view in the photo below!

The Cambridge Half Marathon took place on October 31 – November 1, 2026. Four of our current students, Rotsuprit (Ford) Saengthong, Joseph Sarmenta, Churong Jin and Thomas Truong all completed the 13.1-mile race, with the following stunning finish times!

• Ford 1:34:35
• Joseph 1:38:01
• Jin 1:57:55
• Thomas 1:58:01

Congratulations to all four!!

See below for photos of our amazing runners: