here - Linguistic Society of America

Michael Becker (Indiana University) Session 47Maria Gouskova (New York University)Wug-testing source-oriented generalizations: grammar inference in yer deletionIn constraint- and schema-based theories, markedness constraints and schemas express product-oriented generalizations:processes apply if the outputs satisfy certain requirements (Bybee & Slobin 1982). In rule-based grammars, generalizations aresource-oriented: rules apply if inputs look a certain way (Albright & Hayes 2003). We report an experiment on mid vowel (“yer”)deletion in Russian, showing that speakers extend both source-oriented and product-oriented generalizations. We model thespeakers’ behavior using multiple product-oriented phonotactic grammars, with grammar separation triggered by inconsistentparadigmatic behavior. Speakers infer which product-oriented grammar to use based on the wellformedness of the source giveneach grammar.Charley Beller (Johns Hopkins University) Session 34Kristen Johannes (Johns Hopkins University)Michael Oliver (Johns Hopkins University)Kyle Rawlins (Johns Hopkins University)Erin Zaroukian (Johns Hopkins University)Scope and agent-orientation in adverbsThis work investigates height based distinctions in agent-oriented adverbs like kindly.(1) John invited Mary kindly.(2) Kindly, John invited Mary.We assume that agent-oriented adverbs denote properties of events (cf. Parsons, 1990) and propose that their event argumentsstand in a part-whole relation with verbal event arguments; they can thus restrict the participant structure of the verbal event.Attachment height determines whether the adverb describes a sub- or super- event of the verbal event. We propose further thatlexically realized arguments of the super-event will be used to satisfy argument requirements of the subevent.Andrea Beltrama (University of Chicago) Session 40From “tall-issimo” to “game-issimo”: subjectification and intensification in diachronyIn contemporary Italian, the intensifier -issimo provides three distinct contributions: (1) degree modification(alt-issimus = “extremely tall”), (2) slack regulation (impossibil-issimo = “absolutely impossible”), (3) nominal intensification(partit-issima = “Huge/important game”). We analyze the development of this suffix on written corpora and show that Latin onlyhas the degree-modification usage, while old Italian innovated the slack-regulation usage, and nominal intensification is exclusiveof contemporary Italian. We argue that this diachronic pathway reflects a loss of truth-conditional meaning and a gain ofpragmatic prominence, and represents a case of subjectification in Traugott’s (2003) sense.Elena Benedicto (Purdue University) Session 105Mayangna Yulbarangyang Balna (URACCAN)Amelia Shettle (Purdue University)Linguistic attitudes as a crucial factor in language revitalizationSarah Bunin Benor (Hebrew Union College) Session 64When Harry and Sally became Chaim-Dov and Sara-Bracha: personal names among Orthodox Jews in America, 1940-2011This paper describes naming practices among Orthodox Jews in America and argues for a mixed-methods approach to onomasticresearch. Using data from ethnographic observation and an online survey, I show how naming preferences (Yiddish, Hebrew, orAnglicized Hebrew; single or double names) correlate with Orthodox identity, including Modern Orthodox vs. Black Hat. UsingSocial Security Administration data from New York state, I show how names like Malky (F), Rivky (F), Menachem (M), andYisroel (M) have become more popular over the last few decades, coinciding with an Orthodox baby boom and a trend towardinsularity and religious stringency.130