here - Linguistic Society of America

Andries W. Coetzee (University of Michigan) Session 34Anthony Natoci (University of Michigan)Modeling compensation-for-assimilation in noisy Harmonic GrammarEnglish word-final nasals variably assimilate to following onsets—aspirin powder pronounced as [æspɹɪm paʊdɚ]. Successfulspeech perception requires that listeners map [æspɹɪm] unto /æspɹɪn/, and prior research shows that listeners do this (Gaskel &Marslen-Wilson, 2001). Additionally, gestural simplification such as assimilation is more likely at faster than slower speech(Barry 1992)––[æspɹɪm paʊdɚ] is more likely at faster speech rates. We investigate the interaction between compensation-forassimilationand speech rate, showing that listeners are more likely to perceive aspirin in [æspɹɪm paʊdɚ] at a faster speech rates.We then model listeners’ performance in noisy Harmonic Grammar.Lauren Colomb (University of South Carolina) Session 40Stanley Dubinsky (University of South Carolina)The syntax and semantics of ‘tryna’ [‘trying to’] in comparison with ‘gonna’ [‘going to’]The distribution of the contracted form tryna (from trying to) provides insights into the distribution of gonna, and the process bywhich lexical verbs become aspectual auxiliaries. Contrary to Hopper and Traugott 2003, contraction of −ing+to −na is notcontingent on reanalysis, nor on the absence of phrasal boundaries between −ing and to. Observations of tryna, compared togonna, suggest that licensing of gonna depends on the grammaticalization of to itself. That is, to as a purposive/locative goalargument of the motion verb go cannot contract with it, but infinitival to can (as for all uses of tryna).Kevin Conroy (Boston College) Session 78Endonyms and exonyms: how grammarians and linguists refer to the Insular Celts and their languagesThe names by which native and foreign grammarians and linguists refer to the Celtic languages are full of meaning. For example,Americans generally refer to the native language of Ireland as “Gaelic,” while linguists (and Irish people today) use “Irish” -- aswas used in England in the early modern period. I will examine the terminology used by early grammarians of Celtic languages(in both Celtic and non-Celtic languages) and compare these to those used by linguists, and non-linguists, today. Edward Lhuyd(1690-1709), in particular, is of interest, for he wrote about the Celtic languages in his native Welsh, as well as in English, Irish,and Cornish.Ellen Contini-Morava (University of Virginia) Session 100Eve Danziger (University of Virginia)Discourse functions of the Mopan Maya Echo Vowel encliticThe Mopan “Echo Vowel” (EV) enclitic resembles some other Mayan enclitics e.g. Tzotil =un (Aissen 1992), Itzaj =ej (Hofling2000), Yukatek =e’ (Skopeteas 2009). Skopeteas distinguishes “interpretable” vs. “demarcating” enclitics, assigning the MopanEV to both categories. Rather than dividing it into meaningful vs. meaningless homonyms, we suggest a general discoursefunction of bracketing constituents that are especially attention-worthy, e.g. because out of their normal position, or because theboundary between constituents is hard to identify due to Mopan’s relatively free word order and its “omnipredicativity” (Launey1994)—the fact that “nouns”, “adjectives”, and “verbs” may carry the same inflections.Marie Coppola (University of Connecticut) Session 15Deanna Gagne (University of Connecticut)Ann Senghas (Columbia University)WHO chased the bird? Narrative cohesion in an emerging languageWe investigated narrative cohesion in narratives produced by 12 Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL) signers and 4 NicaraguanHomesigners. The subject of each clause was classified as an Introduction (first mention) or Maintenance (subsequent mention)context, and coded with respect to how the character’s identity was expressed. NSL signers were most likely to use an explicitnoun in Introductions, and a less specific reference in Maintenance contexts. In contrast, Homesigners were less likely to includea noun in Introductions, and more likely to leave characters unexpressed. Results suggest that linguistic input, and interaction in alinguistic community, are required for narrative cohesion to emerge.143