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View the meeting handbook - Linguistic Society of America

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Linda Abarbanell (Harvard University) Session 10<strong>Linguistic</strong> flexibility in frame <strong>of</strong> reference use among adult Tseltal (Mayan) speakersTseltal is known for its absence <strong>of</strong> left-right (egocentric) coordinates for describing spatial relations. Instead, speakers use <strong>the</strong> uphilldownhill(geocentric) slope <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir terrain. Tseltal has left-right body-part terms; however, <strong>the</strong>se are not extended to regions <strong>of</strong> spaceoutside <strong>the</strong> body. In a series <strong>of</strong> language-elicitation tasks, I examine whe<strong>the</strong>r Tseltal-speakers can extend <strong>the</strong>ir available left-rightterms for use in spatial reference. While spontaneous left-right extensions were rare, Tseltal-speakers were quite capable <strong>of</strong>comprehending and producing left-right spatial descriptions. Moreover, <strong>the</strong> conversational structure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tasks suggests that <strong>the</strong>habits <strong>of</strong> a language community are open to interlocutor influence.Sayaka Abe (University at Buffalo-SUNY) Session 10‘True & ‘pseudo-‘ subjectification <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Japanese completion marker -shimauI approach subjectification diachronically. First, I distinguish two types <strong>of</strong> subjectification: (1) speaker-internal subjectification,which is driven by <strong>the</strong> speaker's presence in <strong>the</strong> sentence, and (2) speaker-external subjectification, which is driven by <strong>the</strong> speaker'sabsence from <strong>the</strong> sentence. Based on observations <strong>of</strong> semantic change <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Japanese marker, -shimau (grammaticalized from shimau'put away, finish'), I show <strong>the</strong> asymmetry between <strong>the</strong> two types <strong>of</strong> subjectification and argue that (1) is associated with limited andidiosyncratic development, i.e., ‘pseudo-‘ subjectification, while (2) leads to relatively stable and regular development in asemasiological change, i.e., ‘true’ subjectification.Lois Ann Abraham (<strong>America</strong>n River C) Session 68Hemingway's thingamajig"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway uses a name for only one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> characters in <strong>the</strong> short story. I investigate <strong>the</strong>possible meanings <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> name Jig and connect <strong>the</strong>se meanings to various <strong>the</strong>mes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> work. I show my interpretation <strong>of</strong> naming inthis short story to be consistent with Hemingway's philosophy and practice <strong>of</strong> writing.Marta Abrusan (Massachusetts Institute <strong>of</strong> Technology) Session 17Even & free choice any in HungarianI present an analysis <strong>of</strong> Hungarian free choice indefinites. Hungarian FCIs are composed <strong>of</strong> a special type <strong>of</strong> focus particle, akár‘even’ which itself has a free-choice-like distribution, and <strong>of</strong> a wh-indefinite. I argue that akár ‘even’ is composed <strong>of</strong> even plus anexhaustive operator (Exh). As <strong>the</strong> additive presupposition <strong>of</strong> even and <strong>the</strong> lexical import <strong>of</strong> Exh are contradictory, this combinationresults in ungrammaticality, unless a suitable operator intervenes. In <strong>the</strong> second part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> paper, I show that <strong>the</strong> core distribution <strong>of</strong>free choice indefinites in Hungarian simply follows from <strong>the</strong> meaning <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> incorporated akear.Michael Adams (Indiana U) Session 75Assimilation <strong>of</strong> French-Canadian names into New England speech: Notes from a Vermont cemeteryHeadstones in St. Mary's Cemetery, Middlebury, VT, preserve some 450 surnames. Many are English, Scots, or Scotch-Irish inorigin, some are exotic, but at least 110 <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m are Canadian French in origin. These numbers are rough; some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> names areplausibly related to some o<strong>the</strong>rs, contemporaneous variants or successive forms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> same name. Everything French became Englishwithin <strong>the</strong> second and third generations after settlement. I outline phonological patterns <strong>of</strong> accommodation, Canadian French into<strong>America</strong>n English, as well as telling exceptions that toge<strong>the</strong>r reflect <strong>the</strong> community's very <strong>America</strong>n history.Dany Adone (University <strong>of</strong> Cologne) Session 82Christiane Bongartz (University <strong>of</strong> Cologne)‘Sally go shopping’: Grammaticalization in second language acquisition & creole formationIn creole studies and second language acquisition research <strong>the</strong>re is a current debate about grammaticalization. In creole genesis itrefers to <strong>the</strong> change from lexical items to syntax. In second language acquisition grammaticalisation is involved in <strong>the</strong> transition fromearly learner varieties to sophisticated varieties. We argue that structural similarities between creole languages and second languagelearners' varieties are easily accounted for by <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> grammaticalization. Unlike creole speakers, learner varieties reflectindividual psychological states. Data from immersion classrooms show that <strong>the</strong>se individual states overlap substantially. This overlapconstitutes evidence that learner grammars and creoles are psycholinguistically similar.97

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