New reading(s) have been posted for Tuesday’s class in the syllabus and readins pages.
November 6, 2009
It’s hard to believe but the semester is almost over! We just have a few more classes left before Thanksgiving. The official due date of your final papers has been announced: December 8, 2009. We hope everyone is having fun investigating their chosen topic. Please let us know if you need help finding references or if you would like to discuss your progress with us.
The next few classes will deal with some of the latest work on Generative Lexicon Theory. Three new readings have been posted in the syllabus and readings pages. Please have them read by Tuesday. As you read, please note any questions or problems you have with the readings. You do not need to turn this in, but it will help with our discussion next week.
October 16, 2009
The slides we used for the last few lectures can now be found on the Class Notes and Readings page. Also, presentations will be starting next week. Here is the schedule:
- Friday, October 23 -- Dong, Wang, Andrew Riker
- Tuesday, October 27 -- Michael Prager, Pan Lin, Rob Levy
- Friday, October 30 -- Livnat Herzig, Yaqin Yang
October 14, 2009
A new reading for Friday has been posted (syllabus, class readings). Since this week you should be focussing on choosing a topic for your presentation, there is no assigned summary for this week. However, we would like you do write a short paragraph describing your topic for the presentation so that we know what you are planning to do and so that we can possibly discuss the topics in class.
October 9, 2009
Information on both your presentation and final paper can be found here. You will find suggested topics and also a list of upcoming important dates. Please try to pick your topic as soon as possible so that we can help you narrow your focus for the presentation.
October 6, 2009
Your summary for this Friday should be on two articles:
1. Pustejovsky: The Syntax of Events
2. Moens and Steedman: Temporal Ontology and Temporal Reference
We have made some changes to the syllabus, so please be sure to check it. Also, you can find the paper Seohyun presented on in class on the Class Notes and Readings page.
Later this week, we will be providing details on the presentation and paper you will do for this class. Briefly, your presentation should be an overview of a particular problem you find interesting including possible solutions to the problem in the literature. The paper should be a deeper analysis of one of the presented problems (or a new one). Your paper must be on a different topic than your presentation unless you have previously spoken to Professor Pustejovsky about working on the same problem The presentations will take place over three days: October 23, 27, and 30. The paper will be due on the last day of class, December 1. We will be providing a sampling of possible topics that you can do either your presentation or paper on later this week, but you are also more than welcome to choose your own topic. If there is a particular problem you would like to present or write on, please tell us about it as soon as possible so we can approve it.
Finally, if you are interested in looking more closely at the Brandeis Semantic Ontology, you can find the BSO Browser here.
September 25, 2009
Several new readings have been added to the syllabus and readings page. For next Friday, October 2, please write your summaries on the Vendler, Bach, and Part 1 from The Language of Time articles. Read the other two articles, Pustejovsky and Reichenbach, for the following Tuesday.
Remember that there is no class this coming Tuesday because it is a Brandeis Monday! Have a good weekend, and, if you’re fasting for Yom Kippur, an easy fast!
September 22, 2009
For Friday, September 25, please write 1-2 pages summarizing your understanding of GL so far. You can use the Additional Reading, Type Theory and Lexical Decomposition as a guide, if you wish. Include in your summary any outstanding questions you have on the material so far.
September 15, 2009
The syllabus has been updated to reflect a slight change in our schedule. This Friday, we will continue talking about qualia structure and we will discuss some classic examples of type shifting as we get ready to cover coercion in GL. So, for Friday, please read the Partee article and Chapter 6 of the book and do a short summary for each (2 pages total is fine). You can find the Vendler article that James mentioned in class today on the Class Notes and Readings page. For next Tuesday, please read Chapter 7 of the book as well as the additional reading that is posted in the syllabus.
September 11, 2009
A link to Blackburn’s notes on feature structures has been posted on the Class Notes and Readings page.
September 8, 2009
The syllabus has been updated with two new readings on feature structures in the lexicon and types. For Friday, please hand in a 1 to 2 page summary of readings.
There have been some questions about what is due when in this class. Assignments will generally be due on the Friday class each week. Most weeks, we will explicitly mention in class on Tuesday what the assignment for Friday is, and then we will repeat what it is on this webpage. Note that Latte will be used sparingly in this class, if at all, so you should always check this site first. If we do use Latte, we’ll make a note that we’ve done so on this page as well. If nothing is explicitly mentioned here or in class, you should assume that we want you to hand in a summary for that week’s reading on Friday. However, we’ll do our best to always tell you exactly what you should summarize.
Assignments should be handed in during class on Fridays or e-mailed to Jess before Friday’s class. Please let us know if you have any questions!
September 1, 2009
The assignment for this week on examples of polysemy has been posted in the syllabus. Please have one to two pages written for this assignment by Friday.
Also, we are still trying to find out if the book is in yet. If it still isn’t in today, we will post Chapter 3 of the book on the website.
Finally, make sure that you are officially registered for the course through Sage with the permission code. We will occasionally be sending out e-mail to the class and you won’t be on the list unless you are fully registered. Thanks!