Syntax and Semantics Babble (S-Babble) is a bi-weekly informal discussion group at UC San Diego on theoretical and experimental aspects of syntax and semantics and related areas such as their interfaces with morphology, pragmatics, and philosophy of language
S-Babble is open to all students and faculty
Speakers are asked to prepare a talk that is no longer than 50 mins and send a title as early as possible, but at least one week before the talk
An abstract of the talk and suggestions for background readings are welcome
Speakers are fully free to choose among the following 3 presentation options
1. Full talk without interruptions except for few brief, specific, crucial clarification questions
2. Beginning of the talk (up to a specified point) without interruptions except for few brief, specific, crucial clarification questions
3. The talk can be interrupted with questions at any time
Tuesday 11 am - 12:30 pm
APM 4218 and/or Zoom (email ivano [at] ucsd [dot] edu to be added to our weekly email list to receive Zoom links)
All Babblers are invited to give short informal presentations of data, ideas, or questions related to syntax and/or semantics to kick things off for the year! We encourage you to use this opportunity for group feedback and discussion on any topics or puzzles that you've been musing over lately. Names of those who would like to present will be drawn randomly, and each presenter will have 5-10 minutes (depending on the number of presenters) for presentation and discussion. You are still welcome and encouraged to attend even if you do not have a topic you would like to present.
Many uses of experiential language, like predicates of personal taste (PPTs), seem closely tied to the speaker's subjective experience. For instance, simple assertions with PPTs (e.g., "The chili is tasty") give rise to the "acquaintance inference," namely the inference that the speaker has first-hand experience of the subject matter in question. At the same time, many uses of PPTs have import that extends beyond the speaker's experiences. For instance, if two people are disagreeing about whether the chili is tasty, it can make sense to collect more opinions to help settle who is right. To capture this, some previous accounts have appealed to genericity in the semantics of PPTs. However, these approaches do not provide a compelling account of the acquaintance inference. My goal in this talk is to pursue the idea that PPTs can give rise to generic meanings, but within an expressivist approach to experiential language -- which I argue is better placed to account for the particularities of this kind of discourse, including the acquaintance inference.