The Syntax of Focus
A primary strand of my research explores the syntactic displacement of focused elements—the information which the speaker assumes the listener doesn't share. In particular, I study the way that foci are displaced in San Martín Peras Mixtec, a language in which word order is highly dependent on the surrounding discourse. As focus is an abstract, context-dependent phenomenon, the displacement of foci has the potential to address important questions about the inner workings and organization of the syntax. As foci not only displace, but also trigger clear prosodic and semantic effects, investigation into focus has the potential to expand our understanding of the relationship between syntax and other modules of grammar. Furthermore, I investigate the ways that focus movement overlaps and interacts with wh-movement to better understand how these two categories are related to each other.
Selected Publications
(2021) On the relationship between wh-words and foci: Evidence from Mixtec. Revised and Resubmitted to Linguistic Inquiry
(2022) How to Move a Focus: The Syntax of Alternative Particles. PhD Thesis, UC Santa Cruz
The properties of wh-words
Another strand of my research investigates several distinct properties of wh-words in Mixtec: their ability to subextract out of DPs, their ability to pied-pipe, and their restricted use as non-interrogative indefinite pronouns. These ongoing investigations aim to expand our understanding of how islands are defined, of how different wh-words semantically compose with other constituents to create question meanings, and of how morphological wh-words are related to interrogative force.
Selected Publications
(in prep) Focus a not a sufficient condition for a non-interrogative interpretation of quexistentials. (Slides from the III Encuentro de Lingüística Formal en México)
(to appear) Which-phrases cannot pied-pipe in San Martín Peras Mixtec. In Proceedings of WSCLA 25
(to appear) Possible and Impossible movements within the Mixtec DP. In Proceedings of NELS 52
(2020) Can selection explain stranding?: Revisiting a structural asymmetry. In Syntax & Semantics at Santa Cruz, Vol. 4.
The phonology of San Martín Peras Mixtec
Another strand of my research investigates several distinct properties of wh-words in Mixtec: their ability to subextract out of DPs, their ability to pied-pipe, and their restricted use as non-interrogative indefinite pronouns. These ongoing investigations aim to expand our understanding of how islands are defined, of how different wh-words semantically compose with other constituents to create question meanings, and of how morphological wh-words are related to interrogative force.
Selected Publications
(under review) San Martín Peras Mixtec. Under review at the Journal of the International Phonetic Association
(2021) Asymmetric Pitch Raising Under Focus in San Martín Peras Mixtec. In Proceedings of WSCLA 24.
(2019) New Information and the Grammar of Focus. Second Qualifying Paper, UCSC
(2019) Tow Tone Sandhi Processes in San Martín Peras Mixtec. Manuscript, UCSC
Miscellanea
(to appear) Revisiting Best Match Using Movement: Evidence from Mixtec. Proceedings of WCCFL 39.
(2022) Are constraints on Partially Overlapping Reference just Condition B? In Syntax & Semantics at Santa Cruz, Vol. 5. (With Vishal Arvindam)
(2017) Syllable Weight in Amharic. In Syllable Weight in African Languages. (with Hannah Sande)