Generative Grammar on the French Riviera is a research coalition bringing together two teams of the CNRS laboratory Bases, Corpus, Langage (UMR 7320):

• Formal Linguistics
  Nikos Angelopoulos · Lena Baunaz · Diego Pescarini
  
  

• Formal Semantics, Ontology and Philosophy of Language
  Friederike Moltmann
  
  

Together, the coalition provides a unified research environment for work in Generative Grammar and its interfaces with philosophy and cognition.

Activities

The coalition organizes:

• Scientific events, including workshops and thematic meetings
  
  

• Colloquia and seminars, fostering continuous exchange among researchers and visitors
  
  

Detailed descriptions of the two teams are provided below.

Formal Linguistics Team

The Formal Linguistics team investigates contemporary theoretical approaches to language within the framework of Generative Grammar, with a central focus on syntax and its interfaces with morphology, semantics, phonology, and language acquisition. The overarching goal is to identify the principles and structural architecture that underlie natural languages.

Core Research Areas

The team’s work addresses a broad range of phenomena, including: Clausal complementation, Mood, Argument structure, Cliticization, Negation and question formation, Binding and discontinuous dependencies, Perception verbs, Syncretism

These topics are explored across generative frameworks such as Nanosyntax or Morphology as Syntax.

Methods and Empirical Scope

Research combines: Comparative grammar, Diachronic analysis, Experimental linguistics, Fieldwork, with particular attention to languages of the Caucasus and Romance varieties.

Through these methods, the team examines how general principles and language-specific parameters are internalized by speakers, contributing to a deeper understanding of the human language faculty.

Formal Semantics, Ontology and Philosophy of Language

This research axis brings together formal semantics, ontology, and the philosophy of language, with a particular emphasis on interfaces between: The semantics (and syntax) of natural language, metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of mathematics.

The team investigates how linguistic meaning relates to broader questions about reality, cognition, and abstract structures, integrating formal semantic analysis with philosophical inquiry.