Classes at NYI are underway!

The first week of NYI classes is over, and with it, my part in the “3 puzzles in syntax and semantics” is done. I talked about eventive nominalizations in Russian (like: разрушение города врагом ‘the enemy’s destruction of the city’). I’m now passing the baton to Dan Altshuler and then to Omer Preminger.

Now I will be teaching just one class, “Languages of the World: An Introduction to Linguistic Typology”. I have 35 students from 10 countries in that class. It’s hectic but fun!

Also, on Thursday I will be giving a general lecture at NYI, “How to reconstruct languages of the past… and what for?” — I’m looking forward to that.

NYI in St. Pete this summer!

I’ll be back to St. Petersburg this summer to teach at the 16th installment of NYI (New York Institute), an advanced study program organized every July at St. Petersburg State University.

I’ll be offering a course on “Languages of the World: Introduction to Linguistic Typology”. Information about the course soon to be posted here, but below is a preview:

This course is available to all students. No background required. Recommended for students interested in cross-linguistic variation and typology.

This course is an introduction to language variation and typology. The focus is on the generative approach to typology but other approaches will be considered as well. Topics covered include: sounds and sound systems; morphology across languages; grammatical categories; simple sentence structure; word order. In addition to describing observable patterns of cross-linguistic variation, we will also discuss theories that attempt to relate this variation to external factors such as physical geography, social organization, or contacts between linguistic groups.

Other courses include introductory courses in phonology, syntax and semantics, as well as advanced courses on long-distance dependencies, musical cognition and “How Minority Languages Change Linguistic Theory” — I’d love to sit in on so many of them!

For a full listing of courses and to sign up for the program, click here.