<OT> Call for Papers: Workshop on Empirical Syntax

[ralf vogel]

Call for Papers

The Zentrum f"ur Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft (ZAS), and the
Institute of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, invite abstract
submissions for a

Workshop on Empirical Syntax / 
Workshop on Optimality Theoretic Syntax 8 (WOTS8)

to beld on August, 27-29,
at the ZAS, Berlin

Description:

In generative grammar, 'descriptive adequacy' is understood as a
requirement on the empirical validity of a theory of grammar: the
grammar postulated for a given language should derive exactly the set
of all grammatical sentences in that language. This presupposes the
existence of a safe empirical method to determine this set of
grammatical sentences. Such a method does not exist up to now, and its
development faces a number of serious problems. This fact, however,
has mostly been ignored by generative syntacticians who, when they
determine the grammaticality status of a sentence, usually rely on
their own intuitions and what they consider to be the common sense in
a speech community.

However, if one takes the demand of descriptive adequacy seriously,
this situation should not remain as it is. Some attempts in this
direction have been undertaken (Sch"utze 1996, Cowart 1997, a.o.), but
their influence on theories and practice in generative syntax seem
marginal at best.

One problem that immediately arises is that empirical methods let
grammaticality appear more like a continuum than like a
dichotomy. Every attempt to divide this continuum at a particular
point in order to reach the grammatical/ungrammatical distinction
appears to be arbitrary, and does not seem to be justifiable on
independent grounds. But this calls the concept of grammaticality
itself into question, and with it the whole empirical basis of the
generative approach.

In this workshop, we want to try and bring theoretical and empirical
syntax closer together. One focus of interest are attempts within
Optimality Theory, especially in its stochastic variant, but the
workshop is aimed to be broader in its theoretical scope. We invite
submissions for presentations of about 50 minutes (including
discussion) that present actual work, and deal with at least one of
the following questions:

1. How does a model of syntax have to be interpreted in order to
   derive predictions for quantitative empirical studies?

2. How do the results of empirical studies have to be interpreted in
   order to draw conclusions for the nature of the 
   underlying grammar?

3. How do current models of syntax have to be modified or extended in
   order to reflect the results of empirical studies?

Abstracts for presentations should be sent electronically to Yukiko
Morimoto (mailto:morimoto at zas.gwz-berlin.de) and/or Ralf Vogel
(mailto:rvogel at ling.uni-potsdam.de). The deadline for submission of
abstracts is June, 6, 2004.

Notification of acceptance: June, 30, 2004. 

For further information please contact Yukiko Morimoto or Ralf Vogel:

mailto:morimoto at zas.gwz-berlin.de
mailto:rvogel at ling.uni-potsdam.de



Program Committee:

Gisbert Fanselow (Potsdam University)
Manfred Krifka (Humboldt University Berlin, ZAS)
Gerhard J"ager (Potsdam University, ZAS)
Yukiko Morimoto (ZAS)
Ralf Vogel (Potsdam University)


-- 
Ralf Vogel                            mailto:rvogel at ling.uni-potsdam.de
                                 http://www.ling.uni-potsdam.de/~rvogel
Institute of Linguistics                          University of Potsdam