Pauline Jacobson is Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences at Brown University. Her research focuses on the interaction of syntax and semantics, and is primarily concerned with exploring the hypothesis of “direct compositionality” (see, e.g., Montague, 1974), which is the hypothesis that the syntax and the semantics work in tandem (each linguistic expression is directly assigned a model-theoretic interpretation as it is “built” in the syntax, without use of mediating levels like LF). Along with this, she has been exploring a semantics making no use of variables (or indices). Her work explores these issues as they relate to pronominal binding, extraction, ellipsis, focus, etc.—and the interaction of these phenomena. She received her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1977. Some relevant publications include “Towards a Variable-Free Semantics,” in Linguistics and Philosophy; “Paycheck Pronouns, Bach-Peters Sentences, and Variable-Free Semantics,” in Natural Language Semantics; and “The (Dis)organization of the Grammar: 25 years,” in Linguistics and Philosophy.

Direct Compositionality: Binding and Ellipsis | LSA.228
with Irene Heim
TR 4:50-6:30
Three Week Course | Second Session