Jonathan David Bobaljik
Biographic Data
| ID | 754427 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jonathan David Bobaljik |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jonathan David |
| FAMILY NAME | Bobaljik |
| SIGNATURE | BOBALJIK J D |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Connecticut |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7897-1857 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 248 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1995 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Linguistic characteristics of bimodal bilingual code-blending
Code-blending is the simultaneous expression of utterances using both a sign language and a spoken language. We expect that like code-switching, code-blending is linguistically constrained and thus we investigate two hypothesized constraints using an acceptability judgment task. Participants rated the acceptability of code-blended utterances designed to be consistent or inconsistent with these hypothesized constraints. We find strong support for …
OV∼VO in Itelmen
A preliminary investigation of four contemporary texts suggests that the alternation between object–verb (OV) and verb–object (VO) orders in Itelmen is primarily a function of information structure. Objects introducing a new discourse referent primarily occur in preverbal positions, while objects picking out a previously mentioned entity may occur in either order. This result may shed light on two points of analytic indeterminacy in Itelmen. In a…
Dominant domains in vowel harmony
In this paper, we make two main claims: (i) we claim that a proposed prefix-suffix asymmetry (the absence of dominant prefixes in bi-directional dominant-recessive vowel harmony systems) is in fact a special case of a broader generalization that should be stated in hierarchical terms (domains), not linear order (prefixes), (ii) we contend moreover that the relevant domains are best defined in morphosyntactic terms (the juncture between Aspect and…
Text setting in an Itelmen khodila
MUSICAL SCORE:The following
Text setting in an Itelmen khodila
We examine a traditional Itelmen song type (itl; Chukotko-Kamchatkan) from the perspective of text setting: the phonological correspondence between spoken language and sung text. We suggest that the algorithm that relates spoken text to song in Itelmen is unlike the majority of examples considered in the literature on English and other languages, in that linguistic stress and metrical prominence play no discernible role, nor does syllable weight.…
The lexical core of a complex functional affix
Gender asymmetries in ellipsis
Bobaljik & Zocca (2011) argue that ellipsis reveals the existence of (at least) two classes of gender-paired nouns: in the actor / actress class, the grammatically feminine form is specified for conceptual gender, while the unaffixed form is unspecified, exemplifying the classic markedness asymmetry (Jakobson 1932); in the prince / princess class, both forms are specified for conceptual gender. Here we test two theories of this asymmetry: one tha…
Case and number suppletion in pronouns
Disharmony and decay
Suppletion
Suppletion (wholly unpredictable alternations such as good∼better or go∼went) stands as the epitome of morphological irregularity. In the formal theoretical tradition, with a few exceptions, suppletion has long languished in obscurity, widely considered unlikely to be informative of deeper properties of grammar. This article reviews recent studies that find, as it were, order in chaos-robust patterns of regularity that emerge as significant, argu…
Universals in Comparative Morphology
An argument for, and account of linguistic universals in the morphology of comparison, combining empirical breadth and theoretical rigor. This groundbreaking study of the morphology of comparison yields a surprising result: that even in suppletion (the wholesale replacement of one stem by a phonologically unrelated stem, as in good-better-best) there emerge strikingly robust patterns, virtually exceptionless generalizations across languages. Jona…
Word Order and Scope
A recurring pattern of partial correlations between word order variation and scope possibilities (the 3⁄4 signature) supports a particular view of economy constraints in syntax, with these properties: (1) There are economy conditions (soft constraints) that value a particular type of correspondence between LF and PF representations. (2) These constraints are unidirectional: LF (broadly construed) is calculated first and determines PF (surface wor…
Gender markedness
Icelandic Control Is Not A-Movement
A rich literature on Icelandic syntax has established that infinitival complements of obligatory control verbs constitute a case assignment domain independent from the matrix clause, and in this differ systematically from all types of A-movement, which manifest case dependence/preservation. As Landau (2003) has observed, these facts provide significant counterevidence to the movement theory of control (Hornstein 1999 and subsequent work). Boeckx …
Where’s Phi? Agreement as a Postsyntactic Operation
One striking aspect of the study of φ-features (person, number, gender) is their propensity to enter into agreement dependencies, morphologically signaled on elements in the clause distant from their source. Russian (1) illustrates: morphemes expressing the features of the NP meaning "girl(surface on the finite verbs and on coreferential pronouns.)
Missing persons
This article offers a case study of three absolute universals ranging over inventories of person marking in morphology. Certain logically possible distinctions are never drawn in morpheme inventories (either as pronouns or as agreement markers), though these distinctions may be expressed in other ways (and hence are not impossible a priori or for reasons of general cognition). After reviewing the literature, and dismissing apparent counter-exampl…
The Limits of Deponency
This chapter discusses two questions about the phenomenon of deponency. It lays out the basic case for treating the spurious antipassive (SAP) as an instance of deponency and looks at the differences between Chukchi and Latin. The highlights of a detailed theoretical analysis of the Chukchi SAP are then presented. The chapter concludes that no special deponency devices are necessary for an analysis of v-deponents in the Chukotko-Kamchatkan langua…
Complex Predicates, Aspect, and Anti-reconstruction
Problems with Honorification-As-Agreement in Japanese
Itelmen reduplication
Reduplication patterns in Itelmen (Chukotko-Kamchatkan) present a prima facie challenge to the view that association in partial reduplication is always Edge-In (Yip 1988, McCarthy & Prince 1996). Closer investigation suggests that Itelmen reduplication may in fact be total copying, masked by an apocope rule. This solution is not obvious, however, as the apocope rule must be limited to ‘core’ or ‘native’ vocabulary. While Russian loans are reasona…
Re
This volume’s two target articles explore novel approaches to word order alternations, especially Scandinavian Object Shift. They share the common perspective that aspects of linear order long considered the exclusive purview of syntax may be better understood if the burden of explanation is split between phonological and syntactic modules. The two articles differ substantially, however, in how this general hunch plays out, in particular in the a…
The Domain of Agreement
Notes on Agreement in Itelmen
To
A-Chains At The Pf-Interface
Comparative Studies in Word Order Variation
A-Chains At The Pf-Interface
The Domain of Agreement
Two Heads Aren't Always Better Than One
We propose a novel theory of verb raising in which different surface positions of the finite verb across languages reflect differences in phrase structure in a principled manner. Assuming that the inventory of functional projections dominating VP is not universal (e.g., the presence of Agr-Phrases is a point of parametric variation) current assumptions about locality predict obligatory verb raising in a language with Agr-Phrases, but obligatory V…
Word Order and Scope
A recurring pattern of partial correlations between word order variation and scope possibilities (the 3⁄4 signature) supports a particular view of economy constraints in syntax, with these properties: (1) There are economy conditions (soft constraints) that value a particular type of correspondence between LF and PF representations. (2) These constraints are unidirectional: LF (broadly construed) is calculated first and determines PF (surface wor…
Icelandic Control Is Not A-Movement
A rich literature on Icelandic syntax has established that infinitival complements of obligatory control verbs constitute a case assignment domain independent from the matrix clause, and in this differ systematically from all types of A-movement, which manifest case dependence/preservation. As Landau (2003) has observed, these facts provide significant counterevidence to the movement theory of control (Hornstein 1999 and subsequent work). Boeckx …
Case and number suppletion in pronouns
Gender markedness
Suppletion
Suppletion (wholly unpredictable alternations such as good∼better or go∼went) stands as the epitome of morphological irregularity. In the formal theoretical tradition, with a few exceptions, suppletion has long languished in obscurity, widely considered unlikely to be informative of deeper properties of grammar. This article reviews recent studies that find, as it were, order in chaos-robust patterns of regularity that emerge as significant, argu…
The lexical core of a complex functional affix
Assimilation in the Inuit Languages and the Place of the Uvular Nasal
Gender asymmetries in ellipsis
Bobaljik & Zocca (2011) argue that ellipsis reveals the existence of (at least) two classes of gender-paired nouns: in the actor / actress class, the grammatically feminine form is specified for conceptual gender, while the unaffixed form is unspecified, exemplifying the classic markedness asymmetry (Jakobson 1932); in the prince / princess class, both forms are specified for conceptual gender. Here we test two theories of this asymmetry: one tha…
Itelmen reduplication
Reduplication patterns in Itelmen (Chukotko-Kamchatkan) present a prima facie challenge to the view that association in partial reduplication is always Edge-In (Yip 1988, McCarthy & Prince 1996). Closer investigation suggests that Itelmen reduplication may in fact be total copying, masked by an apocope rule. This solution is not obvious, however, as the apocope rule must be limited to ‘core’ or ‘native’ vocabulary. While Russian loans are reasona…
If The Head Fits
This paper investigates the role of morphology-syntax interactions in explaining apparent parametric variation in Germanic syntax. It is argued that the Spec, TP parameter (Bures 1993; Bobaljik and Jonas 1996) is a reflex of aspects of the inflectional morphology that divide the Germanic languages into two groups, and not simply an arbitrary parameter as previously assumed. The theory of distributed morphology is adopted and leads to the followin…
Siberian Yupik Eskimo
Assimilation in the Inuit Languages and the Place of the Uvular Nasal
Quantification in Natural Languages . Emmon Bach , Eloise Jelinek , Angelika Kratzer , Barbara H. Partee
If The Head Fits
This paper investigates the role of morphology-syntax interactions in explaining apparent parametric variation in Germanic syntax. It is argued that the Spec, TP parameter (Bures 1993; Bobaljik and Jonas 1996) is a reflex of aspects of the inflectional morphology that divide the Germanic languages into two groups, and not simply an arbitrary parameter as previously assumed. The theory of distributed morphology is adopted and leads to the followin…
Two Heads Aren't Always Better Than One
We propose a novel theory of verb raising in which different surface positions of the finite verb across languages reflect differences in phrase structure in a principled manner. Assuming that the inventory of functional projections dominating VP is not universal (e.g., the presence of Agr-Phrases is a point of parametric variation) current assumptions about locality predict obligatory verb raising in a language with Agr-Phrases, but obligatory V…
Implications of Itelmen Agreement Asymmetries
Proceedings of the 25th Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society (2000)
Comparative Studies in Word Order Variation
Microparametric Syntax and Dialect Variation . James R. Black , Virginia Montapanyane
Notes on Agreement in Itelmen
To
A-Chains At The Pf-Interface
Re
This volume’s two target articles explore novel approaches to word order alternations, especially Scandinavian Object Shift. They share the common perspective that aspects of linear order long considered the exclusive purview of syntax may be better understood if the burden of explanation is split between phonological and syntactic modules. The two articles differ substantially, however, in how this general hunch plays out, in particular in the a…
The Domain of Agreement
Problems with Honorification-As-Agreement in Japanese
Itelmen reduplication
Reduplication patterns in Itelmen (Chukotko-Kamchatkan) present a prima facie challenge to the view that association in partial reduplication is always Edge-In (Yip 1988, McCarthy & Prince 1996). Closer investigation suggests that Itelmen reduplication may in fact be total copying, masked by an apocope rule. This solution is not obvious, however, as the apocope rule must be limited to ‘core’ or ‘native’ vocabulary. While Russian loans are reasona…
The Limits of Deponency
This chapter discusses two questions about the phenomenon of deponency. It lays out the basic case for treating the spurious antipassive (SAP) as an instance of deponency and looks at the differences between Chukchi and Latin. The highlights of a detailed theoretical analysis of the Chukchi SAP are then presented. The chapter concludes that no special deponency devices are necessary for an analysis of v-deponents in the Chukotko-Kamchatkan langua…
Complex Predicates, Aspect, and Anti-reconstruction
Where’s Phi? Agreement as a Postsyntactic Operation
One striking aspect of the study of φ-features (person, number, gender) is their propensity to enter into agreement dependencies, morphologically signaled on elements in the clause distant from their source. Russian (1) illustrates: morphemes expressing the features of the NP meaning "girl(surface on the finite verbs and on coreferential pronouns.)
Missing persons
This article offers a case study of three absolute universals ranging over inventories of person marking in morphology. Certain logically possible distinctions are never drawn in morpheme inventories (either as pronouns or as agreement markers), though these distinctions may be expressed in other ways (and hence are not impossible a priori or for reasons of general cognition). After reviewing the literature, and dismissing apparent counter-exampl…
Icelandic Control Is Not A-Movement
A rich literature on Icelandic syntax has established that infinitival complements of obligatory control verbs constitute a case assignment domain independent from the matrix clause, and in this differ systematically from all types of A-movement, which manifest case dependence/preservation. As Landau (2003) has observed, these facts provide significant counterevidence to the movement theory of control (Hornstein 1999 and subsequent work). Boeckx …
Gender markedness
Universals in Comparative Morphology
An argument for, and account of linguistic universals in the morphology of comparison, combining empirical breadth and theoretical rigor. This groundbreaking study of the morphology of comparison yields a surprising result: that even in suppletion (the wholesale replacement of one stem by a phonologically unrelated stem, as in good-better-best) there emerge strikingly robust patterns, virtually exceptionless generalizations across languages. Jona…
Word Order and Scope
A recurring pattern of partial correlations between word order variation and scope possibilities (the 3⁄4 signature) supports a particular view of economy constraints in syntax, with these properties: (1) There are economy conditions (soft constraints) that value a particular type of correspondence between LF and PF representations. (2) These constraints are unidirectional: LF (broadly construed) is calculated first and determines PF (surface wor…
Suppletion
Suppletion (wholly unpredictable alternations such as good∼better or go∼went) stands as the epitome of morphological irregularity. In the formal theoretical tradition, with a few exceptions, suppletion has long languished in obscurity, widely considered unlikely to be informative of deeper properties of grammar. This article reviews recent studies that find, as it were, order in chaos-robust patterns of regularity that emerge as significant, argu…
Disharmony and decay
Case and number suppletion in pronouns
Linguistics (29 works) · Philosophy (28 works) · Computer Science (21 works) · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation (21 works) · Linguistic Variation and Morphology (16 works) · Mathematics (13 works) · History (9 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Artificial Intelligence (8 works) · Natural Language Processing Techniques (8 works)