Syllabus for Linguistics 141: Ellipsis

An advanced syntax course devoted to ellipsis.

Meeting times and place: TTh 11:40-1:15,  https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/94564200736?pwd=ZlFRR3RUblFtSzVtTVE4aXBIVkhtUT09

Course web site: http://babel.ucsc.edu/~hank/141.html

Instructor: Jorge Hankamer
Office:	    264 Stevenson	
Virtual Office: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/96436506919?pwd=ejh1Qk9IejdwVncwT1ZiaXFicEQ2QT09
Office Hours:	W 12:30-1:30,  Th 1:30-2:30

TA:	Lisa Hofmann (lihofman@ucsc.edu)  Office hour T 10-11

Sections:	T 3:20-4:25	Jorge
		W 9:20-10:25	Lisa

There will be approximately one reading a week, and typically one written assignment.  The written assignments will address issues related to the readings.  Each assignment will present a problem in the analysis of a phenomenon in ellipsis and will require the construction of an analysis responding to the problem.  This is the same kind of analysis required in all Linguistics courses.

In addition to the weekly assignments and readings, there will be a final paper, developed through the course of the quarter, on some topic in the study of ellipsis.  I will ask students to choose a topic by the third week, present a reading list and progress report in the fifth week, complete a first draft by the eighth week, and turn in a final paper at the end of finals week.  The goal to be met in this project is to demonstrate the ability to analyze an ellipsis phenomenon in some language in terms of the current theory of grammar.


Sequence of Topics

WEEK

1	General nature of ellipsis, within the larger category of anaphora

	Reading:  Hankamer and Sag 1976 "Deep and Surface Anaphora"

2	VP Ellipsis

	Reading: Sag 1976 "A Logical Theory of Verb Phrase Deletion"

3	VP Ellipsis

	Reading: Kennedy 1994 "Antecedent Contained Ellipsis"

4	Sluicing

	Reading: Ross 1969 "Guess Who?"

5	Sluicing

	Reading: Chung, Ladusaw, and McCloskey 1995 "Sluicing and Logical Form"

6	Gapping

	Reading: Ross 1971 "Gapping and the Order of Constituents"

7	Gapping, NP Ellipsis

	Reading: Jackendoff 1971 "Gapping and Related Rules"

8	Pseudo-gapping

	Reading: Lobeck 1995: Ellipsis: Functional Heads, Licensing and Identification

9	Polarity Ellipsis

	Reading: Depiante 2004: Polarity Ellipsis; Morris 2008: Polarity Ellipsis and Negative Stripping

10	Wrapup: Survey and Typology of Ellipsis Processes

Final paper due December 10 (last class).