"MAN MUSS DIE DINGE MIT WAHRHEIT UND KRAFT BEZEICHNEN.
DAS VERSTÄRKT UND ERHÖHT DAS LEBEN."*
(Thomas Mann:  Der Zauberberg)

L I N G U I S T I C S  is the scientific study of human language. It is about the knowledge of language that we all have in our heads. Linguists like me don't make up rules on how to `speak right'. We observe how people actually speak, and try to figure out what rules they - unconsciously - follow.

My own teaching and research focusses on natural language semantics and pragmatics, in other words, meaning and use of language. A particular interest of mine is intonational meaning, that is, how tone of voice, melody or inflection influence the meaning of what we say. I try to develop formal tools capable of modeling this kind of interaction between meaning, prosody, and syntax.

Other topics of interest to me are German syntax, binding theory, and generally all aspects of the syntax-semantics interface.

My last book was a textbook on the syntax and semantics of binding theory. Right now I'm working on a survey book on intonation and meaning.

I like to sail, and to play and sing with bands, and am always open to invitations for either one...

                     C O N T A C T

  T E A C H I N G   

Fall 2008	Proseminar: The  Pragmatics - Prosody - Phrase Structure Triangle (Ling 252A/B) M/W 9-11am, Humanities A30
Winter 2009	no classes
Spring 2009	Ling 1: Introduction to Language Ling 207: Semantics 2: Intensionality
regular classes:	Semantic Theory I (Ling 200C) Semantic Theory II (Ling 207) Introduction to Language 1 (Ling 1) Pragmatics (Ling 191) Syntax-Semantics Seminar Special Pre-College Classes (see pic to the right)
past proseminars:	Comparatives and Superlatives Focus and Intonation (w/ Sun-Ah Jun) Binding (w/ Ed Keenan) Intonation and Meaning (w/ Christine Gunlogson) Information Structure Plurals

          C U R R I C U L U M   V I T A E

• since summer 2007: professor, linguistics department, UC Los Angeles
  
• fall 2000/fall 2003 - 2007: assistant/associate professor, UCLA
• August/September 2002: visiting researcher at the Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, Typologie und Universalienforschung (ZAS), Berlin
• fall 1998 - summer 2000: visiting assistant professor, linguistics department, UCSC (Santa Cruz)
• 1997 - 1998: assistant professor, German department, Universität zu Köln (Cologne)
• 1996: PhD in General Linguistics, Tübingen University (supervisor: Arnim von Stechow) 
• 1991 - 1996: researcher and lecturer (`wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter'), German department, Köln
• 1991: MA in German Language and Literature, Drama, and Musicology, Köln 
• some time last century: born in Essen, in the industrial North-West of Germany

           S E R V I C E

• Linguistics and Philosophy associate editor
• Snippets editorial board
• Natural Language and Linguistic Theory editorial board
• Syntax editorial board
• Linguistische Berichte editorial board
• Semantics & Pragmatics editorial board
• Linguistic Inquiry editorial board
• UCLA Linguistics Department Director of Graduate Studies

        R E C E N T  &  U P C O M I N G   P R E S E N T A T I O N S

• TBA, Linguistics Colloquium, MIT, April 24, 2009
  
• `What's New (and What's Given) in the Theory of Focus?' Invited Talk at Workshop on Information Structure, London, September 13-16, 2008
• `Neues zur Gegebenheit, und Gegensätzliches zum Kontrast'. Johann-Wolfgang Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, Linguistics Colloquium, June 24, 2008
  
• `What's New (and What's Given) in the Theory of Focus?' UC Santa Cruz Linguistics Colloquium, May 23, 2008
  
• `What's New (and What's Given) in the Theory of Focus?', Berkeley Linguistics Society Meeting (BLS) 34, February 8-10, 2008, UC Berkeley (invited talk for the Parasession on Information Structure)
  
• `Solving the Sandwich Dilemma'. Western Conference on Linguistics (WECOL), UC San Diego. November 30 - December 2, 2007
• `Be Locally Determined' (with Andy Kehler) NELS 38, Ottawa. October 26-28, 2007
  
• `Cross-Polar Nomalies'. Semantics and Linguistic Theory (SALT) UConnecticut, Storrs. 5/11/2007
• `When Less is More (And When It Isn't)'. Chicago Linguistic Society Meeting. University of Chicago. 5/4/2007
• `The Least At Least Can Do'. WCCFL, UC Berkeley. 4/27/2007

And in the future...

• Guest Lecture on the relation between information structure and syntax at Cologne University, roughly seven weeks before Easter 2009
• Course on Information Structure at the LSA Summer Institute 2009
  

        W R I T I N G S

Reviewed Publications (see below for Manuscripts)

(2007) "Intonation, Semantics and Information Structure".  In: Gillian Ramchand & Charles Reiss (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Interfaces (2006) "Focus Projection and Default Prominence". In Valéria Molnár and Susanne Winkler (eds) The Architecture of Focus. Berlin/New York: Mouton De Gruyter. (2006) "Intonation und Informationsstruktur". In H. Blühdorn, E. Breindl and U.H. Waßner (eds) Text --- Verstehen.  Grammatik und darüber hinaus.  Berlin/New York: de Gruyter. (2005) "Bound to Bind". Linguistic Inquiry 36:2. 259-274.   (2005) Binding Theory. Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics. Cambridge University Press. (2004) "Focus Suppositions"  Theoretical Linguistics 30:1. 65-76. (2004) "Crossover Situations". Natural Language Semantics 12:1. 23-62. (2003) "On D-Trees, Beans, and B-Accents". Linguistics & Philosophy 26:5. 511-545.   (2001) "What Do Definites Do That Indefinites Definitely Don't?". In: Féry, C. & W. Sternefeld (eds) Audiatur Vox Sapentiae - A Festschrift for Arnim von Stechow. (=studia grammatica 52). Berlin: Akademie Verlag. 70-100.   with K. Hartmann (2001) "The Syntax and Semantics of  Focus-Sensitive Particles in German". Natural Language and Linguistic Theory19:229-281.   (2001) "Let's Phrase It! -- Focus, Word Order, and Prosodic Phrasing in German Double Object Constructions". In: Müller, G. & W. Sternefeld (eds) Competition in Syntax.(= Studies in Generative Grammar 49). Berlin & New York: de Gruyter. 69-105.   (1999) "Topic". In: Bosch, Peter & Rob van der Sandt (eds)(1999) Focus -- Linguistic, Cognitive, and Computational Perspectives. CUP. 142-165.   with K. Hartmann (1998) "Asymmetrische Koordination". Linguistische Berichte 174/1998. 172-201   (1997) The Meaning of Topic and Focus -- The 59th Street Bridge Accent. London: Routledge.   (1997) "The Great Scope Inversion Conspiracy". Linguistics & Philosophy 20. 175- 194.   with K. Hartmann (1997) "Doing the Right Thing". The Linguistic Review 14. 1-42.   (1995) "On the Base Position of Embedded Clauses in German". Linguistische Berichte 159. 370-380.   (1992) Linking. Hürth: Gabel (=KLAGE Nr.27).

Edited Volumes

• (2007) Lee, Chungmin, Matthew Gordon, and  Daniel Büring.  Topic and Focus: Cross-linguistic Perspectives on Meaning and Intonation; Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy, Vol. 82. Springer
  

Other Writings (selection) (see above for Reviewed Publications)

• (2008) "What's New (and What's Given) in the Theory of Focus?" Berkeley Linguistic Society.
  
• (2008) "Been There, Marked That --- A Theory of Second Occurrence Focus". Revised Manuscript. To appear in: Kanazawa, Makoto & Christopher  Tancredi (eds)
  
  
• (2008) "Comparative Sandwichology". WECOL 2007. UC San Diego.
  
  
• (2008) with Andrew Kehler "Be Bound or Be Disjoint!". NELS 38. Ottawa.
  
  
• (2008) "Towards a Typology of Focus Realization". Revised Manuscript. To appear in: Féry, Caroline & Malte Zimmermann (eds)
  
  
• (2007) "The Least at least Can Do". WCCFL 26. Berkeley.
  
  
• (2007) "Cross-Polar Nomalies".  SALT XVII. U Connecticut.
  
  
• (2007) " More Or Less". Chicago Linguistic Society 2007.
  
  
• (2007) "Pronouns". To appear in:  Klaus von Heusinger, Claudia Maienborn and Paul Portner, (eds) Semantics: An International Handbook of Natural Language Meaning.   Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft / Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science.  Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter.
  
  
• (2007) "Binding", "Focus", "Topic and Comment". Three short entries for: Patrick Colm Hogan (ed.) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  
  
• (2006) "Been There, Marked That --- A Tentative Theory of Second Occurrence Focus". Manuscript.
  
  
• (2004) "Negative Inversion. NELS 2004
  
  
• (2002) "Orphan Attributes". WCCFL 21
   
• (2001) "A Situation Semantics for Binding out of DP".  SALT XI
 
• (2001) "Discourse-Trees and Dynamic Updates". Manuscript.


• (2001)   with R. Gutiérrez-Bravo "Focus Related Word Order Variation Without the NSR: A Prosody-Based Crosslinguistic Analysis". Syntax at Santa Cruz 3
 
• ( 2000) with Ch. Gunlogson "Aren't Positive and Negative Polar Questions the Same?". Manuscript UCSC/UCLA.
  
 
• ( 1998) "Identity, Modality, and the Candidate Behind the Wall". SALT VIII


•  (1996) "Economy". Sprachwissenschaft in Frankfurt 17. Frankfurt, Main.
 
•  (1996)  "A Weak Theory of Strong Readings". SALT VI
  
 
•  (1996)  "On Drinking, Accents, and Negation". 1995 Amherst Focus Workshop.
  
 
• (1995) with K. Hartmann "Is it [only Rock'n Roll] Or Just Like It?"  WCCFL 14

I wanted to write more, but my cat wouldn't let me.

          M U S I C

• Pyewackit and the Patch. This is a four piece rock band I play in. Check the web site for upcoming gigs, and come out to support us. We're old, but entertaining!
• Kraftmen. So far a solo project. Rock'n Roll classics interpreted in the style of Kraftwerk. Will hopefully be expanded some time. (Weblink wil return soon.)
• Voiced Over. An a cappella group I used to sing in.
• Captain Burek. Some more songs (covers & originals) recorded in Garage Band.

            L  I  N  K  S

•  Gesellschaft für Semantik Homepage -- Yupp, that's how we spell `semantics'
• The online version of Snippets
• The  Semantics Archive
• Syntax and Semantics of Binding Theory
• Friends of Tuva -- you can be one, too (if you don't understand why: watch this great documentary (no, really, it's great!), and read this great book)
• St. Pauli Hamburg -- the football club with the slightly different fan base, witness Der Übersteiger  (what's an `Übersteiger' in English? Any ideas?)
  

  
  

 
 
 

* Thomas Mann "Der Zauberberg" ("The Magic Mountain", roughly: 'Name things with truth and power. This will amplify life and lift it up.')
 
 

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