Workshop on Copulas Across Languages

Thursday 18 and Friday 19 June 2015

FREE entrance

Hosted by the Centre of Applied Language Research and Outreach (CAROLE), University of Greenwich, UK

King William Court
Third floor, room LT 302

Copulas (e.g. the English verb to be) are an area of grammar where languages exhibit large variations. Some languages show no copula whatsoever in some instances, while other languages have four or five different copular forms. The type of variation is also diverse; in some languages the variation consists of contrasts between inflected/non-inflected forms (e.g., African American English, Green 2000), and others between different lexical copulas e.g., Spanish (Arche 2006, Fábregas 2012), Irish (Doherty 1996), Bambara (Koopman 2003), Tibetan (Garrett 2001), Odia (Mahapatra 2002), Saramaccan (Veenstra 2012), amongst many others. The rules determining variation also differ. In some languages variation depends on the tense on the clause (Hebrew, Rapoport 1987; Arabic, Benmamoun 2000; Russian, Turkish, Wetzer 1996, Stassen 1997, Baker 2003; or Sakha (Baker & Vinokurova 2012); in others on the predicate type. As for their morphology, some copulas are considered verbs while others are described as pronominal (e.g., Rapoport 1991; van Gelderen 2011), and prepositions are also found as sources for them (Pustet 2003).

Aims of the workshop:

To discuss the syntax and semantics of copular variation across languages. What do copulas combine in each case and what do they mean?
To discuss the relation of the copulas to TAME (tense, aspect, mood and evidentiality): How can we explain their absence in some tenses but presence in others? Can this be derived from other properties, e.g., of semantic sort? Why are specific copulas sometimes associated with specific evidential readings?
To discuss the morphological incarnation of the copulas: pronominal in some languages, verbal in others... What are the elements involved in the morphology of the copulas and what does it tell us about what a copula is?

Keynote speakers:

Professor Elly van Gelderen (Arizona State University)
Professor Lisa Green (University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
Dr Tonjes Veenstra (ZAS, Berlin)

Scientific committee:

Professor David Adger (Queen Mary, University of London)
Dr María J. Arche (University of Greenwich)
Dr Patricia Cabredo (CNRS – University of Paris 8)
Professor Marcel den Dikken (CUNY Graduate Center)
Professor Antonio Fábregas (University of Tromsø)
Dr Angel Gallego (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Dr Edward Garrett (SOAS)
Dr Berit Gehrke (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Dr Ljudmila Geist (University of Stuttgart)
Professor Elly van Gelderen (University of Arizona)
Professor Lisa Green (University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
Dr Rafael Marín (CNRS-University of Lille 3)
Professor Louise McNally (University Pompeu Fabra)
Professor Myriam Uribe-Etxebarria (University of the Basque Country)
Professor Tim Stowell (University of California Los Angeles)
Professor Tom Roeper (University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
Dr Tonjes Veenstra (ZAS, Berlin)

Organisers:

Dr María J Arche (University of Greenwich)
Professor Antonio Fábregas (University of Tromso)
Dr Edward Garrett (SOAS)
Dr Rafael Marín (University of Lille).

Keynote speakers:

Professor Elly van Gelderen (Arizona State University)
Professor Lisa Green (University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
Dr Tonjes Veenstra (ZAS, Berlin)

Scientific committee:

Professor David Adger (Queen Mary, University of London)
Dr María J. Arche (University of Greenwich)
Dr Patricia Cabredo (CNRS – University of Paris 8)
Professor Marcel den Dikken (CUNY Graduate Center)
Professor Antonio Fábregas (University of Tromsø)
Dr Angel Gallego (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Dr Edward Garrett (SOAS)
Dr Berit Gehrke (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Dr Ljudmila Geist (University of Stuttgart)
Professor Elly van Gelderen (University of Arizona)
Professor Lisa Green (University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
Dr Rafael Marín (CNRS-University of Lille 3)
Professor Louise McNally (University Pompeu Fabra)
Professor Myriam Uribe-Etxebarria (University of the Basque Country)
Professor Tim Stowell (University of California Los Angeles)
Professor Tom Roeper (University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
Dr Tonjes Veenstra (ZAS, Berlin)

Organisers:

Dr María J Arche (University of Greenwich)
Professor Antonio Fábregas (University of Tromso)
Dr Edward Garrett (SOAS)
Dr Rafael Marín (University of Lille).