Seth Cable Topics in Spring 2020 Linguistics 753 Watch That Attitude! Current Attitudes on Attitude Topics in Semantics (Linguistics 753); Spring 2020

Course Syllabus

Artwork by Keith Cable Meetings: Tuesday, Thursday 11:30 – 12:45 Room: Integrative Learning Center N451 Course Instructor: Seth Cable ([email protected]) Course Websites: Main Course Page: http://people.umass.edu/scable/LING753-SP20 Moodle Page: https://moodle.umass.edu/course/view.php?id=61404 • Moodle Guest Access: “Attitudes2020”

1. General Overview

This seminar will explore recent literature on a variety of active debates regarding ‘ sentences’ and the ‘attitude verbs’ that head them (think, believe, know, say). The main overarching – and intersecting – issues we will be exploring are:

• The syntax and semantics of ‘de re’ and ‘’ readings of attitude sentences

• The of attitude verbs and how they semantically combine with embedded clauses.

• The semantics of embedded questions, and why only certain verbs can appear with them.

• The ontology (and ) of attitude states and their content.

1 Seth Cable Topics in Semantics Spring 2020 Linguistics 753 2. Course Requirements

Students taking this seminar for credit will be required to do the usual two things for advanced seminars: (i) present a paper, and (ii) write a paper.

2.1 Paper Presentation

Students are encouraged to present one of the papers listed in Section 4 that bear an asterisk. Students can in principle present a paper other than these, but must consult with me about their intended choice. All the papers listed in Section 4 are available on the course Moodle. Students are encouraged to begin looking them over at their earliest convenience.

• Students must inform me of their chosen paper by Friday January 31st.

• As the date for the student’s presentation approaches, I will meet with them to discuss their paper and help them organize their presentation.

2.2 Final Paper

Students must write a paper relating in some way to issues raised in the seminar or the readings. I will reach out to registered students in early February to schedule meetings to discuss potential paper topics. • The final paper must be submitted by Monday May 11th (grades are due May 12th).

3. Special Guest Lectures

This seminar will feature a number of special guest lectures. Both registered students and auditors are advised to keep the following dates in :

February 13: Angelika Kratzer Topic: Constructing the semantics of attitude reports

February 20: Angelika Kratzer Topic: Constructing the semantics of attitude reports (cont’d)

February 25: Maša Močnik and Rafael Abramovitz (MIT) Topic: Variable-force, variable-flavor attitude in Koryak

March 24: Petr Kusliy Topic: Dissertation research on tense in attitude complements

April 2: Deniz Ozyildiz Topic: Dissertation research on interrogative embedding and factivity

April 9: Alex Göbel Topic: D-pronouns and de se vs. de re readings in German

2 Seth Cable Topics in Semantics Spring 2020 Linguistics 753 4. Preliminary Schedule of Topics and Readings

All the papers listed below are available on the course Moodle. Papers marked with an asterisk are recommended for student presentations.

4.1 Introduction and Background (1/21-1/23)

I will review certain key background regarding the semantics of propositional attitude verbs, particularly the issues surrounding so-called ‘de re’ and ‘de se’ construals of propositional attitude sentences. There is no required reading, but the following paper would be useful to students who need a refresher reading on this background:

Pearson, Hazel. To Appear. “Attitude Verbs”. In Gutzmann, Daniel, Lisa Mathewson, Caecile Meier, Hotze Rullmann, Thomas Ede Zimmermann, and Dina Voloshina (eds) The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Semantics. Blackwell.

4.2 The LFs of De Re and De Se Readings (1/28-2/6)

One of the most long-standing issues concerning attitude verbs – and one that is still hotly debated – is exactly how so-called ‘de re’ and ‘de se’ interpretations of propositional attitude sentences are grammatically derived. We will begin by reviewing the highly influential work of Percus & Sauerland (2003). This work has the following two key features:

(i) De re readings are derived through the mechanism of ‘ generators’

(ii) De se readings can be derived via a distinct LF, one that involves movement of a dedicated de se pronoun/operator.

We will then review some recent work that offers independent support for these proposals. Later in the semester, however, we will also examine some recent challenges for these views.

January 28: Percus, Orin and Uli Sauerland. 2003. “On the LFs of Attitude Reports.” In M. Weisgerber (ed) Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 7. Konstanz: University of Konstanz.

January 30: Charlow, Simon and Yael Sharvit. 2014. “Bound ‘De Re’ Pronouns and the LFs of Attitude Reports.” Semantics and 7(3): 1-43.

February 4: * Deal, Amy Rose. 2018. “Compositional Paths to De Re.” In Maspong, Sireemas, Brynhildur Stefansdottir, Katherine Blake, and Forrest Davis (eds) Proceedings of SALT 28. Linguistic Society of America.

February 6: * Pearson, Hazel. 2018. “Counterfactual De Se.” Semantics and Pragmatics 11(2).

3 Seth Cable Topics in Semantics Spring 2020 Linguistics 753 4.3 The Lexical Semantics of Attitude Verbs (2/11-3/3)

Since the pioneering work of Hintikka (1969) and Cresswell & Von Stechow (1982), propositional attitude verbs have largely been analyzed as having a modal lexical semantics. In particular, theorists have long assumed that verbs like believe syntactically select for a subordinate CP (their ‘sentential complement’), and that they introduce a modal relation between the attitude holder and the of the CP. Beginning with Kratzer (2006), however, this network of views has in recent years come under increased scrutiny and re-evaluation. One prominent alternative to the ‘modal analysis’ of attitude verbs views the subordinate CP as neither a complement nor an argument to the attitude verb, but rather an adjunct – either to the verb itself or to a covert nominal argument. Furthermore, the modal quantification at play within a propositional attitude sentence is contributed not by the attitude verb, but rather by other functional material within the subordinate clause itself. In this section of the class, we’ll explore some work developing this view regarding attitude verbs. We will also explore some recent work exploring the semantics of attitude verbs qua modals, and we will consider potential ways of resolving that latter work with the former.

February 11: Moulton, Keir. 2015. “CPs: Copies and Compositionality.” Linguistic Inquiry 46(2): 305-342

February 13: Guest lecture by Angelika Kratzer

Related Work: Kratzer, Angelika. 2016. “Evidential Moods in Attitude and Speech Reports.” Slides.

February 20: Guest lecture by Angelika Kratzer

February 25: Guest lecture by Maša Močnik and Rafael Abramovitz

Related Work: Močnik, Maša and Rafael Abramovitz. 2019. “A Variable-Force Variable-Flavor Attitude Verb in Koryak.” In Schloeder, Julian J., Dean McHugh, and Floris Roelofsen (eds) Proceedings of the 22nd Amsterdam Colloquium. ILLC.

February 27: * Blumberg, Kyle and Ben Holguín. 2019. “Embedded Attitudes.” Journal of Semantics 36: 377- 406.

March 3: Klecha, Peter. 2016. “Modality and Embedded Temporal Operators.” Semantics & Pragmatics 9(9): 1-55.

4 Seth Cable Topics in Semantics Spring 2020 Linguistics 753 Related, Optional Works (Available on Moodle) Bogal-Allbritten, Elizabeth. 2016. Building Meaning in Navajo. Dissertation. UMass Amherst. Sutton, Peter R. and Hana Filip. 2019. “Singular/Plural Contrasts: The Case of Informational Object Nouns.” In Schloeder, Julian J., Dean McHugh, and Floris Roelofsen (eds) Proceedings of the 22nd Amsterdam Colloquium. ILLC. Moltmann, Friederike. 2014. “, Attitudinal Objects, and the Distinction Between Actions and Products.” Canadian Journal of Philosophy. Liefke, Kristina and Markus Werning. 2018. “Evidence for Single-Type Semantics – An Alternative to e/t-Based Dual-Type Semantics.” Journal of Semantics 35: 639-685.

4.4 Interrogative vs. Declarative Embedding (3/5-4/2)

It has long been observed that attitude verbs differ in terms of what force their subordinate CPs can exhibit. Some verbs can (generally) combine only with declarative CPs (believe), while others can combine only with interrogative CPs (ask). Importantly, though, some verbs can combine with either declarative or interrogative CPs (e.g., ‘know’). For decades, these kinds of facts were captured simply through lexically stipulated syntactic and semantic selection. In more recent years, however, a veritable ‘semantic industry’ has developed seeking to find principled for why attitude verbs pattern in this way. In this work, semanticists seek to predict from independent properties of the verb whether it will appear (i) only with declaratives, or (ii) with either declaratives or interrogatives. Currently, a number of differing perspectives are now on the market, and it may be that different accounts are correct for different verbs. Interestingly, the subtlety of certain grammatical judgments in this domain have led specialists to employ more sophisticated and quantitative techniques for establishing (or verifying) the major generalizations these accounts predict. In this unit of the seminar, we’ll examine and critically discuss some key recent works.

March 5 – March 10: Theiler, Nadine, Floris Roelofsen, and Maria Aloni. 2019. “Picky Predicates: Why ‘Believe’ Doesn’t Like Interrogative Complements, and Other Puzzles.” Natural Language Semantics 27: 95-134.

March 12: * Eliot, Patrick D., Nathan Klinedinst, Yasutada Sudo, and Wataru Uegaki. 2017. “Predicates of Relevance and Theories of Question Embedding.” Journal of Semantics 34: 547-554. * Roberts, Tom. 2019. “I Can’t Believe Its Not Lexical.” In Blake, Katherine, Forrest Davis, Kaelyn Lamp, and Joseph Rhyne (eds) Proceedings of SALT 29. Linguistic Society of America.

March 24: Guest lecture by Petr Kusliy [Date tentative]

March 26: * Uegaki, Wataru and Yasutada Sudo. 2019. “The *Hope-Wh Puzzle.” Natural Language Semantics 27: 323-356.

5 Seth Cable Topics in Semantics Spring 2020 Linguistics 753 March 31: Mayr, Clemens. 2019. “Triviality and Interrogative Embedding: Sensitivity, Factivity, and Neg-Raising.” Natural Language Semantics 27: 227-278. White, Aaron Steven. 2019. “Nothing’s Wrong With Believing (or Hoping) Whether.” Manuscript. University of Rochester.

April 2: Guest lecture by Deniz Ozyildiz [Date tentative]

Related, Optional Works (Available on Moodle) Theiler, Nadine, Floris Roelofsen, and Maria Aloni. 2018. “A Uniform Semantics for Declarative and Interrogative Complements.” Journal of Semantics 35: 409-466. van Gessel, Alexandre Cremers, Floris Roelofsen. 2018. “Polarity Sensitivity of Question Embedding: Experimental Evidence.” In Maspong, Sireemas, Brynhildur Stefansdottir, Katherine Blake, and Forrest Davis (eds) Proceedings of SALT 28. Linguistic Society of America. White, Aaron Steven and Kyle Rawlins. 2018. “The Role of and Factivity in Clause Selection.” Manuscript. University of Rochester and Johns Hopkins University.

4.5 De Re and De Se, Redux: Some More Advanced Issues (4/7-4/16)

Having gained a broader view of the semantics of subordinate CPs in Units 3 and 4, we then return to the general topic of de re and de se interpretations of attitude sentences. We will first examine work that documents and analyzes the ways in which, across a variety of languages, the form of the pronoun can the availability of a de se or de re interpretation. Following this, we will consider a range of challenges that have been raised for the concept generator analysis of de re readings, and we will consider whether the independently motivated device of ‘choice functions’ can help to resolve them.

April 7: * Patel-Grosz, Pritty. 2019. “Pronominal Typology and the De Se / De Re Distinction. Linguistics & Philosophy. (Advanced online release)

April 9: Guest lecture by Alex Göbel [Date tentative]

Related Work: Göbel, Alex. 2019. “Don’t Give Me That Attitude! Anti-De Se and Feature Matching of German D-Pronouns.” In Baird, Maggie and Jonathan Pesetsky (eds) Proceedings of Forty-Ninth Meeting of the Northeast Linguistic Society (NELS 49). GLSA.

April 14: Charlow, Simon and Yael Sharvit. 2014. “Bound ‘De Re’ Pronouns and the LFs of Attitude Reports.” Semantics and Pragmatics 7(3): 1-43. Lederman, Harvey. 2019. “Fine-Grained Semantics for Attitude Reports.” Manuscript. Princeton University.

6 Seth Cable Topics in Semantics Spring 2020 Linguistics 753 April 16: Cable, Seth. 2018. “A Choice-Functional Semantics for De Re Attitude Reports.” Manuscript. UMass, Amherst.

Related, Optional Works (Available on Moodle) Sauerland, Uli. 2014. “Counterparts Block Some De Re Readings.” In Crnic, Luka and Uli Sauerland (eds) The Art and Craft of Semantics: A Festschrift for Irene Heim. MITWPL.

4.6 The Mereology of Attitudes, Attitude Degrees, and Attitude Contents

One rather striking feature of attitude verbs is discussed rather little in the semantic literature: they have a tendency to be scalar. That is one can believe/want/hope something a lot, or more than something else. We will examine some recent work by Pasternak (2019) that explores this side of attitude verbs, and relates it to the mereology (part-whole structure) of attitude states. Another little-discussed feature of attitude verbs is that they seem to allow for so-called ‘cumulative readings’. That is, a sentence like “My students think I taught three terrible classes” can be read as true in a scenario where each student thinks only that I taught one terrible class. We will examine some recent work that explores two very different views as to the nature of these cumulative readings. As we’ll see, this debate may hold consequences for exactly what the argument structure of an attitude verb is (Unit 3).

April 21: Pasternak, Robert. 2019. “A Lot of Hatred and a Ton of Desire: Intensity in the Mereology of Mental States.” Linguistics and Philosophy 42: 267-316.

April 22: * Pasternak, Robert. 2018. “Thinking Alone and Thinking Together.” In Maspong, Sireemas, Brynhildur Stefansdottir, Katherine Blake, and Forrest Davis (eds) Proceedings of SALT 28. Linguistic Society of America.

April 28: Schmitt, Viola. 2019. “Intensional Interveners in Plural Predication and Plural Projection.” Manuscript. University of Vienna.

Related, Optional Works (Available on Moodle) Sutton, Peter R. and Hana Filip. 2019. “Singular/Plural Contrasts: The Case of Informational Object Nouns.” In Schloeder, Julian J., Dean McHugh, and Floris Roelofsen (eds) Proceedings of the 22nd Amsterdam Colloquium. ILLC.

7 Seth Cable Topics in Semantics Spring 2020 Linguistics 753 5. Various Dates of Interest and Importance

• Friday, January 31: Registered students must select a paper to present

• Monday, February 3: Last day to drop class with no record.

• Thurs., February 13: Guest lecture by Angelika Kratzer

• Tues., February 18: NO CLASS (Monday schedule)

• Thurs., February 20: Guest lecture by Angelika Kratzer

• Tues., February 25: Guest lecture by Maša Močnik and Rafael Abramovitz (MIT)

• Tues., March 17: NO CLASS (Spring break)

• Thursday, March 19: NO CLASS (Spring break)

• Tuesday, March 24: Last day to drop class with a DR

• Tuesday, March 24: Guest lecture by Petr Kusliy

• Thursday, April 2: Guest lecture by Deniz Ozyildiz

• Thursday, April 9: Guest lecture by Alex Göbel

• Tuesday, April 28: Final class meeting

• Monday, May 11: Final papers due

• Tuesday, May 12: Final grades due

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