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RESEARCH
Elena E. Benedicto
Linguistics
My research interests lie mainly
on the Syntax-Semantics interface, within the Generative Framework.
In the past, I have worked on the crosslinguistic correlations
between the interpretation of determinerless noun phrases and the syntactic
configurations where they appear, and on the zero-copula in African American
English.
Currently, I am working on classifiers in American Sign Language,
on Mayangna (and indigenous language of Nicaragua).
American Sign Language
This project, in collaboration with Prof. Diane Brentari (Director of the ASL Program), focuses on the morpho-syntactic properties of verbal classifiers in this language. Recently, and NSF-funded project for a cross-linguistic study of classifiers in Sign Languages is underway.
2001 ‘Where did all the arguments go?’ [with Diane Brentari]
2001 “Los clasificadores en Lengua de Señas (Norte-)Americana, ASL: Propiedades Argumentales” [with Diane Brentari]. Proceedings of VI Encuentro Internacional de Lingüística en el Noroeste, Hermosillo - Sonora, Mexico.
2000 The Role of ASL Classifiers in Argument Structure. [with Diane Brentari]. Poster presented at the Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research Conference, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
1999 "Verbal Classifiers as Heads of Functional Projections: Evidence from ASL" [with Diane Brentari], paper presented at WCCFL (West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics).
The Mayangna Project
This is part of an on-going project in collaboration with Ken Hale from MIT to write a grammar of the Misumalpan languages of Nicaragua, of which Mayangna is a member.
The Mayangna project has been focusing on identifying the formal properties of the different dialectal variants (Panamahka, Tuahka, Tawahka), as well as on collaborating with the local institutions to produce lexicographic material useful in the bilingual schools. We have also worked on training local Mayangna teachers to become the Mayangna linguists of the future…
More recently, we have been focusing on the presence of Classifier Auxiliaries in the language and how they fit in the general crosslinguistic landscape of classifiers.
Check the Mayangna Girls Webpage for information on a community based project in the Mayangna community.
Related Papers and Presentations.
[in prep] ‘Participative Research: The Role of the Linguist in the Development of Local Researchers’
[in prep] ‘Las variantes dialectales de la lengua Mayangna’
2001 “Indigenous Presence In The Nicaraguan Media: The Mayangna,” [with Eloy Frank, Pulinario Sebastián and Simón Avelino] paper presented at the FEL (Foundation for Endangered Languages) V Conference ‘Endangered Languages and The Media,’ Agadir, Morocco. [cancelled because of Sept. 11 events]
2000 ‘Un experimento en formación de lingüistas indígenas: los Mayangna de Nicaragua,’ paper presented at the VI Encuentro Internacional de Lingüística en el Noroeste, Hermosillo - Sonora, Mexico.
2000 ‘A Community’s Solution to Some Literacy Problems:The Mayangna of Nicaragua,’ Proceedings of the IV Conference on‘Endangered Languages and Literacy,’ Charlotte, NC.
2000 ‘On Indigenous Languages.’ Introduction chapter to Benedicto, E. (ed). The UMass Indigenous Languages Volume. UMOP [University of Massachusetts Occasional Papers] 20. University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
2000 "Mayangna: A Sumu Language and Its Variants" [with Ken Hale]. In Benedicto, E. (ed). The UMass Indigenous Languages Volume. UMOP [University of Massachusetts Occasional Papers] 20. University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
1999 'Indigenous Languages - Peoples - Women in Nicaragua' in Women Studies Newsletter. Purdue University.
A recently created center for the (linguistic) study of endangered languages. Recently worked on languages are Mayangna (Nicaragua) and Kedjom (Cameroon)
The Slang”@”Purdue Project
An undergraduate project for some hands-on experience in linguistics.
The Kedjom Project
2001 A Survey of the Grammar of Kedjom. [with Ezekiel Vifansi]
African American English
1999-present The Copula in AAE: A Unified Account.