CAREER: Theory, Fieldwork, and Typology: A Semantic/Pragmatic Triad in Underrepresented Linguistic Systems

这个CAREER项目研究人类大脑内部的逻辑推理机制（语义学）和会话的语言环境（语用学）之间的相互作用。该项目涉及对四种不同的、未充分研究的语言的详细实地考察，这些语言将揭示语义学和语用学及其相互作用的理论和类型学共性。调查的重点是“话语粒子”的使用和解释，这是语言单位（通常是一个句子中的小功能词），跟踪和传达人际对话的各种语境方面。这是一个未被充分探索的研究领域，在解决人类语言如何表达推理、推断、信念和知识等基本问题方面具有巨大潜力。本项目通过话语助词的透镜研究话语能力的经验、理论和类型学基础，促进了数据-理论-类型学三位一体的发展。话语助词与时、体、语气的相互作用;话语助词与非规范言语行为。除了研究成果，成果将包括创建标准化的开源材料，用于面向理论的语义/语用实地考察，可用于任何语言;培训研究生和本科生在实地考察实验室的经验和理论多样性所告知的现代方法;以及征聘母语者和社区/该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This CAREER project investigates the interaction between the logical reasoning machinery inside the human brain (semantics) and the linguistic context of conversation (pragmatics). The project involves detailed fieldwork on four diverse, understudied languages that will uncover theoretical and typological universals in semantics and pragmatics and their interaction. The investigation focuses on the usage and interpretation of "discourse particles," which are linguistic units (often small function words in a sentence) that track and convey various contextual aspects of interpersonal conversations. This is an underexplored area of research with great potential to address fundamental questions about how human languages express reasoning, inferences, beliefs, and knowledge.This project promotes a data-theory-typology triad by studying the empirical, theoretical, and typological underpinnings of discourse competence through the lens of discourse particles with a three-pronged focus: modal discourse particles and their complements; interaction of discourse particles with tense, aspect, mood; discourse particles and non-canonical speech acts. In addition to research output, results will include the creation of standardized open-source materials for theory-oriented semantic/pragmatic fieldwork that can be used for any language; training of graduate and undergraduate students in modern methodologies informed by empirical and theoretical diversity in a fieldwork lab; and recruitment and involvement of native speaker and community/heritage linguists from groups historically minoritized in academia.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.