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Split BEHAVE: A Crosslinguistic Comparison

Last  year, the Confucius Institute at Geneva University launched a new lecture series called "China Tomorrow" 未来中国. The presentations are multidisciplinary and focus on the future of China. Each lecture is streamed online and features a Chinese speaker and a Western discussant, or vice versa. If you would like to receive alerts on upcoming sessions, send an email to ic(at)unige.ch with the subject line "China Tomorrow".

We are pleased to welcome you to the next lecture of this series : 

« Split BEHAVE: A Crosslinguistic Comparison »
Tuesday, June 27th 2023, 12:30-13:45 (CEST).
Lecturer : Fuzhen SI, Beijing Language and Culture University
Discussant : Isabelle CHARNAVEL, Lettres, UNIGE
 
While most (if not all) languages possess lexical items analogous to both BE and HAVE, the specific behaviors of these two items can differ across languages, as well as their interrelationships. In this study, I will employ the term "BEHAVE" to encompass the combined functions (such as possession, existence, location, quantity/degree, etc.) of both BE and HAVE. I will argue that within the universal inventory, there exists a proto-BEHAVE that can be further divided into BE and/or HAVE. The objective is to propose a unified explanation for BE and HAVE by conducting a crosslinguistic analysis and creating a syntactic distribution map for the split BEHAVE from a cartographic perspective. This research suggests that certain languages, such as Chinese-type languages, exhibit a stronger emphasis on HAVE, while others, like Russian, place more prominence on BE.

Fuzhen Si, Ph.D., is a Professor of Linguistics and the founding director of the Linguistics Department at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). She is also the founding director of the Lab of Biolinguistics and Brain Sciences and the Institute of Chomsky Studies at BLCU. Furthermore, she is the initiator and founding president of the International Association for the Study of Syntax Cartography. Her research interests encompass syntactic cartographic studies, particularly focusing on Chinese and its comparison to other languages. She specializes in Chomsky's linguistics and philosophical thoughts, with a particular emphasis on biolinguistics and brain science. Additionally, she is engaged in linguistic research methods and related science philosophical areas.

This conference will take place online, on Zoom. 
On June 27, please click the link below to join the webinar:
Zoom ID: 617 3199 1907
Passcode: 178338

 

13 juin 2023
  Actualités