Background and activities
I am Associate Professor (førsteamanuensis) of Modern English Language and Linguistics in the Department of Language and Literature. I received my undergraduate MA in Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh in 2008, an MA in Syntax from University College London in 2009, and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2014. Prior to starting at NTNU in 2015, I was a postdoctoral researcher in the English department of Ghent University in Belgium.
I have been responsible for teaching Global English (ENG1001), an introductory course about the history and structure of English and its various dialects; Theoretical Approaches to English (ENG2155), an introductory syntax course; Semantics and Pragmatics (SPRÅK3200), and Special Subject in English Linguistics (ENG3110). I am also interested in advising masters students on any subject within theoretical linguistics, in particular syntax and semantics, or concerning varieties of English.
Academic interests
I specialize in generative syntax and formal semantics. My work particularly focuses on the syntax and semantics of ellipsis (especially clausal ellipsis), which was the subject of my doctoral dissertation, 'Fragments and clausal ellipsis'.
I am also interested in microvariation -- particularly syntactic and semantic features of dialects of English, especially Scottish English, and of ‘reduced written register’ such as diaries, text messages, headlines etc. I am a member of the AcqVA (Acquisition, Variation and Attrition) research group, and am leader of the thematic group "Dialect and register in the individual" within that group.
My personal website contains more details and copies of papers etc. (some 'in press, to appear, submitted' etc. which do not appear in the below automatically-generated list).
Scientific, academic and artistic work
A selection of recent journal publications, artistic productions, books, including book and report excerpts. See all publications in the database
Journal publications
- (2017) Object drop and article drop in reduced written register. Linguistic variation. vol. 17 (2).
- (2015) Against the root analysis of subject contact relatives in English. Lingua. vol. 163.
- (2012) Left-edge deletion in English and subject omission in diaries. English Language and Linguistics. vol. 16 (1).
Part of book/report
- (2018) Cointensional questions, fragment answers, and structured meanings. Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 21.
- (2017) Sentential and possibly subsentential modification: the ambiguity of Collins conjunctions. NELS 47: Proceedings of the Forty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society: Volume 1.
- (2017) But write what?. A Schrift to Fest Kyle Johnson.
- (2017) DP-be-CP constructions and the licensing of clausal ellipsis. NELS 47: Proceedings of the Forty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society: Volume 3.
- (2016) Finiteness and response particles in West Flemish. Finiteness Matters. On finiteness-related phenomena in natural languages.
- (2015) The cartography of 'yes' and 'no' in West Flemish. Discourse-oriented Syntax.
- (2015) Fragment answers and 'exceptional movement under ellipsis': A PF-movement account. NELS 45: Proceedings of the 45th Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society: Volume 3.
- (2014) Fragment answers and the Question under Discussion. NELS 44: Proceedings of the 44th Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society: Volume 2.
- (2014) 'Why'-stripping targets Voice Phrase. NELS 43: Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society: Volume Two.
- (2013) The syntax of imperatives in Scots. After the Storm: Papers from the Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster triennial meeting, Aberdeen 2012.