Andrew Weir
About
I am a professor of English Language and Linguistics in the Department of Language and Literature (ISL). 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.
Together with Anne Dahl, I lead the ForMAAL (Formal, Mental, and Acquisitional Approaches to Language) research group.
I am a member of NTNU's Language Policy Commitee (Språkpolitisk utvalg). I am also a member of the degree program committee for the five-year program in teacher training with language education (MLSPRÅK).
Research
I specialize in generative, theoretical linguistics. I am particularly interested in interfaces between the core linguistic 'modules' of syntax, semantics, and phonology/prosody. My work in this area particularly focuses on ellipsis (especially clausal ellipsis). I am also interested in comparative syntax and 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.
Publications
My personal website contains more details (and presents publications organized by topic), and some material that does not appear in the below automatically-generated list ('in press, to appear, submitted', plus handouts etc.)
2024
-
Bondevik, Ingrid;
Lohndal, Terje;
Weir, Andrew William;
Kush, Dave Whitney.
(2024)
Eliminating adjunct-specific conditions on movement:
a case study of finite adjunct clauses in Norwegian
.
Doctoral theses at NTNU (2024/160)
Doctoral dissertation
-
Weir, Andrew William.
(2024)
Nominal VP anaphora in Scandinavian and English.
Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics
Academic article
2023
-
Weir, Andrew William;
Kush, Dave Whitney;
Giskes, Anna.
(2023)
Incremental prediction in long-distance dependencies: Predictive mechanisms during the processing of cataphors.
Doctoral theses at NTNU (101)
Doctoral dissertation
2022
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2022)
Fragments and left-edge ellipsis: The division of labour between syntax, semantics, and prosody.
Oxford University Press
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
2021
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2021)
English and Englishes.
Gyldendal Undervisning
Chapter
2020
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2020)
Negative fragment answers.
Oxford University Press
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2020)
Resultatives, goal PPs, and postverbal subjects: From Scotland to Belfast.
Journal of Linguistics
Academic article
-
Eide, Kristin Melum;
Weir, Andrew.
(2020)
Introduction to special issue on morphosyntactic
variation within the individual language user.
Nordic Journal of Linguistics
Academic article
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2020)
Antecedentless fragments: a middle road between sententialism and nonsententialism.
Acta Linguistica Hafniensia. International Journal of Linguistics
Academic article
2019
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2019)
Diary null subjects: an analogy with imperatives?.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Søraa, Ingrid;
Weir, Andrew;
Hårstad, Stian.
(2019)
The Sound of Disney: A sociolinguistic analysis of the use of English accents in four animated films from the 2010s.
I. Søraa
Masters thesis
-
Eide, Kristin Melum;
Weir, Andrew.
(2019)
Morphosyntactic microvariation within the individual language user.
Nordic Journal of Linguistics
Editorial
2018
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2018)
Structurally ambiguous 'again' without lexical decomposition: a Function Composition approach.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2018)
Cointensional questions, fragment answers, and structured meanings.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
2017
-
Bogal-Allbritten, Elizabeth;
Weir, Andrew.
(2017)
Sentential and possibly subsentential modification: the ambiguity of Collins conjunctions.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2017)
But write what?.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2017)
DP-be-CP constructions and the licensing of clausal ellipsis.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2017)
Object drop and article drop in reduced written register.
Linguistic Variation
Academic article
2016
-
Haegeman, Liliane;
Weir, Andrew.
(2016)
Finiteness and response particles in West Flemish.
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
2015
-
Haegeman, Liliane;
Weir, Andrew;
Danckaert, Lieven;
D'Hulster, Tijs;
Buelens, Liisa.
(2015)
Against the root analysis of subject contact relatives in English.
Lingua
Academic article
-
Haegeman, Liliane;
Weir, Andrew.
(2015)
The cartography of 'yes' and 'no' in West Flemish.
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2015)
Fragment answers and 'exceptional movement under ellipsis': A PF-movement account.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
2014
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2014)
Fragment answers and the Question under Discussion.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2014)
'Why'-stripping targets Voice Phrase.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
2013
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2013)
The syntax of imperatives in Scots.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
2012
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2012)
Left-edge deletion in English and subject omission in diaries.
English Language and Linguistics
Academic article
Journal publications
-
Weir, Andrew William.
(2024)
Nominal VP anaphora in Scandinavian and English.
Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics
Academic article
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2020)
Resultatives, goal PPs, and postverbal subjects: From Scotland to Belfast.
Journal of Linguistics
Academic article
-
Eide, Kristin Melum;
Weir, Andrew.
(2020)
Introduction to special issue on morphosyntactic
variation within the individual language user.
Nordic Journal of Linguistics
Academic article
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2020)
Antecedentless fragments: a middle road between sententialism and nonsententialism.
Acta Linguistica Hafniensia. International Journal of Linguistics
Academic article
-
Eide, Kristin Melum;
Weir, Andrew.
(2019)
Morphosyntactic microvariation within the individual language user.
Nordic Journal of Linguistics
Editorial
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2017)
Object drop and article drop in reduced written register.
Linguistic Variation
Academic article
-
Haegeman, Liliane;
Weir, Andrew;
Danckaert, Lieven;
D'Hulster, Tijs;
Buelens, Liisa.
(2015)
Against the root analysis of subject contact relatives in English.
Lingua
Academic article
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2012)
Left-edge deletion in English and subject omission in diaries.
English Language and Linguistics
Academic article
Part of book/report
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2022)
Fragments and left-edge ellipsis: The division of labour between syntax, semantics, and prosody.
Oxford University Press
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2021)
English and Englishes.
Gyldendal Undervisning
Chapter
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2020)
Negative fragment answers.
Oxford University Press
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2019)
Diary null subjects: an analogy with imperatives?.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2018)
Structurally ambiguous 'again' without lexical decomposition: a Function Composition approach.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2018)
Cointensional questions, fragment answers, and structured meanings.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Bogal-Allbritten, Elizabeth;
Weir, Andrew.
(2017)
Sentential and possibly subsentential modification: the ambiguity of Collins conjunctions.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2017)
But write what?.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2017)
DP-be-CP constructions and the licensing of clausal ellipsis.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Haegeman, Liliane;
Weir, Andrew.
(2016)
Finiteness and response particles in West Flemish.
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Haegeman, Liliane;
Weir, Andrew.
(2015)
The cartography of 'yes' and 'no' in West Flemish.
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2015)
Fragment answers and 'exceptional movement under ellipsis': A PF-movement account.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2014)
Fragment answers and the Question under Discussion.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2014)
'Why'-stripping targets Voice Phrase.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
-
Weir, Andrew.
(2013)
The syntax of imperatives in Scots.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
Report
-
Bondevik, Ingrid;
Lohndal, Terje;
Weir, Andrew William;
Kush, Dave Whitney.
(2024)
Eliminating adjunct-specific conditions on movement:
a case study of finite adjunct clauses in Norwegian
.
Doctoral theses at NTNU (2024/160)
Doctoral dissertation
-
Weir, Andrew William;
Kush, Dave Whitney;
Giskes, Anna.
(2023)
Incremental prediction in long-distance dependencies: Predictive mechanisms during the processing of cataphors.
Doctoral theses at NTNU (101)
Doctoral dissertation
-
Søraa, Ingrid;
Weir, Andrew;
Hårstad, Stian.
(2019)
The Sound of Disney: A sociolinguistic analysis of the use of English accents in four animated films from the 2010s.
I. Søraa
Masters thesis
Teaching
Courses
I am/have been responsible for teaching a number of courses in the section's and department's language portfolio. I focus on theoretical linguistics and syntax and semantics (ENG1101 English Linguistics, ENG2155 Theoretical Approaches to English Language, ENG3110 Special Subject in English Language, SPRÅK3002 Theories in Linguistics, SPRÅK3200 Semantics and Pragmatics), but have also taught in ENG1001 Global English and SPRÅK3001 Methods in Linguistics.
Supervision
I am always interested in advising student theses on topics within theoretical linguistics. Below are some particular areas of interest:
- Ellipsis: the syntax and semantics of ‘unspoken’ elements
- Grammar of ‘special registers’, especially in writing: grammatical phenomena in headlines, DMs/IMs/SMSs, diaries, recipes, …
- (Grammatical characteristics/analysis of) register variation generally
- (Grammatical characteristics/analysis of) ‘non-standard’ varieties of English (especially Scottish English, but others too)
- Comparative English/Scandinavian syntax and/or semantics (potentially also English/other languages)
- Interfaces between domains of grammar: syntax-semantics, syntax-phonology, phonology-syntax-semantics (NB! The phonology content of our BA/MA courses is minimal, so advisees interested in phonology would probably need to either have studied some phonology elsewhere or be willing to self-study very quickly and efficiently)
- I am very open to other topics within (English) syntax or semantics, in consultation with individual advisees.
- I am also very open to co-supervision where formal linguistics intersects with other approaches, e.g. acquisition or sociolinguistics.
I welcome inquiries from prospective PhD students. Here it will of course be more necessary than at the BA/MA level to have clear intersection with my specific areas of research. PhD supervisees would also be expected to actively participate in the ForMAAL (Formal, Mental, and Acquisitional Approaches to Language) research group.
Outreach
2022
-
Popular scientific lectureWeir, Andrew. (2022) The Scots language: past and present. Trondheim Friends of Scotland Society Skotsk aften , Trondheim 2022-10-27 -
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2022) Restitutive 'again': function composition, not syntactic decomposition. Semantics in Norway , Gran 2022-05-04 - 2022-05-06
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2022) Optionality in auxiliary contraction deletion in English: an interface account. AcqVA AcqVA workshop , Jeløya 2022-04-29 -
2020
-
Popular scientific lectureWeir, Andrew. (2020) English and Englishes. Norsk Oversetterforening Norsk Oversetterforening Fagseminar , Oslo 2020-02-29 -
2019
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2019) Dialect data and generative syntax: Theories and methodologies. Scots Syntactic Atlas project ScoSYa "Data Hack" , University of Glasgow 2019-06-10 -
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2019) Intra-speaker variation and the syntax-prosody interface: left-edge ellipsis and auxiliary contraction in English. AcqVA Register and dialect variation in the individual , Trondheim 2019-10-28 -
2018
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2018) Predicate that-anaphora in English and beyond. CASTLFish colloquium , UiT 2018-11-16 -
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2018) Left-edge ellipsis and clausal ellipsis: The division of labor between syntax, semantics and prosody. Societas Linguistica Europaea Societas Linguistica Europaea annual meeting , Tallinn 2018-08-29 - 2018-09-01
2017
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew; Kush, Dave Whitney; Dahl, Anne. (2017) Acquisition and variation in ellipsis. AcqVA AcqVA retreat , Tromsø 2017-12-04 - 2017-12-05
-
Popular scientific lectureWeir, Andrew. (2017) La lingva situacio en Norvegio: ĉu lecionoj por la skota lingvo? [The language situation in Norway: lessons for Scots?]. Esperanto Association of Britain Scottish and British Esperanto Congress , Edinburgh 2017-05-19 - 2017-05-21
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Popular scientific lectureWeir, Andrew. (2017) Lingvo: kio distingas nin de la bestoj (?) [Language: what distinguishes us from animals (?)]. Esperanto Association of Britain Scottish and British Esperanto Congress , Edinburgh 2017-05-19 - 2017-05-21
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Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2017) Restitutive 'again' without lexical decomposition. NELS 48 , University of Iceland 2017-10-27 - 2017-10-29
2016
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2016) Phrasal pronominalization and intra-Germanic variation in predicate that-anaphora. Comparative Germanic Syntax Workshop 31 , Stellenbosch University 2016-12-01 - 2016-12-03
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2016) That's that construction analysed: that be 'resultatives' in Scottish English. LAGB Linguistics Association of Great Britain , University of York 2016-09-06 - 2016-09-09
-
PosterWeir, Andrew. (2016) Cointensional questions and their implications for questions and fragment answers. Sinn und Bedeutung 21 , University of Edinburgh 2016-09-04 - 2016-09-06
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2016) Ellipsis in 'DP be CP' constructions and the syntax of embedded fragments. Workshop on Fragments , Universität des Saarlandes 2016-10-13 - 2016-10-14
-
PosterWeir, Andrew. (2016) Ellipsis in 'DP be CP' constructions and the syntax of embedded fragments. NELS 47 , University of Massachusetts Amherst 2016-10-14 - 2016-10-16
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2016) The prosodic licensing of left-edge ellipsis and implications for clausal ellipsis. Ellipsis and Prosody workshop , Universiteit Leiden 2016-01-15 - 2016-01-16
-
Academic lecture
-
Academic lectureBogal-Allbritten, Elizabeth; Weir, Andrew. (2016) Sentential and possibly subsentential modification: the ambiguity of Collins conjunctions. NELS 47 , University of Massachusetts Amherst 2016-10-14 - 2016-10-16
2014
-
Academic lectureWeir, Andrew. (2014) Fragment answers and 'exceptional movement under ellipsis': A PF-movement account. North East Linguistics Society NELS 45 , MIT, Boston MA 2014-10-31 - 2014-11-02