Sandra Chung
Encyclopedia
Sandra Chung is a linguist
and professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Cruz
with a speciality in syntax
and semantics
. She earned her A.B. and Ph.D. at Harvard University
, where her dissertation was on the comparative syntax of Polynesian languages. At UC Santa Cruz, she served as chair of the Linguistics Department (1974-77), chair of the Philosophy Department (2002-04), and Faculty Assistant to the Executive Vice Chancellor (2004-11).
Chung has made major contributions to syntax and to semantics, and her work is known for its combination of theoretical acuity with attention to linguistic detail. Much of her data comes from her own work with Chamorro
speakers both in the continental U.S. and in Saipan.
In 2007, Chung was selected as a Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America
. She was invited to give a plenary lecture at the annual meeting in 2008, where she spoke about combining primary (including documentary) research on understudied languages with theoretical linguistics, arguing that these two often competing interests can and should find a congenial home together.
She has also worked on Māori
. On the basis of Māori and Chamorro, she and William Ladusaw argued in Restriction and Saturationhttp://books.google.gr/books?id=EAUAkNzZLskC&dq=sandra+chung+saturation+and+restriction&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=el&ei=siYdStfQJounsAa4ncDHCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPA38,M1 (MIT Press, 2003) that the number and kind of semantic combinatoric operations must be expanded beyond the typically assumed function application and abstraction. Her theoretical work has addressed topics in agreement
, predicate-initial word orders, wh-movement
, and ellipsis
(especially sluicing
), among many others.
She was elected Vice-President/President-Elect of the Linguistic Society of America
(LSA) in 2009, and began serving her one-year term as President in January 2011.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
with a speciality in syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
and semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
. She earned her A.B. and Ph.D. at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where her dissertation was on the comparative syntax of Polynesian languages. At UC Santa Cruz, she served as chair of the Linguistics Department (1974-77), chair of the Philosophy Department (2002-04), and Faculty Assistant to the Executive Vice Chancellor (2004-11).
Chung has made major contributions to syntax and to semantics, and her work is known for its combination of theoretical acuity with attention to linguistic detail. Much of her data comes from her own work with Chamorro
Chamorro language
Chamorro is a Malayo-Polynesian language, spoken on the Mariana Islands by about 47,000 people Chamorro (Chamorro: Fino' Chamoru or simply Chamoru) is a Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language, spoken on the Mariana Islands (Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan) by about 47,000 people Chamorro...
speakers both in the continental U.S. and in Saipan.
In 2007, Chung was selected as a Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America
Linguistic Society of America
The Linguistic Society of America is a professional society for linguists. It was founded in 1924 to advance linguistics, the scientific study of human language. The LSA has over 5,000 individual members and welcomes linguists of all kinds. It works to advance the discipline and to communicate...
. She was invited to give a plenary lecture at the annual meeting in 2008, where she spoke about combining primary (including documentary) research on understudied languages with theoretical linguistics, arguing that these two often competing interests can and should find a congenial home together.
She has also worked on Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
. On the basis of Māori and Chamorro, she and William Ladusaw argued in Restriction and Saturationhttp://books.google.gr/books?id=EAUAkNzZLskC&dq=sandra+chung+saturation+and+restriction&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=el&ei=siYdStfQJounsAa4ncDHCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPA38,M1 (MIT Press, 2003) that the number and kind of semantic combinatoric operations must be expanded beyond the typically assumed function application and abstraction. Her theoretical work has addressed topics in agreement
Agreement (linguistics)
In languages, agreement or concord is a form of cross-reference between different parts of a sentence or phrase. Agreement happens when a word changes form depending on the other words to which it relates....
, predicate-initial word orders, wh-movement
Wh-movement
Wh-movement is a syntactic phenomenon found in many languages around the world, in which interrogative words or phrases show a special word order. Unlike ordinary phrases, such wh-words appear at the beginning of an interrogative clause...
, and ellipsis
Ellipsis (linguistics)
In linguistics, ellipsis or elliptical construction refers to the omission from a clause of one or more words that would otherwise be required by the remaining elements.-Overview:...
(especially sluicing
Sluicing
In syntax, a sluicing construction is one in which the sentential part of an interrogative clause is elided; this typically occurs only in constituent questions...
), among many others.
She was elected Vice-President/President-Elect of the Linguistic Society of America
Linguistic Society of America
The Linguistic Society of America is a professional society for linguists. It was founded in 1924 to advance linguistics, the scientific study of human language. The LSA has over 5,000 individual members and welcomes linguists of all kinds. It works to advance the discipline and to communicate...
(LSA) in 2009, and began serving her one-year term as President in January 2011.
Books by Chung
- 2006. Estreyas Marianas: Chamorro. Tinige': Joaquin Flores Borja, Manuel Flores Borja, yan Sandra Chung. Saipan, CNMI: Estreyas Marianas Publications. 145 pages.
- 2003. (co-authored with William A. Ladusaw) Restriction and Saturation. Linguistic Inquiry Monograph 42. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. xiv + 173 pages.
- 1998. The Design of Agreement: Evidence from Chamorro. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. xii + 423 pages. (paperback edition, 2000)
- 1978. Case Marking and Grammatical Relations in Polynesian. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 401 pages.