About the Project

This web site is part of a larger project examining and documenting control patterns in under-studied languages. The Variation in Control Structures project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

People

Principle investigators are Maria Polinsky and Eric Potsdam. Graduate student researchers include Shin Fukuda, Youssef Haddad, Peter Jenks, and Nayoung Kwon. Past participants include Laura Kertz (through 2006), Philip Monahan (through 2003), and Antje Thiessen (through 2003). Programming and technical support were provided by Robert Lee, Richard Liu, Ezra Van Everbroeck, Laura Kertz, and Marc Silver.

Overview

The principal investigators have documented "backward control" in several languages, including Tsez, Bezhta, and Malagasy. Graduate researchers funded by the project have also analyzed control patterns in a variety of lesser studied languages.

The handouts included below provide an overview of the project goals and some preliminary findings.

Publications

Research results from the project have been published in a variety of journals and presented at linguistic conferences in the US and abroad.