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Magdalena Kaufmann (prev. Magdalena Schwager/Scheiner)'s Research

A note on what's in a name: Publications should be referred to by the name under which they were published. Regarding the older publications, I'm always grateful for pointers that mention the new name in addition (e.g. `as Kaufmann claimed/argued/etc. in Schwager YEAR') to help minimize confusion (space permitting, of course).

Areas of Interest

I am interested in just about any area of formal semantics, as well as its interfaces to syntax, pragmatics, and philosophy. I am working, or have worked, on the following topics in particular:

Languages I have been studying in some detail regarding one or more of these phenomena (or just for the fun of it) include my native German as well as English, Italian, Japanese, Tagalog, Hungarian, Slovenian, and Serbian.

Current and recent grants

Together with Stefan Kaufmann, I have been awarded NSF grant #2116972, "Research on conditional and modal language".

Together with Kavya Krishnan (Cognitive Science Major), I was awarded a SHARE undergrad research grant "How to reason in Nepali", to investigate conditionals in Nepali (spring semester 2022).

Publications & Presentations

Books

Magdalena Kaufmann (2012) Interpreting Imperatives . Springer. (Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy 88).
(Revised version of doctoral dissertation, submitted and defended 2006 under the name of Magdalena Schwager, University of Frankfurt).

Papers & Manuscripts

As Magdalena Kaufmann:

(submitted) [with Stefan Kaufmann and Stefan Hinterwimmer] In case falls is relevant. Proceedings of CLS 60. Prefinal version.

(submitted) [with Stefan Kaufmann, Muyi Yang, and Teruyuki Mizuno] Problem solving with Japanese beki. Proceedings of SuB 28. Prefinal version.

(accepted) [with Neda Todorović] The remote and the impossible in Serbian. Proceedings of FDSL. Berlin: Language Science Press.

(2023) [with Neda Todorović and Ivana Jovović] "Obviate me (not): Obviation effects in Serbian main and complement clauses". Journal of Slavic Linguistics. Prefinal version.

(2023) "Imperative clauses". In: Simone Guesser, Ani Carla Marchesan, Paulo Medeiros junior Wh-exclamatives, Imperatives and Wh-questions. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston. pp. 173-225.

(2023) "From coherence relations to the grammar of pronouns and tense". In: Croatian Journal of Philosophy 23(3), 275-294.

(2022) [with John Whitman] "Conditional conjunctions informed by Japanese and Korean". In: Natural Language Conditionals and Conditional Reasoning (Special issue of Linguistics Vanguard, issue editor Mingya Liu.) De Gruyter Mouton.

(2021) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Iffy Endorsements". Journal of Semantics. ffab017, https://doi.org/10.1093/jos/ffab017

(2021) "Imperatives". In Matthewson, Lisa, Meier, Cecile, Rullmann, Hotze and Ede Zimmermann (eds.) Semantics Companion. prefinal version

(2020) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Talking about sources". In Mariam Asatryan, Yixiao Song and Ayana Whitmal (eds.) Proceedings of NELS 50. pp. 77-90. (prefinal)

(2020) "On the performance of modal objects". Theoretical Linguistics, commentary on Friederike Moltmann `Object-based truthmaker semantics'. (Links to target and commenatries)

(2020) [with Sanae Tamura] "Possibility and necessity: deontic and epistemic."
In Takubo, Yukinori and Wesley Jacobsen. Handbook of Japanese Semantics and Pragmatics (Mouton Handbooks on Japanese Language and Linguistics). (prefinal version)

(2019) "Who controls who (or what)". In: Proceedings of SALT 29. pdf

(2019) [with Adrian Stegovec] "Being relatively imperative in Slovenian". In: M.Teresa Espinal, Elena Castroviejo, Manuel Leonetti, Louise McNally, and Cristina Real-Puigdollers (eds.) Proceeedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 23. pdf

(2019) "Fine-tuning natural language imperatives" Journal of Logic and Computation. (First published online, June 18, 2016, doi:10.1093/logcom/exw009)

(2018) "What `may' and `must' may be in Japanese". In Funakoshi, Kenshi, Kawahara, Shigeto and Chris Tancredi (eds.) Japanese/Korean Linguistics 24. CSLI.

(2017) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Stativity and progressive: The case of Japanese tokoro-da" Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 21. [preprint]

(2016) "Free choice as a form of dependence" Natural Language Semantics 24:3; pp. 247-290.

(2016) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Mood and Modality." In Nuyts, Jan and Johan van der Auwera. Handbook. Berlin: de Gruyter.

(2015) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Conditionals and Modality" In Fox, Chris and Lappin, Shalom Semantics Handbook. Wiley-Blackwell.

(2015) [with Adrian Stegovec] "Slovenian imperatives: You can't always embed what you want!"In: Proceedings of SuB 19.

(2015) [with Ting Xu] "Almost or almost not? The interaction between chayidian `almost' and negation in Mandarin Chinese"
In: Proceedings of CLS 49.

(2013) [with Claudia Poschmann] "Embedded Imperatives and Echo-Questions." Language 89:3, pp. 619-637.

(2013) [with Fabrizio Cariani and Stefan Kaufmann] "Deliberative Modality under Epistemic Uncertainty". Linguistics and Philosophy.

(2013) "Satztyp und Semantik."
In Altmann, Hans, Meibauer, Jörg, and Markus Steinbach. Handbuch Satztypen. Berlin: de Gruyter.

(2012) [with Stefan Kaufmann] Epistemic particles and performativity. In: Proceedings of Semantics and Linguistic Theory (SALT) 22. pp. 208--225.

As Magdalena Schwager:

(2011) "Imperatives and tense." In Musan, Renate and Monika Rathert. Tense Across Languages. Niemeyer. pp. 37--58.

(2011)
Speaking of qualities. In: Proceedings of SALT 19. CLC Publications. pp. 395--412. (bib)

(2011) [with Stefan Kaufmann] A Unified Analysis of Conditional Imperatives. In: Proceedings of SALT 19. CLC Publications. pp. 239-256. (bib)

(2010) "Modality and speech acts: troubled by German ruhig" In Aloni, Maria and Schulz, Katrin. Proceedings of the 17th Amsterdam Colloquium. Amsterdam: ILLC.

(2010) "On what has been said in Tagalog: Reportative 'daw'". In: Sauerland, Dechaine, Schenner and Peterson, "Proceedings of the Workshop 'Evidentiality' at GLOW 2008." UBC Working Papers in Linguistics.

(2009) [with Elena Castroviejo-Miro] "Amazing DPs" in: Proceedings of SALT 18. CLC Publications.

(2009) What is amazement all about? In: Proceedings of SuB 13. Hg. von Arndt Riester. Stuttgart: OPUS.

(2008) "Keeping Prices Low: an Answer to a Concealed Question" in: "Proceedings of SuB 12" Hg. von Atle Grønn. Oslo: ILOS.

(2007) "Bodyguards under Cover" in: "Proceedings of SALT 17." In Masayuki Gibson et al., CLC Publications.

(2007) "Conditionalized Imperatives" in: "Proceedings of SALT 16." In Christopher Tancredi et al., CLC Publications.

(2005) "Exhaustive Imperatives" in: Proceedings of the 15th Amsterdam Colloquium, December 19-21, 2005. In Paul Dekker and Michael Franke. Paper, Handout

(2005) "Permitting Permissions" in: Proceedings of the Tenth ESSLLI Student Session. In Judit Gervain. paper (leicht revidiert), handout

(2004) "Negating and Conjoining Imperatives" in: Proceedings of Console XII (2003). In Sylvia Blaho, Luis Vicente und Mark de Vos. Onlinepublikation

(2003) "Temporal Anchoring of Habituals" in: Proceedings of Console XI (2002). In Marjo von Koppen, Joanna Sio und Mark de Vos. Onlinepublikation

(2002) "Temporale Verankerung habitueller Sätze"
Magisterarbeit Universität Wien (Betreuer
Martin Prinzhorn und Arnim von Stechow) manuscript (pdf, 867KB)

(1999) "Development of the German Future Periphrasis" In: Wiener Linguistische Gazette.


Selected Presentations

As Magdalena Kaufmann:

(2023) [with Neda Todorović ] "The remote and the impossible in Serbian." Talk at FDSL 16, Universitä Graz, Nov 29-Dec 1. Handout

(2023) "Complex events in conditional conjunctions". Keynote presentation at METU Workshop on Conditional and Causal Reasoning. Gökova, Turkey. March 22-23.

(2022) "How to be impossible or remote". MIT Linguistics Colloquium, October 14.

(2022) Conjoining(,) conditionals and coherence relations. Talk at Philosophy of Language and Linguistics, Dubrovnik, September 6-10.

(2022) A compositional take on directive microvariation. (With a commentary by Daniel Harris) SPAGAD lecture series at ZAS, July 1. Slides

(2022) Practically out of control. CUNY colloquium, April 7. Slides

(2022) Commentary on Paul Portner `Speaking Frankly'. SPAGAD lecture series at ZAS, February 18.

(2022) Tracking presumed control. Invited talk at Workshop Agency and Intentionality 2, January 12-14. Slides

(2021) Topics in conjunctions are conditional. DIP colloquium, ILLC Amsterdam, December 17. Slides

(2021) Obviating differences. Invited talk at Terraling Workshop, October 24.

(2021) [with Ivana Jovović and Neda Todorović ], "Obviate me (not): Obviation effects in Serbian main and complement clauses". Formal Approaches to Slavic Linguistics (FASL) 30, MIT, May 13-16. Handout

(2021) [with John Whitman] "Conditional conjunctions informed by Japanese and Korean". Presentation at 43rd Annual Conference of the German Linguistic Society (DGfS), AG9: The semantics and pragmatics of conditional connectives Slides

(2020) "A semantic-pragmatic account of generalized subject obviation". Colloquium, University of Pennsylvania, October 8.

(2020) "Imperative Perspectives". Philang Reading Group, University of Vienna, June 17. Slides

(2020) "A semantic-pragmatic account of generalized subject obviation". LinG Colloquium Series, Georg-August Universität Göttingen, May 20. Slides

(2020) [with Ivana Jovović and Neda Todorović ] "What makes DA modal", Presentation at Distanzworkshop auf der Burg, Thomasberg, Austria.

(2019) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Iffy Endorsements". Philosophy in Linguistics and Linguistics in Philosophy (PhLiP) 6, Tarrytown, NY, November 14-17. Slides

(2019) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Talking about Sources". NELS 50, MIT, October 24-26. Handout

(2019) "Iffy Endorsements" (joint work with Stefan Kaufmann). NYU Linguistics Colloquium, September 26.

(2019) "Who controls who (or what) - evidence from embedded imperatives and other directives". Invited talk at SALT 29, UCLA, May 17-19. Slides, Paper

(2019) "Conditional conjunctions and juxtapositions". Frege/Semantics Workshop, UC Irvine, March 1-2.

(2018) "Topics in Conditional Conjunctions". Invited talk at NELS 49, Cornell University, October 5-7. Slides

(2018) "Topics in Conditional Conjunctions". Talk at Nagoya Semantics Circle, September 23.

(2018) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Iffy Endorsements". Talk at NINJAL, Tokyo, Japan, September 21.

(2018) "Topics in Conditional Conjunctions". Colloquium at NINJAL, Tokyo, Japan, September 18.

(2018) "Stay modal and we'll still have a story". University of Vienna, July 13.

(2018) Stay strong and we'll still have a story. Workshop Non Canonical Imperatives, Berlin, May 25-26.

(2017) "Japanese modals and other evaluations"Seminar Language of Desire, MIT, November.

(2017) "Iffy Endorsements", Workshop Questioning Speech Acts, University of Konstanz, September. [Joint work with Stefan Kaufmann.]Slides

(2017) [with Adrian Stegovec] "Imperatives - relatively Slovenian", Workshop Relative Clauses, Frankfurt University, May.

(2017) "Deontic logic for non-logical conditionals", Semantics/Pragmatics Workshop, Rutgers University, May.

(2016) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Stativity and progessive: the case of Japanese `tokoro da'", Sinn und Bedeutung 21, University of Edinburgh, September.

(2016) "What `may' and `must' may be in Japanese", Keynote talk at 24th Japanese/Korean Linguistics, NINJAL, Tokio, October.

(2016) [with S. Kaufmann] "Stativity and Progressive The case of Japanese tokoro da", Sinn und Bedeutung 21, September.

(2016) "Embedded imperatives", Workshop Imperatives: Worlds and Beyond. Hamburg University, June.

(2016) "Models for natural language meaning", Keynote talk at the Annual Symposium of the Association of Symbolic Logic (ASL). University of Connecticut, May.

(2016) "2016 Speech acts: the view from linguistics", NYU Philosophy of Language Colloquium, NYU, May.

(2016) "Free choice and other reasons for disjunctions", Harvard Linguistics Colloquium Circle, February 12.

(2016) "Discourse particle `ruhig': discourse effects, desires, and modality", 3rd Workshop on the Semantics of Discourse Particles in East and Southeast Asian Languages, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, January 9-10.

(2016) "Japanese modality: the view from formal semantics", Ritsumeikan University, December 17.

(2015) "Presupposing - expressive - speech acts", CREST international workshop on formal and computational semantics, Kyoto University, Nov 21.

(2015) "It depends on `It depends on'", Invited talk at LENLS 12, Nov 15-17.

(2015) "Imperatives embedded in discourse", Kyoto Workshop on Linguistics and Philosophy: Evidence and Inference: the foundation of linguistics and philosophy, Kyoto University, Oct 31 - Nov 1.

(2015) "Imperative semantics", Tutorial for ILCAA Joint Research Project Semantics of Discourse Particles in East and Southeast Asian Languages, Meeting 2, TUFS University, Tokyo, Oct 17-18.

(2015) "Locating events in time and across worlds: the case of tokoro da", Talk at Meikai University, Tokyo, Sep 14.

(2015) "Talk about embedding", Workshop Speech Acts, ZAS Berlin, June 11-13.

(2015) "Embedded imperatives across languages", Colloquium, UMass, April 21.

(2015) "Free choice as a form of dependence", Brown bag talk, Brown University, April 8.

(2014) "Embedded imperatives across languages: Evidence against monoliths", Colloquium, Rutgers University, November 21.

(2014) "Look for a sweater or find the missing screw, Mr. X!", Carpentry: Colloquium in Honor of Thomas Ede Zimmermann's 60th Birthday, Frankfurt University, September 29.

(2014) "Fine-tuning natural language imperatives: between logic and linguistics", Plenary talk at DEON 2014, Universiteit Gent, July 12-15. Slides

(2014) "Embedded imperatives across languages: Too rare to expect, too frequent to ban", Colloquium, Department of Linguistics, SUNY Stony Brook, April 4. Handout

(2013) "Imperatives, disjunction, free choice, and what it all depends on." Colloquium, Cornell University, November 7.

(2013) "Discourse particle ruhig: discourse effects, desires, and modality". 3rd Cornell Workshop in Linguistics and Philsophy Modal Talk and Reasoning, November 9-10.

(2013) "Embedded Imperatives across Languages: too rare to expect, too frequent to ban". Mini-Workshop on Syntax and Semantics: Imperatives, Embeddability, and Politeness, Yale University, October 17.

(2013) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Information dependence in conditionalized prioritizing modality". Workshop Modality as a Window on Cognition, ICL19, Geneva, July 23.

(2013) [with Yukinori Takubo and Stefan Kaufmann] "The Japanese Marker 'tokoro da': A case study in time and modality". Workshop Modality as a Window on Cognition, ICL19, Geneva, July 22.

(2013) "Imperatives and (Im)perfect Information". Invited Talk, Eberhard-Karls University Tübingen, May 27.

(2013) "Imperatives and (Im)perfect Information". Invited Talk, Frankfurt University, May 23.

(2012) "The modal operator theory of imperatives: Revisiting assets and drawbacks". Invited Talk, MIT, Novemeber 26.

(2012) "Questioning Imperatives". Workshop 'Alternatives and Modality', Gö:ttingen University, July 19.

(2012) "Imperatives and Imperfect Information". Workshop 'Relating Particles to Evidence and Inference', Göttingen University, July 13-14.

(2012) "Questioning Imperatives". Invited Talk, University of Connecticut, February 3.

(2011) "Particles and Performativity". Workshop Particles and Speech Acts, Hongkong City University, October 14.

As Magdalena Schwager:

(2011) "Imperatives between Form and Function". Phling-Talk, Northwestern University (February).

(2010) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Respecting Rights". Szklarska Poreba Workshop, Szklarska Poreba (PL) (March).

(2010) [with Stefan Kaufmann] "Awareness, Information, and Action". Particle Workshop, University of Göttingen (March).

(2010) "Imperatives as Moody Modals". University of Chicago (February).

(2009) "Modality and speech acts: troubled by German `ruhig'." Amsterdam Colloquium 9, University of Amsterdam (December).

(2009) "Modality and speech acts: troubled by German modal particle `ruhig'." LENLS, Tokyo (November).

(2009) "Imperatives as Moody Modals". Workshop on Clause Types, University of Frankfurt (June).

(2009) [with Eric McCready] "Intensifiers". Workshop Expressive Meaning, DGfS Osnabrück (March).

(2008) [with Claudia Poschmann] "(Un)Quoted Imperatives", Talk at ICQM2, Berlin, October 16-18. handout

(2007) "Keeping Prices Low", Talk at SuB 12, Oslo, September 20-22. abstract, handout

(2007) "Bodyguards under cover: The status of individual concepts", Talk at SALT XVII, UConn, May 10-13. handout, presentation

(2007) "(Non-)Functional Concepts: Definite Articles in Bavarian", Talk at the 8th Szklarska Poreba Workshop. (presentation)

(2007) "Definitheitsmarkierer im Bayrischen", Talk at Workshop "Definiteness", University of Stuttgart, January 26.

(2007) "Change under cover: The status of individual concepts", Talk at Stuttgart University, January 25.

(2006) "What mayors, strikers and bodyguards might tell us about individual concepts", DIP-talk, ILLC Amsterdam, December 15.

(2006) "The Topic Has Changed: On Functional Concepts", Semantiknetzwerk VI, Barcelona, September 19-20.

(2006) "Living on the Addressee", Workshop "How to refer to one's own words" in honour of Anita Mittwoch, Berlin, July 11-15.

(2005) "Conditionalized Imperatives", accepted for Colloque de Syntaxe et Semantique a Paris, 30.9.-1.10.2005.

(2004) "Right-Node Raising und Boolsche Algebra", Österreichische Linguisitiktagung, November 2004.

(2004) [mit Hans-Martin Gärtner] "Pseudo-Coordination meets the type-force square", Workshop Mood and (In-)Subordination, 5.-7. 11. 2004.

(2004) "Don't be late or you'll miss the first slot", NASSLLI 2004 Student Session, UCLA, 21.6.2004.Handout (leicht revidiert)

(2004) "Satztyp und oder - Zu nicht-kanonischen Imperativen", Linguistischer Arbeitskreis des IDSL Universität Köln, 9.6.2004 [eingeladener Gastvortrag]

(2004) "Wie pseudo sind Pseudo-Imperative", GGS Mannheim 21.-23.5.2004.

(2004) "Conditional Imperatives", Semantikzirkel ZAS, Berlin 23.2. 2004 [eingeladener Gastvortrag]

(2003) "Warum man Imperative (nicht) einbetten kann", Klausurtagung GK Satzarten der Universität Frankfurt/ZAS Berlin, 7.11.2003. handout

(2003) "Fragt und kritisiert nicht!", GGS Köln, 29.5. - 1.6. 2003

(2002) "Habitualität und Ereignisquantifikation", Österreichische Linguistiktagung (Innsbruck, 7.-8. 12. 2002)

(2002) "Habituelle Sätze und Ereignisqunatifikation - Evidenz von temporaler Verankerung", GGS Frankfurt, 10.-12. 5. 2002.

Poster

(2023) [with S.~Kaufmann, T.~Mizuno, M.~Yang] "Problem solving with Japanese beki",
Poster at Sinn und Bedeutung 28, Ruhr Universität Bochum, September 5-8.

(2004) "Why Imperatives can(not) embed",
Poster bei Georgetown University Round Table, Washington 27.-29.3.2004. poster

Former Projects

Noun phrases in intensional contexts, Free-Floater Group, University of Göttingen.

Relativsätze und Intensionalität (Relative Clauses and Intensionality), DFG Forschergruppe 1783 Relativsätze, University of Göttingen/Frankfurt University.

CRC `Text Structures', University of Göttingen.

Speech Acts and Particles, DAAD-Cooperation HongKong-Germany [with Yurie Hara, City University of Hong Kong].