David Stringer
- Assistant Professor, Second Language Studies
- Associate Member, Cognitive Science Program
Education
- Ph.D. 2005. Linguistics, University of Durham, UK
- M.A. 1998. Language Acquisition, University of Durham, UK
- B.A. Hons. 1991. Hispanic Studies, University of Manchester, UK
Contact Information
e-mail: ds6@indiana.edu
office: Memorial Hall 310
phone: (812) 855-5992
Research Interests
First and second language acquisition; L2 syntax and morphology; lexical and conceptual semantics
Personal Statement
My research deals primarily with how children and adults acquire the mappings between the semantics of words and the syntax of sentences, as they are exposed to their first language and then subsequent languages. I pursue a generative syntactic approach to the relationship between lexical meaning and grammar, while drawing on insights from other research traditions such as cognitive linguistics and conceptual semantics.
My current projects are largely concerned with the linguistic realization of motion events, and how mismatches between the first and second language representations of spatial predicates can create problems for second language acquisition. Contrary to several constructional approaches to motion events, which argue that crosslinguistic differences are syntactic in nature, I am investigating the extent to which languages have a shared syntax of motion events, with the lexicon as the locus of language variation in this domain.
More generally, my research interests extend to all formal aspects of first and second language acquisition. I am also interested in the development of World Englishes as viewed from the linguistic perspective of second language studies, especially second language varieties of English undergoing standardization in postcolonial societies.
Courses Recently Taught
At IU Bloomington (2006~)- S511 Second Language Syntax
- S531 Child Second Language Development
- S532 Models of Second Language Acquisition
- S622 World Englishes
- S690 Independent Readings in Second Language Studies
- T501 Academic Writing for International Graduate Students
At Mie University Japan (2002-2006)
- First Language Acquisition
- Second Language Acquisition
- Acquisition of the Lexicon
- Acquisition of Morphology
- Sociolinguistics of World Englishes
- Introduction to Semantics
- Introduction to Linguistics
- Language and Politics
- English Academic Writing
- English Conversation
Publications
Stringer, D. (under review). Motion Events in Child Language: Universal Grammar and Lexical Relativity. (Book manuscript)
Stringer, D. (under review). The gloss trap. In Z-H Han and T. Cadierno (eds.), Linguistic Relativity in Second Language Acquisition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Stringer, D. (2008). What else transfers? In R. Slabakova, J. Rothman, P. Kempchinsky and E. Gavruseva (eds.), GASLA 9: Proceedings of the 9th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference, 233-241. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla.
Stringer, D. (2007). Motion events in L2 acquisition: A lexicalist account. In H. Caunt-Nulton, S. Kulatilake and IH. Woo (eds.), BUCLD 31: Proceedings of the 31st annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, Vol. II: 585-596. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla.
Stringer, D. (2007). Extending the PP hierarchy: The role of bare nominals in spatial predication. In T. Scheffler, J. Tauberer, A. Eliam, and L. Mayol (eds.), Penn Working Papers in Linguistics (PWPL) Vol.13.1: Proceedings of the 30th Annual Penn Linguistics Colloquium: 379-392.
Stringer, D. (2006). Coming and Going, Toing and Froing: VP/PP Parallels in L1 Acquisition. In Y. Ostu (ed.), Proceedings of the Seventh Tokyo Conference on Psycholinguistics, 247-271. Tokyo: Hitsuji Shobo.
Stringer, D. (2006). Lexical mismatches as a source of errors in comparative linguistic analysis. Philologia 37: 137-160.
Stringer, D. (2006). The development of PATHS: Spatial complexity and the multiple predicate strategy. In S. Unsworth, T. Parodi, A. Sorace, and M. Young-Scholten (eds.), Paths of Development in L1 and L2 Acquisition, 135-160. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Stringer, D. (2006). Typological tendencies and universal grammar in the acquisition of adpositions. In P. Saint-Dizier (ed.), Syntax and Semantics of Prepositions, 57-68. Dordrecht: Springer.
Hattori, N., S. Ayano, D. Herrick, D. Stringer and K. Sugisaki (2006). Topics in Child Japanese. In Y. Ostu (ed.), Proceedings of the Seventh Tokyo Conference on Psycholinguistics, 103-119. Tokyo: Hitsuji Shobo.
Stringer, D. (2005). Children’s structuring of motion events: Syntactic universals and lexical variation. In Y. Ostu (ed.), Proceedings of the Sixth Tokyo Conference on Psycholinguistics, 319-343. Tokyo: Hitsuji Shobo.
Stringer, D. (2005). Paths in First Language Acquisition: Motion through Space in English, French and Japanese. Doctoral dissertation, University of Durham.
Stringer, D. (2003). Acquisitional evidence for a universal syntax of PP. In P. Saint-Dizier (ed.), Proceedings of the ACL-SIGSEM Workshop on The Linguistic Dimensions of Prepositions and their Use in Computational Linguistics Formalisms and Applications, 44-55. Toulouse: IRIT.
Stringer, D. (2003). Splitting the conceptual atom: Acquisitional evidence for semantic decomposition. Durham Working Papers in Linguistics9: 81-94.
Stringer, D. (2002). Predication of path in French and Japanese. Durham Working Papers in Linguistics, 8: 153-166.
Stringer, D. (2002). The syntax of paths and boundaries. In M. Andronis, C. Ball, H. Elston and S. Neuvel (eds.), CLS 37: The Panels. Papers from the 37th Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society, Vol. 2: 139-154.
Stringer, D. (2001). Syntactic and conceptual mechanisms in argument selection. Durham Working Papers in Linguistics, 7: 111-125.
Stringer, D. (2000). ‘Ground rules’: Locative verbs in first language acquisition. Newcastle and Durham Working Papers in Linguistics, 6: 145-157.
Stringer, D. (1998). Semantic Conflation in the Acquisition of Locative Verbs: Theoretical Investigations and Empirical Evidence. MA dissertation, University of Durham.