Karlos Arregi

Faculty Photo
Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics
-Director of Graduate Studies-
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Rosenwald 205A
Office Hours: By Appointment
(773)-702-8528
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002
Teaching at UChicago since 2008
Research Interests: Syntax, Morphology, Interfaces with Phonology and Semantics

Dr. Karlos Arregi's research interests are in syntax, morphology, and their interfaces with phonology and semantics. A central question in this work is the extent to which grammatical properties of linguistic expressions can be explained in terms of syntax or in terms of principles that regulate its interface of syntax with other modules of grammar. His research tries to illuminate these aspects of linguistic theory by drawing data mostly from Basque and Spanish, as well as other languages such as Washo. Specific topics Dr. Arregi has worked on include syntactic and postsyntactic word formation (especially verbs), agreement and case, ellipsis, the syntax and phonology of stress, and switch reference.

Recent Publications

Books: 

  • Karlos Arregi and Andrew Nevins. 2012. Morphotactics: Basque auxiliaries and the structure of Spellout. Springer.

Selected Articles/Chapters:

  • Karlos Arregi and Andrew Nevins. 2018. "Beware Occam's syntactic razor: Morphotactic analysis and Spanish mesoclisis." Linguistic Inquiry 49:625-683.
  • Karlos Arregi and Asia Pietraszko. 2018. "Generalized Head Movement." Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America 3, 5:1-15.
  • Karlos Arregi and Emily Hanink. 2018. "Switch reference in Washo as multiple subject agreement." NELS 48, Volume 1, 39-48.
  • Karlos Arregi. 2016. "Chapter 10: Focus Projection Theories." In Caroline Féry and Shinichiro Ishihara (eds.) Oxford handbook of Information Structure, 185-202.
  • Karlos Arregi and Peter Klecha. 2015. "The morphosyntax of past tense." NELS 45, Volume 1, 53-66.
  • Karlos Arregi. 2010. "Ellipsis in split questions." Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 28:539-592.

2019-2020 Course Offerings

Syntax 1 (LING 30201) - Autumn 2019

Graduate student standing. Undergraduates with a grade of A or A- in Intro to Syntax may petition the instructor for admission. This course is an advanced survey of topics in graduate syntax examining current syntactic theory through detailed analysis of a range of phenomena and readings from the primary research literature.

Syntax Seminar: Control (LING 46000) - Spring 2020

Course Description- TBD

2020-2021 Course Offerings

Morphology (LING 21000) - Autumn 2020

Looking at data from a wide range of languages, we will study the structure of words. We will consider the nature of the elements out of which words are built and the principles that govern their combination. The effects of word structure on syntax, semantics, and phonology will be examined. We will think critically about the concepts of morpheme, inflection, derivation, and indeed, the concept of word itself.

Placement Proseminar (LING 47850) - Autumn 2020

The Placement Proseminar is designed for linguistics Ph.D. students who are nearing completion of the degree and focuses strongly on the academic job search. The Placement Proseminar is normally taken by 5th and 6th -year doctoral students (assuming a 6-year program timeline) so that they complete the seminar prior to entering or as they are entering the job market. The weekly workshop-style seminar includes intensive work on the “core” application documents (c.v., job application letter, research statement, and statement of teaching philosophy); advice on choosing and preparing an appropriate writing sample; and job interview strategies and practice.

Morphology (LING 31000) - Spring 2021

This course is an advanced survey of topics in morphology examining current morphological theory through detailed analysis of a range of phenomena and readings from the primary research literature. The topics covered include blocking, inflectional features, syncretism, allomorphy and suppletion, and morpheme order.