Yimei Xiang ∙ 向伊梅

My name is Yimei Xiang (向伊梅), pronounced as [i: mɛɪ, ɕiɑŋ].
I’m an Assistant Professor at Rutgers Linguistics, specialized in formal semantics, syntax-semantics interface, and Chinese & East Asian linguistics. I study how meanings are drawn from complex structures, and how the underlying logical system is represented in human languages.
I completed Ph.D. in Linguistics at Harvard Univ. in 2016 and B.A. in Chinese at Peking Univ. in 2010.
My current research program focuses on the following topics:
- questions with complex structures and questions in embeddings;
- higher-order readings of questions;
- polarity items and free choice items;
- multi-functional words in East Asian languages.
CV (updated to Jan 2020)

Presentations
- Title TBD. Invited colloquium. MIT. April 10, 2020.
Teaching
- Courses in Spring 2020: Qualifying Paper Workshop (Graduate), Semantics (Undergraduate)

Papers in progress
- Xiang, Y. In Prep. A variable-free approach to WH-dependency. (Slides)
- Xiang, Y. In Prep. Quantifying-into functional dependency: Questions with quantifiers and multi-wh questions.
- Xiang, Y. In Prep. Completeness and false-answer sensitivity in question-embeddings. (Slides)
- Xiang, Y. Submitted. Higher-order readings of wh-questions. [Updated in January 2020. Comments and questions are very much appreciated. Suggestions about citations are especially welcome!]

Papers in print
- Xiang, Y. To appear. A hybrid categorial approach to question composition. Linguistics and Philosophy. DOI: 10.1007/s10988-020-09294-8
- Xiang, Y. To appear. Function alternations of the Mandarin particle dou: Distributor, free choice licensor, and ‘even’. Journal of Semantics.
- Xiang, Y. 2019. Two types of higher-order readings of wh-questions. Proceedings of the 22nd Amsterdam Colloquium.
- Xiang, Y. 2019. Getting quantifying-into questions uniformly: Functionality, domain exhaustivity, and quantificational variability. Proceedings of SALT 29: 160-179. [Earlier: Poster at SALT 29. UCLA. May 17-19, 2019.]

Presentations
- - “Two types of higher-order readings of questions.” (Video on Youtube) (Slides)
    Talk. Amsterdam Colloquium. Dec 18-20, 2019.
  - “A variable-free approach to WH-dependency.” (Slides)
    Invited talk. Workshop on Complex multiple wh– constructions. Univ. of Nantes. Nov 25-26, 2019
  - “Higher-order readings of WH-questions”.
    Invited talk. Linguae Seminar. Ecole Normale Supérieure, Pairs. Nov 28, 2019.
  - “Attitudes held of questions: Completeness and sensitivity to false answers.”
    Invited talk. Workshop on Looks, Attitudes, and Syntactic Embedding. NYU. Nov 1, 2019.
  - “Higher-order readings of WH-questions.”
    Invited talk. Oberseminar Colloquium. Göttingen Univ., June 11, 2019.
  - “Not Exhaustivity: Completeness and false answer sensitivity in questions.” (Slides)
    Invited talk. Workshop “Exhaustivity in questions and answers – Experimental and theoretical approaches”, Tübingen Univ., June 13-14, 2019,

Teaching
- Course in Spring 2019. Semantics of Questions (graduate seminar)
- Courses in Fall 2019: Semantics I (graduate), Semantics (undergrad)