Andrew Simpson

About

Andrew Simpson is a Professor of Linguistics at USC Dornsife. His research specializes in the comparative syntax of East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Burmese, Hindi, and Bengali. He holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), obtained in December 1995, and a B.A. in Modern Languages (French and German) from Bristol University, UK, completed in June 1984. His postdoctoral training was conducted at Frankfurt University from 1996 to 1998. Professor Simpson has contributed extensively to the field through numerous publications, including books such as 'New explorations in Chinese theoretical syntax' (2022), 'Language and society: an introduction' (2019), and edited volumes on Chinese syntax and linguistic identity. His work encompasses topics like grammatical roles, phase structure, and the syntax of various Asian languages, with a focus on how language relates to national identity and societal structures. He has held academic positions including a tenure-track appointment and a reader in linguistics at SOAS before his current role, and his research continues to influence the understanding of syntax and language structure in Asian languages.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Natural Language Processing
• Artificial Intelligence
• Philosophy
• Linguistics
• Political Science
• Mathematics

Selected publications

• Strict vs. free word order patterns in Korean nominal phrases and Cyclic Linearization

  Studia Linguistica · 2018-07-02 · 26 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Korean nominal phrases display both flexibility in their internal word order and also rigidity in the sequencing of certain elements. This paper focuses on a linear ordering constraint on the occurrence of arguments of nouns which requires a strict relative sequencing of such elements, no matter where they are distributed across different locations within DP s. The paper suggests that the most appropriate mechanism to capture the complex patterns observed is Fox and Pesetsky's ( ) Cycli…

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• Bare classifier/noun alternations in the Jinyun (Wu) variety of Chinese and the encoding of definiteness

  Linguistics · 2017-02-28 · 16 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Certain numeral classifier languages allow for the combination of a classifier and a noun to represent a definite individual/entity when no numeral accompanies the classifier (Vietnamese, Bangla, Oriya, Hmong, varieties of Chinese). In many instances, such a patterning alternates with the use of a bare noun to reference definite individuals/entities, but there has been little systematic study of such alternations, and whether the “bare classifier” and “bare noun” patterns are in free va…

  PublisherDOI

• Blocking Effects of Higher Numerals in Bangla: A Phase-Based Analysis

  Linguistic Inquiry · 2016-10-01 · 15 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  This squib explores a paradigm of blocking effects that occurs with phrasal movement taking place within nominal phrases in Bangla. We develop an argument that nominal constituents in Bangla project a mid-level QP phase below possessor phrases and demonstratives, which requires successive-cyclic movement through its edge in order to satisfy the Phase Impenetrability Condition (Chomsky 2000). If a higher DP level of structure is also assumed to project as a phase in Bangla, this raises the possib…

  PublisherDOI

• Grammatical roles, Coherence Relations, and the interpretation of pronouns in Chinese

  Lingua Sinica · 2016-02-23 · 15 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This paper reports on an experimental study of the interpretation of pronouns in Chinese which provides additional support for the proposal in Yang et al. (1999, 2003) that the resolution of pronominal reference in Chinese is more influenced by syntactic information than often assumed in approaches to discourse anaphora in Chinese such as Li and Thompson (1979), Givon (1983), Chen (1986), Christensen (2000), and Pu (2011), where the interpretation of such elements is solely attributed to semanti…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Classifier syntax in Vietnamese

  Journal of East Asian Linguistics · 2018-06-06 · 14 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
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Frequent coauthors

• Saurov Syed

  University of Auckland

  15 shared

• Tanmoy Bhattacharya

  University of Delhi

  9 shared

• Zoe Wu

  6 shared

• Arunima Choudhury

  6 shared

• Mythili Menon

  Wichita State University

  5 shared

• Yaqing Hu

  University of Southern California

  5 shared

• Pauliina Raento

  4 shared

• Binh Ngo

  Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

  3 shared

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• Dani Byrdh-39
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