About

Howard A. Williams is an Associate Professor of Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. He holds M.A. degrees in Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from UCLA. His professional background includes teaching English overseas and instructing in various community colleges in Washington and California, as well as within the California State University system, prior to his current position. His academic interests encompass general linguistics with a particular focus on syntax, pragmatics, and pedagogical grammar. His main area of linguistic research is reported discourse. Williams has contributed to the field through his work on word formation, phrase and sentence structure, and the Notional-Functional Syllabus, among other topics. His expertise also extends to English as a Second Language (ESL) and applied linguistics, with a focus on language teaching and linguistics in educational contexts.

Research topics

• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Science
• Natural Language Processing
• Programming language
• Linguistics
• Philosophy

Selected publications

• Phrase and Sentence Structure

  IGI Global eBooks · 2022

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Artificial Intelligence

  This chapter surveys the basics of the syntax of main clauses, with special attention to English. Readers are guided through the process of doing syntactic analysis with the aid of syntactic trees that model the properties of linearity, hierarchy, and recursion that characterize the syntax of human languages. The model used is a somewhat simplified version of X-bar syntax, which is currently the best-known and best-tested model of phrase structure within the subfield of syntax and which combines the virtues of simplicity, breadth, and predictive power. There is a section on the theory of grammatical relations and its relationship to phrase structure theory, as well as a section providing an overview of basic world constituent orders.

  PublisherDOI

• Phrase and Sentence Structure

  Advances in linguistics and communication studies · 2019-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  This chapter surveys the basics of the syntax of main clauses, with special attention to English. Readers are guided through the process of doing syntactic analysis with the aid of syntactic trees that model the properties of linearity, hierarchy, and recursion that characterize the syntax of human languages. The model used is a somewhat simplified version of X-bar syntax, which is currently the best-known and best-tested model of phrase structure within the subfield of syntax and which combines the virtues of simplicity, breadth, and predictive power. There is a section on the theory of grammatical relations and its relationship to phrase structure theory, as well as a section providing an overview of basic world constituent orders.

  PublisherDOI

• Word Formation

  Advances in linguistics and communication studies · 2019-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  This chapter presents a basic overview of the formation of words, with special attention to English. It covers the basics of both free and bound morphemes and the manner in which they combine. Productive processes including inflection, derivation, and compounding are examined with regard to their transparency and productivity; less common processes including zero-derivation (conversion) blending, clipping, back-formation are also covered, as are borrowing and coinage. Readers will be provided with guided practice in the analysis of English words into their constituent parts and in the principles of formation.

  PublisherDOI

• Episcopal Arms

  Notes and Queries · 1888-03-24

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Obscure words and phrases

  Notes and Queries · 1885-06-27

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Journal Article Obscure words and phrases Get access H. Astley Williams H. Astley Williams 1Cardiff Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Notes and Queries, Volume s6-XI, Issue 287, 27 June 1885, Page 516, https://doi.org/10.1093/nq/s6-XI.287.516e Published: 27 June 1885

  PublisherDOI

• Arms wanted

  Notes and Queries · 1884-11-22

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Journal Article Arms wanted Get access H. Astley Williams H. Astley Williams 1Cardiff Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Notes and Queries, Volume s6-X, Issue 256, 22 November 1884, Page 408, https://doi.org/10.1093/nq/s6-X.256.408i Published: 22 November 1884

  PublisherDOI