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, philosophy and language, and Chinese & East Asian linguistics. I study how meanings are drawn from complex structures, and how logic is manifested 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;
- questions under attitudes;
- higher-order readings and mention-some readings of questions;
- polarity items and free choice items;
- multi-functional words in East Asian languages;
- compositionality (categorial, variable-free) and binding
CV (updated to April 2021)

Courses of Spring 2021
- - Semantics II (Graduate-level): materials are updated in teaching. Topics include:
    Compositionality and binding
    Focus, inferences, questions
    Worlds and events
  - Pragmatics (Undergrad-level)

Papers in print/ accepted (since 2019)
- Xiang, Y. 2021. Higher-order readings of wh-questions. Natural Language Semantics 29: 1-45. DOI: 10.1007/s11050-020-09166-8 (Free access link; Lingbuzz link)
- Xiang, Y. 2020. A hybrid categorial approach to question composition. Linguistics and Philosophy. Advance articles. DOI: 10.1007/s10988-020-09294-8 (Free access link; Lingbuzz link)
- Xiang, Y. 2020. Function alternations of the Mandarin particle dou: Distributor, free choice licensor, and ‘even’. Journal of Semantics 37(2): 171-217. DOI: 10.1093/jos/ffz018 (Link for free-access, Lingbuzz link)
- Xiang, Y. 2019. Two types of higher-order readings of wh-questions. Proceedings of the 22nd Amsterdam Colloquium. 417-426.
- Xiang, Y. 2019. Getting quantifying-into questions uniformly: Functionality, domain exhaustivity, and quantificational variability. Proceedings of SALT 29: 160-179.

Papers submitted/ in prep
- Xiang, Y. Resubmitted. Quantifying into wh-dependencies: Multiple-wh questions and questions with quantifiers. Updated in April 2021. [Resubmitted to Linguistics and Philosophy]
- Xiang, Y. Submitted. Relativized Exhaustivity: Mention-Some and Uniqueness. July 2020. [Under revision for Natural Language Semantics]
- Xiang, Y. In Prep. A variable-free approach to wh-dependencies. (Slides)
- Xiang, Y. In Prep. Completeness and false-answer sensitivity in question embeddings. (Slides)

Upcoming Presentations
- “Binding without variable: Solving the under-generation problems.” (OSF page)
  Poster at SALT 31 (Virtual). Brown University. May 7-9, 2021.

Recent Presentations
- - “Higher-order readings of wh-questions and the disjunction–conjunction asymmetry.” (Related paper) (Slides)(Recording)
    - Invited talk (virtual). UIUC Linguistics Seminar Series. September 21, 2020.
    - Invited talk (virtual). MIT Linguistics Colloquium. September 25, 2020.
  - “Two types of higher-order readings of questions.” (Video) (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.