Sally McConnell-Ginet
Professor (emerita)
(PhD, University of Rochester, 1973)
Department of Linguistics, smg9@cornell.edu
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Research
My research moves between two poles: on the one hand, I work on formal models of natual
language
meaning, including the relation between syntactic structures and semantic interpretation, and, on the other, I
work on the
interaction of language with the social and cultural milieux in which it is used, especially on how gender and
sexuality link
to language use. From the formal viewpoint, I have worked on the semantics of comparative constructions, adverbials,
relative
adjectives, middles and generics. I have also worked on the formal analysis of vagueness and presupposition, both topics that have
implications for considering how language connects to cognition and to social life. In my recent socially-oriented
work, I have begun
to explore how certain features of linguistic structure are exploited by language users in constructing their
selves and their social
worlds. I have paid special attention to the relative emptiness of linguistically determined lexical meaning and
the discourse
process through which meanings are proposed, negotiated, and contested. And I am now focusing in my more formal
semantic work on
context-dependence, which is where the two strands of my research ultimately connect. During 2005, I am serving
as Vice-President of
the Linguistic Society of America, and during 2006, I will serve as President.
Graduate Fields Represented: Linguistics; Cognitive Studies; Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality
Studies; LGB Studies
Selected Publications
(in press) Why defining is seldom 'just semantics': Marriage, 'marriage', and other minefields. In B. Birner & G. Ward, eds.,
Drawing the Boundaries of Meaning: Neo-Gricean Studies in Pragmatics
and Semantics in Honor of Laurence R. Horn. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
(2003) 'What's in a name?': social labeling and gender practices. In J. Holmes & M. Meyerhoff, eds.,
The
Handbook of Language and Gender (Oxford: Blackwell), 69-97.
(2003)
Language and Gender. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. [coauthored with Penelope Eckert]
(2002) 'Queering' semantics: Definitional struggles. In K. Campbell-Kibler, R. Podesva, S. Roberts, and A. Wong,
eds.,
Language and Sexuality: Contesting Meaning in Theory and Practice, CSLI (Stanford), 137-160.
(2000).
Meaning and Grammar: An Introduction to Semantics (rev. 2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
[coauthored with Gennaro Chierchia] Korean translation published by Hankook Publishing Company with brief new
preface in English in 2004. Tr. by Ik-Hwan Lee, Kyoung-Won Kson, and Im-Young Jhee.
(1994). On the non-optionality of certain modifiers. In M. Harvey and L. Santelmann (Eds.),
Proceedings from
the Semantics and Linguistic Theory IV Conference, pp. 23-250. Ithaca: DMLL Pubs, Cornell.
(1989, 1998). The sexual (re)production of meaning: A discourse-based theory. In F. W. Frank and P. A. Treichl
er (Eds.),
Language, gender and professional writing: Theoretical approaches and guidelines for nonsexist
usage. New York: MLA Publications, 35-50. Rpt. (slightly shortened and with introduction) in D. Cameron,
ed. (1998),
The feminist critique of meaning: A reader. London and New York: Routledge.
(1982) Adverbs and logical form: A linguistically realistic theory.
Language 58, 144-84.
Work in Progress
Making meanings, making lives: Gender, sexuality, and linguistic practice. Collection of some of my
language and gender papers with new essay introducing the book. Oxford University Press.
Book/articles on context-dependence in semantics.
