Prof.dr. L.L. (Lisa) Cheng - Members - Faculty of Humanities

Prof.dr. L.L. (Lisa) Cheng

Position:

Professor

Expertise:

Syntactic theory
Comparative syntax

Telephone number:	+31 (0)71 527 2104
E-Mail:	l.l.cheng@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Faculty / Department:	Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen, Leiden Univ Centre for Linguistics, LUCL Taalwetenschap
Office Address:	Witte Singel-complex van Wijkplaats 4 2311 BX Leiden Room number 106B
Personal Homepage:	www.lisacheng.nl

Research

What I find intriguing in language is the fact that languages can be superficially so different but at the same time so similar. This can be seen not only across dialects of a particular language (for example Chinese dialects), but also across language barriers (such as Basque vs. Dutch). The central questions of my research thus center upon the how’s and why’s of language variation. The answers to these questions can only be found by studying language as a system, and by doing interdisciplinary research on the brain.
Starting with my thesis work on question formation, I find it absolutely fascinating to work on comparative syntax. It is fascinating and exciting to learn new facts and new phenomena, and it never gets dull.

Researchinterests:
Comparative syntax, syntax-semantics interface, typology, Chinese syntax, syntax-phonology interface, Bantu syntax

Research:
2004-2008 Research grant on the Word order and Morphological Marking
                 in Bantu. NWO, Principal Investigator (with co-investigator
                 Thilo Schadenberg)

2010

Cheng, L.L.-S (2010)
Cantonese as a Tense-Second language. In: Wouter, J. W. & de Vries, M. (Eds.), Structure Preserved, Studies in syntax for Jan Koster, pp. 73-79. John Benjamins.
(Part of book or chapter of book)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Downing, L.J. (2010)
Locative Relatives in Zulu. In Downing, L. J. (Ed.) ZAS working papers in Linguistics Vol. 53 (pp. 33-51).
(Article in monograph or in proceedings)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Di Sciullo, A. M. (2010)
The biological nature of human language. , Biolinguistics (4), 1. , pp. 4-34.
(Part of book or chapter of book)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Demirdache, H. (2010)
Trapped at the edge: on long distance pair-list reading. Lingua, an International Review of General Linguistics, 120, pp. 463-484.
(Article)

2009

Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (2009)
De 的 as an underspecified classifier: first explorations. Yŭyánxué lùncóng, 39
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S (2009)
On every type of quantificational expression in Chinese. In: Rathert, M. & Giannakidou, A. (Eds.), Quantification, Definiteness, and Nominalization, pp. 53-75. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
(Part of book or chapter of book)
Cheng, L.L.-S (2009)
Wh-in-situ from the 1980s to now. Language and Linguistics Compass, 3 (3), pp. 767-791.
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Downing, L.J. (2009)
Where is the topic in Zulu. The Linguistic Review, 26, pp. 207-238.
(Article)

2008

Cheng, L.L.-S (2008)
Deconstructing the shi...de construction. The Linguistic Review, 25, pp. 235-266.
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Doetjes, J.S. & Sybesma, R.P.E. (2008)
How universal is the Universal Grinder? Linguistics in the Netherlands, pp. 50-62.
(Article)

2007

Kula, N.C. & Cheng, L.L.-S (2007)
Phonological and syntactic phrasing in Bemba relatives. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics, 28 (2), pp. 123-148.
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S (2007)
The autonomy of syntax. In Groen, A., in't, Jonge, H.J., de, Papma, H., Klasen, E., Slooten, P., van (Eds.) Knowledge in ferment. Dilemmas in science, scholarship and society (pp. 209-226). Leiden: Leiden University Press.
(Article in monograph or in proceedings)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Downing, L. (2007)
The prosody and syntax of Zulu relative clauses. In Kula, N. & Marten, L. (Eds.) SOAS working papers in Linguistics 15 (pp. 51-63). Londen: SOAS.
(Article in monograph or in proceedings)
Cheng, L.L.-S (2007)
Verb copying in Mandarin Chinese. In Corver, N. & Nunes, J. (Eds.) The Copy Theory of Movement / Linguistics today no.107 (pp. 151-174). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishers.
(Article in monograph or in proceedings)

2006

Cheng, L.L.-S & Giannakidou, A. (2006)
(In)definiteness, polarity, and the role of wh-morphology in Free Choice. Journal of Semantics, 23, pp. 135-183.
(Article)
Sybesma, R.P.E. & Cheng, L.L.-S (2006)
A Chinese Relative. In: Broekhuis, H., Corver, N., Huybregts, R., Kleinhenz, U., Koster, J. (Eds.), Organizing Grammar. Linguistic Studies in Honour of Henk van Riemsdijk (Studies in generative grammar), 86. , pp. 69-76. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
(Part of book or chapter of book)
Cheng, L.L.-S (2006)
Decomposing Bantu Relatives. In Deal, A.R. (Ed.) NELS 36 (pp. 197-215). Amherst: UMass.
(Article in monograph or in proceedings)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Corver, N. (2006)
Lines of inquiry on Wh-movement. In Cheng, L.L.-S. & Corver, N. (Eds.) Wh-movement Moving On (pp. 1-18). Cambridge: MIT Press.
(Article in monograph or in proceedings)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Kula, N.C. (2006)
Syntactic and phonological phrasing in Bemba. In Downing, L., Marten, L., Zerbian, S. (Eds.) ZAS papers in Linguistics (pp. 31-54). Berlin: ZAS.
(Article in monograph or in proceedings)

2005

Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (2005)
Classifiers in Four Varieties of Chinese. In: Cinque, G. & Kayne, R.S. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Syntax, pp. 259-292. New York: Oxford University Press.
(Part of book or chapter of book)
Reintges, C.H. & Lipták, A.K. & Cheng, L.L.-S (2005)
The nominal cleft construction in Coptic Egyptian. In: Kiss, K.É. (Ed.), Universal Grammar in the Reconstruction of Ancient Languages (Studies in generative grammar), 83. , pp. 105-136. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
(Part of book or chapter of book)

2004

Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (2004)
Postverbal 'can' in Cantonese (and Hakka) and Agree. Lingua, an International Review of General Linguistics, 114, pp. 419-445.
(Article)

2003

Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (2003)
Forked modality. In Cornips, L. & Fikkert, P. (Eds.) Linguistics in the Netherlands 2003 (pp. 13-23). Amsterdam: AVT/John Benjamins.
(Article in monograph or in proceedings)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (2003)
T.R. - Glot International. Glot International, 7
(Contribution for newspaper or weekly magazine)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (Eds.) (2003)
The Second Glot International State-of-the-Article Book. Berlijn: Mouton de Gruyter.
(Book editorial)
Cheng, L.L.-S (2003)
Wh-in-situ. Glot International, 7 (5), pp. 129-137.
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S (2003)
Wh-in-situ. Glot International, 7 (4), pp. 103-109.
(Article)

2002

Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (2002)
T.R. - Glot International. Glot International
(Contribution for newspaper or weekly magazine)

2001

Cheng, L.L.-S (2001)
Het is allemaal wat. (oratie). Leiden: Universiteit Leiden.p. 16.
(Inaugural lecture)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (2001)
T.R. - Glot International. Glot International
(Contribution for newspaper or weekly magazine)

2000

Cheng, L.L.-S & Rooryck, J.E.C.V. (2000)
Licensing Wh- in situ. Syntax, 3, pp. 1-19.
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S (2000)
Moving just the feature. In: Lutz, U., Mueller, G., Stechow, A., von (Eds.), Wh-Scope Marking (Linguistik Aktuell), 37. , pp. 77-99. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
(Part of book or chapter of book)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (2000)
T.R. - Glot International. Glot International
(Contribution for newspaper or weekly magazine)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (Eds.) (2000)
The First Glot International State-of-the-Article Book. Berlijn: Mouton de Gruyter.
(Book editorial)

1999

Cheng, L.L.-S & Huang, C. & Li, Y.H.A. & Tang, C. (1999)
Hoo Hoo Hoo in Taiwanese. In: Ting, P.H. (Ed.), Contemporary Studies on the Min Dialects, pp. 146-203. Berkeley: Journal of Chinese Linguistics.
(Part of book or chapter of book)
Sybesma, R.P.E. & Cheng, L.L.-S (1999)
Bare and not so bare nouns and the structure of NP. Linguistic Inquiry, 30 (4), pp. 509-542.
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (1999)
T.R. - Glot International. Glot International
(Contribution for newspaper or weekly magazine)

1998

Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (1998)
On dummy objects and the transitivity of ru. In Bezooijen, R., van & Kager, R. (Eds.) Linguistics in the Netherlands 1998 (pp. 81-93). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
(Article in monograph or in proceedings)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (1998)
T.R. - Glot International. Glot International
(Contribution for newspaper or weekly magazine)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (1998)
Yi-wang Tang, yi-ge Tang: Classifiers and Massifiers. Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies, XXVIII (3), pp. 385-412.
(Article)

1997

Cheng, L.L.-S (1997)
"Partial" Wh-movement. UCI Working Papers in Linguistics, 3, pp. 27-50.
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Huang, C. & Li, Y. & Tang, C. (1997)
Causative Compounds across Chinese Dialects: a study of Cantonese, Mandarin and Taiwanese. , Chinese Languages and Linguistics IV: Typological Studies of Languages in China, pp. 199-224. Taiwan: Academia Sinica.
(Part of book or chapter of book)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Huang, C. & Tang, C. (1997)
Negative Particle Questions: a dialectal comparison. Journal of Chinese Linguistics
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S (1997)
On the Typology of Wh-questions. New York/Londen: Garland Publishing.
(Book (monograph))
Cheng, L.L.-S (1997)
Resultative Compounds and Lexical Relational Structures. Chinese Languages and Linguistics III: Morphology and Lexicon, pp. 167-197.
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (1997)
T.R. - GLOT International. Glot International
(Contribution for newspaper or weekly magazine)

1996

Cheng, L.L.-S & Huang, C. & Tang, C. (1996)
Negative Particle Questions, a dialectal comparison. In: Black, J.R. & Motapanyane, V. (Eds.), Microparametric Syntax and dialectal Variation, pp. 41-78. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
(Part of book or chapter of book)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (1996)
T.R. - Glot International. Glot International
(Contribution for newspaper or weekly magazine)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Huang, C. (1996)
Two types of donkey sentences. Natural Language Semantics, 4 (2), pp. 121-163.
(Article)

1995

Cheng, L.L.-S (1995)
On Dou-quantification. Journal of East-Asian Linguistics, 4, pp. 197-234.
(Article)
Cheng, L.L.-S & Sybesma, R.P.E. (1995)
T.R. - Glot International. Glot International
(Contribution for newspaper or weekly magazine)

Last Modified: 08-07-2009