Beth Levin: Students

Beth Levin

Department of Linguistics
Stanford University



Current Ph.D. Students:

Primary Advisor:

[None currently]

Committee Member:

Adolfo Hermosillo



Past Ph.D. Students:

Primary Advisor:

Yiwei Luo, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2024.
Investigating Information Framing with Natural Language Processing (Dan Jurafsky, co-chair)

Bonnie Krejci, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2021.
Syntactic and Semantic Perspectives on First Conjunct Agreement in Russian (Vera Gribanova, co-chair)
Current position: Teaching Coordinator, Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford University.

Lelia Glass, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2018.
Distributivity, Lexical Semantics, and World Knowledge (Chris Potts, co-chair)
Current position: Assistant Professor of Linguistics, School of Modern Languages, Georgia Tech.

Jason Grafmiller, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2013.
The Semantics of Syntactic Choice: An Analysis of English Emotion Verbs.
Current position: Lecturer, Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics, University of Birmingham.

Scott Grimm, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2012.
Number and Individuation.
Current position: Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.

Melanie Owens, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2012.
Serial Verb Constructions: Argument Structural Uniformity and Event Structural Diversity.

Jingxia Lin, Ph.D., East Asian Languages and Cultures, Stanford University, 2011.
The Encoding of Motion Events in Chinese: Multi-morpheme Motion Constructions. (Chao Fen Sun, co-chair)
Current position: Associate Professor, Division of Chinese, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Iván García-Álvarez, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2009.
Generality and Exception: A Study in the Semantics of Exceptives. (David Beaver, co-chair)
Current position: Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Director of English, Politics, and Contemporary History, School of Arts and Media, University of Salford, UK.

Itamar Francez, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2007.
Existential Propositions. (Cleo Condoravdi, co-chair)
Current position: Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago.

Andrew Koontz-Garboden, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2007.
States, Changes of State, and the Monotonicity Hypothesis.
Current position: Professor in Linguistics, University of Manchester, UK.

John Beavers, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2006.
Argument/Oblique Alternations and the Structure of Lexical Meaning.
Current position: Professor and Chair, Department of Linguistics, University of Texas, Austin, TX.

Jean-Philippe Marcotte, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2005.
Causative Alternation Errors in Child Language. (Eve Clark, co-chair)

Saundra Wright, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 2001.
Internally Caused and Externally Caused Change of State Verbs. (Chris Kennedy, co-chair)
Current position: Professor, Department of English, California State University, Chico, CA.

Michele Feist, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 2000.
On In and On: An Investigation into the Linguistic Encoding of Spatial Scenes. (Dedre Gentner, co-chair)
Current position: Professor of Linguistics and LEQSF Regents Professor in Social Sciences, Department of English, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Larin Adams, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 1999.
Complex Events and the Semantics of -ing Sentential Complements.
Current position: Instructor, Department of Linguistics, Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand; also SIL International, Dallas, TX.

Linda DiDesidero, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 1999.
Psych Verbs: Acquisition, Lexical Semantics, and Event Structure.
Current position: Director of the Leadership Communication Skills Center, Marine Corps University, Quantico, VA.

Grace Song, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 1997.
Cross-linguistic Differences in the Expression of Motion Events: Implications for Second Language Acquisition.
Current position: ESL Instructor, Laney Graduate School, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.

Victoria Muehleisen, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 1997.
Antonymy and Semantic Range in English.
Current position: Associate Professor in English, International College, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

Talke Macfarland, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 1995.
Cognate Objects and the Argument/Adjunct Distinction.
Current position: Adjunct Faculty, Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, MD, and University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Mari Olsen, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 1994.
A Semantic and Pragmatic Model of Lexical and Grammatical Aspect. (Published by Garland, 1997.)
Current position: Solutions Director, Machine Intelligence, Lionbridge Technologies.

External Advisor:

Maryse Grône, Ph.D., Université Paris Diderot – Paris 7, 2014.
Les résultatives de l'anglais.
Current position: Professeur agrégé d'anglais en Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Ecoles

Committee Member:

Brandon Waldon, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2024.
Probabilistic Language Understanding and Formal Linguistic Theory: The Case of Epistemic Modality
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow in Computational Semantics for Legal Interpretation, Georgetown University, Washington DC.

Erika Petersen O Farrill, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2023.
On the Nature of Syntactic Movement: A Study of Clausal Opacity in Spanish.
Current position: Conversation Designer/NLU Linguist Consultant, Conversational AI Team. Deloitte.

Sara Kessler, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2019.
World Knowledge, Context and Structure: The Use and Acquisition of Dimensional Adjectives.

Prerna Nadathur, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2019.
Causality, Aspect, and Modality in Actuality Inferences.
Current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

Alex Djalali, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2015.
On Adjectival Comparatives.
Current position: Staff Software Engineer, Tableau Software.

Matthew E. Adams, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2014.
The Comparative Grammaticality of the English Comparative.
Current position: English Teacher and Writing Center Director, Waterford School, Sandy, UT.

Marie-Catherine de Marneffe, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2013.
What's That Supposed to Mean? Modeling the Pragmatic Meaning of Utterances.
Current position: Professor, Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain, Belgium.

Nola Stephens Hecker, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2010.
Given-before-new: The Effects of Discourse on Argument Structure in Early Child Language.
Current position: Professor, Department of English, Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, GA.

Douglas Ball, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2009.
Clause Structure and Argument Realization in Tongan.
Current position: Assistant Professor of Linguistics, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO.

Elizabeth Coppock, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2009.
The Logical and Empirical Foundations of Baker's Paradox.
Current position: Assistant Professor, Linguistics Program, Boston University.

Elisabeth Norcliffe, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2009.
Head Marking in Usage and Grammar: A Study of Variation and Change in Yucatec Maya.
Current position: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Senior Research Fellow, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford

Tatiana Nikitina (more information), Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2008.
The Mixing of Syntactic Properties and Language Change.
Current position: Chargée de recherches 1ère classe, Laboratoire Langage, Langues et Cultures d'Afrique Noire, C.N.R.S., Paris, France.

Ashwini Deo, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2006.
Tense and Aspect in Indo-Aryan Languages: Variation and Diachrony.
Current position: Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Texas, Austin, TX.

Judith Tonhauser, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2006.
The Temporal Semantics of Noun Phrases: Evidence from Guaraní.
Current position: Professor, Institut für Linguistik/Anglistik, University of Stuttgart.

Veronica Gerassimova, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2005.
Unbounded Dependency Constructions in Western Austronesian.
Current position: Leader, Human Judgment Team, Apple Maps Evaluation, Apple.

Shiao Wei Tham, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2004.
Representing Possessive Predication: Semantic Dimensions and Pragmatic Bases.
Current position: Associate Professor of Chinese Language, Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore.

David McKercher, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2001.
The Polysemy of with in First Language.
Current position: Continuing Sessional Instructor, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.

Ida Toivonen, Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University, 2001.
The Phrase Structure of Non-Projecting Words.
Current position: Professor, Institute of Cognitive Science and School of Linguistics and Language Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON.

Raquel Klibanoff, Ph.D., Psychology, Northwestern University, 2000.
Conceptual and Perceptual Factors Contributing to the Role of Basic Level Categories in Children's Acquisition of Adjectives.

Phillip Wolff, Ph.D., Psychology, Northwestern University, 1999.
Events Construals and the Linguistic Coding of Causal Chains.
Current position: Professor, Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.

Pilar Ron Vaz, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 1998.
The Position of the Subject in Spanish and Clausal Structure: Evidence from Dialectal Variation.
Current position: Profesor Titular, Filología Inglesa, Universidad de Huelva, Huelva, Spain.

Betty Birner, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 1992.
The Discourse Function of Inversion in English.
Current position: Professor, Department of English, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL.

C.-H. Chang, Ph.D., EECS, Northwestern University, 1991.
Resolving Ambiguities in Mandarin Chinese.

Franziska Lys, Ph.D., Linguistics, Northwestern University, 1988.
An Analysis of Aspectual Compositionality in English and German.
Current position: Professor, Department of German, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

Judy Shepard-Kegl, Ph.D., Linguistics, MIT, 1985.
Locative Relations in American Sign Language: Word Formation, Syntax and Discourse.
Current position: Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME.


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