Statement
My work sits at the intersection of formal semantics and linguistic fieldwork. I investigate how meaning is built — from semantic features below the word level up to sentence interpretation and beyond — with Ivorian languages, particularly Kwa languages, as my primary empirical ground.
The guiding thread is simple: fieldwork data should do theoretical work. I use data from Baule, Wobe, Modjukru and related languages not merely to describe them, but to stress-test, challenge, and refine the formal models that generative semantics has developed mostly on the basis of a handful of well-studied languages.
My current research focuses on four interconnected domains: the semantics of coordination and plurality, the formal status of tense in Kwa languages, the semantics of proper names and definiteness in nominal expressions, and the architecture of a modular, compositional semantics — what I call neo-componential semantics. Across these domains, the same conviction holds: empirical breadth is not an obstacle to formal precision. It is its condition.
Research areas
Axis I Theoretical
Neo-componential semantics
activeHow should the modularity of linguistic meaning be encoded in a formal, compositional framework? Neo-componential semantics is my answer to this question. It proposes a set of guiding principles for decomposing word meaning and tracking how semantic features compose into larger units. The program is currently at the stage of a foundational formalism and a method for feature identification.
Minimalist semantics
activeWhat would a semantics look like if held to the standards of Minimalist inquiry — economy, elegance, and explanatory depth? This program applies neo-componential insights to the architecture of the semantic component of the language faculty, with particular attention to binding and constructions involving displaced constituents under the copy theory of movement.
A theory of ambiguity
Ambiguity is empirically ubiquitous. Speakers navigate it effortlessly; societies have tacitly integrated it as a normal feature of language. Yet formal semantic theory has largely ignored it — not by denying its existence, but by working under a tacit assumption of univocity: in the end, one meaning is selected, and the theory focuses on that selection.
This program challenges that assumption. If language systematically converged toward disambiguation, misunderstandings would not exist — or would go unnoticed precisely because ambiguity would never surface as an observable phenomenon. The persistence of misunderstanding is itself evidence that disambiguation is not always the language system's job. Any adequate theory of linguistic meaning must therefore model ambiguity as a structural feature of language, not as a residue to be explained away — regardless of the formal framework adopted, whether DRT, neo-componential semantics, or otherwise.
Axis II Thematic
Plurality and universal quantification
activeI defend an ambiguity-based theory of plurality: the collective vs. distributive distinction reflects the coexistence of two primitive and equally basic notions of plurality — conjunctive plurality and scattered plurality — which interact to produce the full range of interpretations available to plurals. This hypothesis extends Knowlton's thesis on universal quantifiers to the domain of plurality as a whole. Within this program, floating quantifiers are investigated as a case study: I argue they attach underlyingly to a pronoun co-referent with the quantified DP.
Coordination
on holdI develop a split theory of coordination that departs from Mitrović & Suerland (2014, 2016) in structure, semantics, and empirical coverage. The theory accounts for cross-categorical coordination — including particles that flag other grammatical categories, alternative-sensitive coordinators, and comitative coordinators — as well as adverbial coordination of the form X and/or Adv Y. Data from Kwa and Mande languages show two types of conjunction: plural conjunction and quantificational conjunction, both predicted by the model.
Definiteness and proper names
on holdThese two domains form a unified research program in nominal semantics. On definiteness: I have identified the contribution of definite morphemes in Baule and extended the analysis to Kwa languages more broadly. On proper names: I argue for a treatment of proper names and proper pronouns that takes their referential and semantic properties seriously within a formal compositional framework.
Current projects
Neo-componential research program in formal semantics
active · main projectThe neo-componential program advances a unified theory of linguistic meaning built on a single hypothesis: meanings are intrinsically modular and compositional at every level of analysis — lexical, grammatical, phrasal, and sentential. Rather than treating lexical semantics, grammatical semantics, and compositional semantics as separate enterprises, the program postulates that they study different manifestations of the same fundamental phenomenon: the internal organization and combination of elementary meaning components.
The current stage of the program has produced a foundational formalism and a method for feature identification. The next stage concerns the formal modeling of complex meanings and their interactions.
A theory of ambiguity Associated sub-program
activeAmbiguity is empirically ubiquitous. Speakers navigate it effortlessly; societies have tacitly integrated it as a normal feature of language. Yet formal semantic theory has largely ignored it — not by denying its existence, but by working under a tacit assumption of univocity: in the end, one meaning is selected, and the theory focuses on that selection. This program challenges that assumption. If language systematically converged toward disambiguation, misunderstandings would not exist — or would go unnoticed precisely because ambiguity would never surface as an observable phenomenon. The persistence of misunderstanding is itself evidence that disambiguation is not always the language system's job. Any adequate theory of linguistic meaning must therefore model ambiguity as a structural feature of language, not as a residue to be explained away — regardless of the formal framework adopted, whether DRT, neo-componential semantics, or otherwise.
Minimalist semantics Parallel program
activeWhat would a semantics look like if held to the standards of Minimalist inquiry? This program explores the architecture of the semantic component of the language faculty with particular attention to binding and constructions involving displaced constituents under the copy theory of movement. It runs parallel to the neo-componential program — the two are interconnected and their results are largely mutually exploitable — but neither is subordinate to the other.
Five-year research program 2026–2031
Over the next five years, my research will advance along three interconnected fronts.
On the theoretical side, the priority is consolidation and extension: consolidating the neo-componential formalism and its methods for semantic feature identification, advancing the theory of ambiguity toward a rigorous formal model, and refining minimalist semantics on both theoretical grounds — binding, movement, displaced constituents — and empirical ones, through direct application to language data.
On the empirical side, systematic fieldwork on Ivorian languages will serve a dual purpose: feeding current theoretical research and preparing the ground for future investigations — plurality and universal quantification, definiteness and demonstratives across Ivorian languages, TAM systems, and a collaborative grammar of Wobe.
The expected outputs are primarily publications, with a monograph as a longer-term horizon once the crucial theoretical pieces are in place. Supervision of MA and PhD students working on related topics is both welcome and actively sought — it is one of the most productive ways to test a theory in real time.
This program is open to collaboration — with formal semanticists, lambda calculus specialists, and psycholinguists working at the linguistics-cognition interface.
Full research program statement
Overview
This five-year program pursues a unified agenda at the intersection of formal semantic theory and empirical fieldwork on Ivorian languages. It is organized around three theoretical programs — neo-componential semantics, a theory of ambiguity, and minimalist semantics — and a systematic fieldwork component designed both to feed current research and to open new empirical fronts. The program is explicitly collaborative: it welcomes partnerships with formal semanticists, lambda calculus specialists, and psycholinguists working on the relationship between linguistic theory and cognition.
Theoretical priorities
Neo-componential semantics — The immediate priority is twofold: consolidating the foundational formalism and refining the method for identifying semantic features. The longer-term goal is to extend the framework to the modeling of complex meanings and their interactions, with ambiguity as a central test case.
Theory of ambiguity — The program will work toward a rigorous formal model of linguistic ambiguity — one that treats ambiguity as a structural property of language rather than a residue to be eliminated. The goal is a framework-independent contribution: a set of formal tools and empirical diagnostics applicable across theoretical frameworks, from DRT to neo-componential semantics.
Minimalist semantics — This program will advance on two fronts simultaneously. Theoretically: resolving key open questions around binding, movement, and the interpretation of displaced constituents under the copy theory of movement. Empirically: applying the emerging theory to language data in real time, with MA and PhD supervision on related topics as a privileged testing ground.
Fieldwork priorities
Systematic data collection on Ivorian languages will serve two purposes: consolidating the empirical base for current theoretical research, and preparing future research fronts. Planned fieldwork includes:
- Data on ambiguities, semantic effects of movement, and pronominal interpretation — feeding the theoretical programs directly
- Data on plurality and universal quantifiers across multiple Ivorian languages — consolidating the ambiguity-based theory of plurality
- Data on definiteness and demonstratives across Ivorian languages — groundwork for a typological study
- Data on TAM systems across Ivorian languages — laying the foundation for future research
- Large corpus data on Wobe — in preparation for a collaborative descriptive grammar
- Design of elicitation materials for domains not yet covered
Expected outputs
Publications are the primary expected output across all components of the program. A monograph is envisaged as a longer-term deliverable, contingent on the resolution of the crucial theoretical questions. Funding is not currently sought but remains a possibility as the program develops.
Supervision of MA and PhD students working on topics related to the program is actively encouraged. It provides a productive empirical testing ground for theoretical hypotheses while contributing to the training of the next generation of researchers in formal semantics applied to African languages.