About

Miloje Despic is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Cornell University. His research interests encompass syntax, morphology, semantics, and interfaces. His work involves languages such as Slavic, Turkic, and Algonquian, focusing on the structural and functional aspects of these language families. He is engaged in exploring the complexities of linguistic structures and their interrelations, contributing to the understanding of language systems through his academic and research activities at Cornell University.

Research topics

• Linguistics
• Computer science
• Mathematics
• Psychology
• Natural language processing

Selected publications

• Nominal Ellipsis of Hybrid Nouns in Serbian

  Journal of Slavic linguistics · 2024-01-01

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  abstract: This paper investigates nominal ellipsis of hybrid nouns (HNs) in number mismatch contexts in Serbian and argues in support of the following two theoretical points: (i) formal gender of at least some HNs is introduced by the ROOT + n complex (e.g. Kramer, 2016), and (ii) at least some concord is post-syntactic (Kramer, 2010; Noyer, 1997; Norris, 2014, etc.). The main empirical observation is that ellipsis of Serbian HNs in number mismatch contexts is, in contrast to regular nouns, not fully available. I propose that these facts reveal that nominal ellipsis in Serbian has two possible sources: a) a nominal constituent can be elided (PF-deletion), or b) a null nominal proform can be used (e.g. Merchant, 2014), and that the availability of these two strategies is constrained by the number of the antecedent.

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• (Non-)Intersective adjectives and root suppletion

  The Linguistic Review · 2019-07-06 · 1 citations

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  Abstract In this paper I examine certain gradable adjectives in Serbian, whose suppletive comparative forms display unexpected semantic properties. In particular, while these adjectives are ambiguous between intersective and non-intersective readings in the positive form, their suppletive comparative and superlative forms are limited to the non-intersective interpretation. These facts show, I argue, that in a theory like Distributed Morphology either adjectival roots or category-assigning heads they combine with come in semantic subtypes (i.e. are specified for certain semantic properties; Harley 2005, Anagnostopoulou and Samioti 2014). I show how the analysis I propose explains semantic properties of change-of-state verbs derived from these adjectives and why these adjectives are restricted to the intersective interpretation when their positive form takes the long-form (definite) inflection. I also provide an illustration of how Arregi and Nevins’s (2014) analysis of the so-called “disuppletive” roots, such worse/badder , can deal with the facts presented in this paper. Finally, I discuss implications of these facts in the context of Bobaljik’s (2012) approach to suppletive comparative morphology.

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• A Cyclic and Multiple Agree account

  Natural Language & Linguistic Theory · 2018-04-06 · 4 citations

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• On binary features and disagreeing natural classes: Evidence from Cheyenne and Serbian

  The Linguistic Review · 2018-06-01 · 1 citations

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  Abstract In this paper we offer new arguments for bivalence of morphological features. In the domain of person, we argue in support of the system using the features [±speaker] and [±hearer], on the basis of plural marking in Cheyenne. In the domain of gender, we argue in support of the system using the features [±masculine] and [±feminine], on the basis of gender agreement in Serbian coordinate structures. The property of binary systems crucial for our proposal is that they allow combinations of disagreeing feature values, given that in such systems every morphological category is represented as a combination of two values. Our main empirical goal is to show that some languages treat such combinations of disagreeing feature values (as well as combinations of agreeing values) as natural classes (e.g., Noyer, Rolf. 1992. Features, positions and affixes in autonomous morphological structure. Ph.D. dissertation. Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

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• Investigations on mixed agreement: polite plurals, hybrid nouns and coordinate structures

  Morphology · 2017-04-10 · 40 citations

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• Multiple and Cyclic Agree: Person/Number Marking in Cheyenne

  2017-01-01 · 1 citations

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• Suspended Morphology in Serbian: Clitics vs. Affixes

  Glossa a journal of general linguistics · 2017-02-24 · 23 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This article offers a case study of what appears to be an instance of “suspended affixation” in Serbian. The phenomenon in question is particularly interesting and potentially theoretically significant since it occurs in a language in which suspended affixation is generally impossible. The account I am led to suggests, however, that what is being “suspended” is not an affix but a second position clitic disguised as an affix. This is not a surprising outcome, since Serbian second position clitics, unlike ordinary affixes, can be elided quite easily. The phenomena examined in this paper provide further support to certain aspects of the theoretical model developed in Embick (2007; 2010) and offer new insights into the interaction between linearization, ellipsis and Local Dislocation. In particular, I show that the forms which allow ‘suspended affixation’ are formed in a special way, namely, via Local Dislocation, which affixes a second position enclitic to its host at PF under linear adjacency. Forms which are created by regular head movement, on the other hand disallow suspended affixation, on the assumption that elements that form complex heads (i.e., Subwords) cannot be elided.This article is part of Special Collection: Suspended Affixation

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• Coordinating Gender: What Can Coordinate Structure Agreement Tell Us about Gender?

  Homo Politicus (Academy of Humanities and Economics in Lodz) · 2016-04-19 · 7 citations

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  Przedmiotem analizy przedstawionej w artykule jest akomodacja wartości kategorii rodzaju w zdaniach z podmiotem szeregowym o składnikach w liczbie pojedynczej w języku serbskim. Szczegółowo omówione są cztery problematyczne właściwości akomodacji wartości rodzaju przez podmiot szeregowy ze spójnikiem współrzędnym. Przedstawione są argumenty popierające tezę, że wartość rodzaju męskiego jest wartością nieuzgodnioną (domyślną) imiesłowów oraz przymiotników predykatywnych wtedy, gdy składniki podmiotu szeregowego różnią się pod względem informacji o rodzaju, co wbrew oczekiwaniom może występować zarówno wtedy, gdy składniki podmiotu szeregowego mają tę samą wartość gramatycznej kategorii rodzaju, jak i wtedy, gdy jeden ze składników podmiotu szeregowego nie posiada określonej wartości cechy rodzaju. Na podstawie analizy dystrybucji rodzaju nijakiego postuluje się, że cecha rodzaju w języku serbskim (oraz przypuszczalnie w innych językach słowiańskich) jest cechą kompleksową o wartościach binarnych [±masculinum] oraz [±femininum].

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• Phases, Reflexives, and Definiteness

  Syntax · 2015-07-07 · 57 citations

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  Abstract This paper investigates a puzzling correlation between two seemingly disparate phenomena: the crosslinguistic distribution of reflexive possessives and definiteness marking. As observed in Reuland 2007, 2011 and supported here by additional crosslinguistic evidence, reflexive possessives are available only in languages that either lack definiteness marking or encode definiteness postnominally. Languages that have prenominal (article‐like) definiteness marking, on the other hand, systematically lack reflexive possessives. I argue that such facts support a particular approach to reflexive binding—specifically, one that has the following properties: (i) binding domains are stated in terms of phases, (ii) in addition to CP s and vP s, DP s are phases, and (iii) DP is not universal. I closely examine another robust crosslinguistic correlation regarding definiteness marking—Bošković's (2008) Left Branch Extraction generalization—and show how it directly follows from the key assumptions of the analysis. I situate my proposals within a broader context of the phase theory, arguing that the syntactic representation of (in)definiteness is the crucial factor in determining the phasehood status of nominal categories. I extend my analysis to the clausal domain and discuss it in the context of languages that allow reflexives in the subject position.

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• Binding and the Structure of NP in Serbo-Croatian

  Linguistic Inquiry · 2013-04-01 · 113 citations

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  On the basis of binding facts, I argue that Serbo-Croatian (SC) does not project DP and that DP is not a universal property of language. I show that a number of binding contrasts between English and SC follow straightforwardly from independently motivated differences in their nominal structure, most notably from the assumption that DP is present only in English. I also discuss in detail the potential significance of this puzzling set of facts for the binding theory in general. Specifically, I propose that SC employs Condition C as defined in Lasnik 1989 and, in addition to the core binding conditions, a competitive mechanism adopted from Safir 2004 , which regulates the distribution of reflexives, pronouns, and R-expressions. I also argue that the binding domains for pronouns and reflexives in SC need to be formulated differently.

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Frequent coauthors

• Sarah E. Murray

  3 shared

• Michael David Hamilton

  2 shared