My Research
Research Questions:
What is the relationship between modality and causation in language?
What formal and experimental tools do we have to capture and test the causal nature of modals?
Currently working on:
a semantics of proximate futures
priming modal meaning in causatives and modals
a semantics for epistemic modals
a semantics for causatives
You can find my CV here: (last update: April 7, 2024):
ah_cv 4:7:2024.pdfHere's a list of publications:
In press
Hill, A. and Momma, S. Priming abstract modal representations in modals with causatives. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci2024).
Hill, A. What about about to? A proposal for proximate future reference. In Proceedings of the Forty-First West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics (WCCFL 41). paper
Here's a list of selected presentations (*if invited):
A. Hill (joint work with S. Momma), Priming abstract modal representations in causatives and modals
Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci2024 @ Rotterdam, The Netherlands) | July 2024
Highlights in the Language Sciences Conference (HILS2024 @ University of Nijmegen, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics) | July 2024
A. Hill (joint work with S. Momma), On the similarity of causatives and modals: Priming abstract modal representations
15th International Conference on Actionality, Tense, Aspect, Modality/Evidentiality (CHRONOS 15 @ University of Toulouse) | May 2024
37th Annual Conference on Human Sentence Processing (HSP37 @ University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) | May 2024
A. Hill (joint work with C. Y. Lee), Children's acquisition of modals and causatives
37th Annual Conference on Human Sentence Processing (HSP37 @ University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) | May 2024
A. Hill (joint work with S. Momma), On the similarity of causatives and modals: Targeting abstract modal representations slides
Linguistic Evidence (LE2024 @ University of Potsdam) | February 2024
* A. Hill, Priming abstract modal representations: The case of causatives and modals
N0thing is Logical (NihiL) Seminar (University of Amsterdam, ILLC) | January 2024
A. Hill, What about about to? A proposal for proximate future reference poster abstract
West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics (WCCFL 41 @ USC, Santa Cruz) | May 2023
Generative Linguistics in the Old World (GLOW 46 @ University of Vienna, University of Graz) | April 2023
* A. Hill, Two peas in a causal pod: Testing the relationship between modals and causatives slides
Causation & Modality in Logic & Language Workshop (University of Amsterdam, ILLC) | May 2023
Here's a list of courses I've taught:
Undergraduate Courses:
Writing for Linguistics (TA) - Spring 2024 guest lecture: A linguistic take on scientific writing
Dr. Brian Dillon, UMass Amherst
Introduction to Formal Semantics (TA) - Fall 2023 LaTex cheat sheet for linguists
Dr. Ana Arregui, UMass Amherst
Language and Cognition (TA) - Spring 2023 guest lecture
Dr. Shota Momma Negishi, UMass Amherst
Language Processing and the Brain (TA) - Fall 2022 guest lecture
Dr. Shota Momma Negishi, UMass Amherst
Introduction to Linguistic Theory (TA) - Spring 2022 section site
Dr. Kyle Johnson, UMass Amherst
Introduction to Linguistics: People and Their Language (TA) - Fall 2021
Dr. Magda Oiry , UMass Amherst