Gennaro Chierchia (Italian pronunciation: [dʒenˈnaːro ˈkjɛrkja]; born 10 September 1953 in Rome) is an Italian linguist and educator. Chierchia is currently the Haas Foundation Professor of Linguistics and Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University. His work and study focus on areas including semantics, pragmatics, philosophy of language, and language pathology.[1]

Gennaro Chierchia
Born (1953-09-10) 10 September 1953 (age 71)
NationalityItalian
Occupation(s)Linguist
Professor
SpouseIsa Orvieto
Children3
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship (2019)
Academic background
EducationSapienza University of Rome
University of Massachusetts Amherst
ThesisTopics in the Syntax and Semantics of Infinitives and Gerunds (1984)
Doctoral advisorBarbara Partee
InfluencesTullio De Mauro
Sally McConnell-Ginet
Academic work
InstitutionsBrown University
Cornell University
University of Milan Bicocca
University of Salerno
Harvard University
Doctoral studentsMaria Aloni
Veneeta Dayal

Career

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Born in Rome, Chierchia received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the Sapienza University of Rome in 1977, when he studied under Tullio De Mauro. He then went on to earn a Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1984. His dissertation, chaired by Barbara Partee, was titled "Topics in the Syntax and Semantics of Infinitives and Gerunds."[2]

Chierchia began his professorial career when he served as Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Brown University from 1983 to 1985. He then continued in the same role at Cornell University from 1985 to 1992, before moving back to his native Italy. From 1992 to 2000, Chierchia taught as a full professor at the University of Milan Bicocca, including a year at the University of Salerno from 1994 to 1995. Since 2006, he has taught at Harvard University as the Haas Foundations Professor of Linguistics and Professor of Philosophy.

In 2014, Chierchia was named as Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America. In 2019, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.[3]

Works

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  • Meaning and Grammar: An Introduction to Semantics, 1990. ISBN 978-0262531641
  • Dynamics of Meaning: Anaphora, Presupposition, and the Theory of Grammar, 1995. ISBN 0-226-10435-4
  • Logic in Grammar: Polarity, Free Choice, and Intervention, 2013. ISBN 978-0199697984

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Gennaro Chierchia". Harvard University. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. ^ Partee, Barbara H. (5 October 2013). "Portrait of a Semanticist as a Young Man: Gennaro Chierchia, 1979–1988". From Grammar to Meaning: The Spontaneous Logicality of Language: 13–37. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139519328.003. ISBN 978-1-139-51932-8. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Gennaro Chierchia". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
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