Staff Profile

Qualifications

BA (Kent), MA (University College London), PhD (Newcastle), FRSA

Publications Available for Download*:

• Meaning, Semantics and Semiotics [PDF: 199KB]
• On the Grounding of Syntax and the Role of Phonology in Human Cognition [PDF: 178KB]
• Sentence [PDF: 81KB] 
• Cancellation and Intention [PDF: 135KB]
• Varieties of Semantics and Encoding [PDF: 142KB]
• Parentheticals [PDF: 102KB]
• Review Article - Carston (2002) - Thoughts and Utterances [PDF: 127KB]
• Stylistic Fronting and V2 in Icelandic [PDF: 262KB] 
• Linguistic Diversity in a Universalist Context [PDF: 143KB]

* Publications open in new windows

Research Interests

Semantics, pragmatics, syntax, philosophy of language, architecture of language. Downloadable text of recent papers is available below

Linguistic theory, philosophy of language, theory of signs especially:

semantics and pragmatics (particularly presupposition and negation, ambiguity, quotation, malapropism) the architecture of the language faculty (in Minimalism especially) and its relation to other faculties of mind
the phonology-syntax interface, especially as this bears on the status and nature of functional categories and parameters
the Representational Hypothesis, which proposes that phonology should be excluded from, because representational of, objects generated by the language faculty

Publications by Prof. NC Burton-Roberts

Newcastle University ePrint repository for Prof. NC Burton-Roberts.

Postgraduate Supervision

Linguistic theory and philosophy of language, especially semantics and pragmatics, the architecture of the language faculty, the phonology-syntax interface, the Representational Hypothesis.

Undergraduate Teaching

• Burton-Roberts N. On the grounding of syntax and the role of phonology in human cognition. Lingua 2011, 121(14), 2089-2102.
• Burton-Roberts N. On Grice and cancellation. Journal of Pragmatics 2013, 48(1), 17-28.
• Burton-Roberts N. Meaning, semantics and semiotics. Newcastle Working Papers in Linguistics 2013, 19(2), 1-19.
• Burton-Roberts N. Cancellation and Intention. In: Soria, B., Romero, E, ed. Explicit Communication: Robyn Carston's Pragmatics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, pp.138-155.
• Poole G, Burton-Roberts N. 'Correspondence' in Optimality Theory: a representational view. Revista Virtuel de Estudos da Linguagem 2010, 8(4), 110-133.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Analysing Sentences: an Introduction to English Syntax. Third edition. Harlow, UK: Longman, 2010.
• Burton-Roberts N. Sentence. In: Holgan, PC, ed. Cambridge Enclyclopaedia of the Language Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
• Burton-Roberts N. The Grounding of Syntax - and More. Newcastle Working Papers in Linguistics 2009, 15, 21-39.
• Burton-Roberts N, Poole G. ‘Virtual conceptual necessity’, feature-dissociation and the Saussurian legacy in generative grammar. Journal of Linguistics 2006, 42(3), 575-628.
• Burton-Roberts N. Varieties of semantics and encoding: negation, narrowing/loosening and numericals. In: Burton-Roberts, N, ed. Pragmatics. Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2007, pp.90-114.
• Burton-Roberts N. Robyn Carston on semantics, pragmatics and 'encoding'. Journal of Linguistics 2005, 41(2), 389-407.
• Burton-Roberts N. Cancellation and Intention. Newcastle Working Papers in Linguistics 2006, 12-13, 1-12.
• Burton-Roberts N, Poole G. Syntax vs. phonology: A representational approach to stylistic fronting and verb-second in Icelandic. Lingua 2006, 116(5), 562-600.
• Poole G, Burton-Roberts N. MLC violations: Implications for the syntax/phonology interface. In: Stepanov, A., Fanselow, G., Vogel, R, ed. Minimality Effects in Syntax. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2004, pp.327-365.
• Burton-Roberts N. Parentheticals. In: Brown, E.K, ed. Encyclopaedia of Language and Linguistics. Amsterdam; London: Elsevier Science, 2005.
• Burton-Roberts N. Signs, representations and meta-representations: Peirce, Magritte and Jasper Johns. 2005. Lecture (to students of History of Art).
• Burton-Roberts N. Linguistic diversity in a universalist context: language thought and culture. In: Talif, R; Chan, SH; Wong, BE; Abdullah, AN; Noor, R, ed. Beyond Barriers, Fresh Frontiers: Selected Readings on Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. Serdang Selangor: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press, 2004, pp.112-124.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Grelling’s paradox - its significance for linguistic theory. In: Harnish, R.M., Kanesei, I, ed. Perspectives on Semantics, Pragmatics and Discourse: a Festschrift for Ferenc Kiefer. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2001, pp.187-201.
• Burton-Roberts NC, Carr P, Docherty G. Introduction. In: Burton-Roberts, N., Carr, P., Docherty, G, ed. Phonological Knowledge: Conceptual and Empirical Issues. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2000, pp.1-18.
• Burton-Roberts NC, Carr P, Docherty G, ed. Phonological Knowledge: Conceptual and Empirical Issues. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2000.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Where and what is phonology? A representational perspective. In: Burton-Roberts, N., Carr, P., Docherty, G, ed. Phonological Knowledge: Conceptual and Empirical Issues. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2000, pp.39-66.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Ambiguity - quotation - Grelling’s paradox: a representational approach. Newcastle & Durham Working Papers in Linguistics 1999, 5, 75-98.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Apposition. In: Brown, E.K., Miller, J, ed. The Concise Encylcopaedia of Syntactic Categories. Oxford, UK: Elsevier, 1999, pp.459.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Presupposition-cancellation and metalinguistic negation: a reply to Carston. Journal of Linguistics 1999, 35(2), 347-364.
• Burton-Roberts NC, Carr P. On speech and natural language. Language Sciences 1999, 21(4), 371-406.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Language, linear precedence, and parentheticals. In: Collins, P, ed. The Clause in English: In Honour of Rodney Huddleston. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1998, pp.33-52.
• Burton-Roberts N. On preservation under negation. Lingua 1997, 101(1-2), 65-88.
• Burton-Roberts NC, Carr P. Où se situe la phonologie? La linguistique et la Conjecture Représentationnelle. In: Durand, J, ed. La construction des théories du son, 2è partie, special issue of Histoire Épistémologie Langage. Paris, France: Societe d'Histoire et d'Epistemologie des Sciences du Langage, 1997, pp.73-103.
• Burton-Roberts NC, Carr P. On speech and natural language. Newcastle & Durham Working Papers in Linguistics 1996, 4, 13-40.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Ambiguity, sentence, and utterance: a representational approach. Transactions of the Philological Society 1994, 92(2), 179-212.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Apposition. In: Asher, R.E., Simpson, J.M.Y, ed. The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press, 1993.
• Burton-Roberts NC. On preservation under negation. Newcastle & Durham Working Papers in Linguistics 1993, 1, 18-41.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Prepositions, adverbs, and adverbials. In: Language, Usage and Description: A Festschrift for Noel Osselton. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1992, pp.159-172.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Review article of J. D. Atlas' Philosophy without Ambiguity (OUP). Mind & Language 1991, 6(2), 161-176.
• Burton-Roberts NC. How language works. In: Crofton, I, ed. The Guinness Encyclopaedia. Enfield, UK: Guinness Publishing, 1990.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Les paradigmes generiques en Anglais [On generic paradigms in English]. Travaux de Linguistique, Special Issue on Generics 1990, 19, 17-32.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Trivalence, gapped bivalence, and ambiguity of negation: a reply to Seuren. Journal of Linguistics 1990, 26(2), 455-470.
• Burton-Roberts NC. On Horn's dilemma: presupposition and negation. Journal of Linguistics 1989, 25(1), 95-125.
• Burton-Roberts NC. The Limits to Debate: a revised theory of semantic presupposition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Theories of presupposition. Journal of Linguistics 1989, 25(2), 437-454.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Pragmatics and Wittgenstein: ostensive and non-descriptive definition. In: Verschueren, J., Bertuccelli-Papi, M, ed. The Pragmatic Perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing, 1987, pp.733-753.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Analysing Sentences: an introduction to English syntax. London, UK: Longman, 1986.
• Burton-Roberts N. Implications of the pragmatics of non-descriptive definition. Journal of Linguistics 1986, 22(2), 311-330.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Thematic predicates and the pragmatics of non-descriptive definition. Journal of Linguistics 1986, 22(1), 41-66.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Review of P.H. Matthews' Syntax. Modern Language Review 1985, 80(2), 413-415.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Utterance, relevance, and problems with text-grammar. Australian Journal of Linguistics 1985, 5(2), 285-296.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Modality and Implicature. Linguistics & Philosophy 1984, 7(2), 181-206.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Review of J. Hawkins' Definiteness and Indefiniteness. Language 1981, 57(1), 191-196.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Review of Fowler's Linguistics & the Novel. Durham University Journal 1979, 71, 281-283.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Generic sentences and analyticity. Studies in Language 1977, 1, 155-196.
• Burton-Roberts NC. On the generic indefinite article. Language 1976, 52(2), 427-448.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Nominal apposition. Foundations of Language 1975, 13, 391-419.
• Burton-Roberts NC, Carr P, Docherty GJ. Phonological Knowledge: Conceptual and Empirical Issues. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2000.
• Burton-Roberts NC. Language, linear precedence and parentheticals. In: P. Collins and D. Lee, ed. The Clause in English: In honour of Rodney Huddleston. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1999, pp.33-52.
• Burton-Roberts N, Carr P. On speech and natural language. Language Sciences 1999, 21(4), 371-406.
• Burton-Roberts N. Presupposition-cancellation and metalinguistic negation: a reply to Carston. Journal of Linguistics 1999, 35(2), 347-364.
• Burton-Roberts N. Meaning, semantics and semiotics. In: Capone, A., Lo Piparo, F., Carapezza, M, ed. Perspectives on Linguistic Pragmatics. Berlin: Springer, 2013. In Press.