Damon Tutunjian
I received my PhD in Linguistics from the University of Michigan in 2010. My dissertation comprises an investigation of the contribution of detailed lexical-semantic, conceptual, and contextual information in the online processing of coordinated verb phrases, as well as a consideration of how the data fits to various models of ambiguity processing.
In broad terms, I am interested in issues related to the processing of verb argument structure, and my research has been guided by the overarching objective to discern how, when, and to what extent different levels of detailed linguistic representations (e.g., lexical-semantic and syntactic), non-linguistic representations (e.g., conceptual structure), as well as sentence-level information (e.g., pragmatic and discourse coherence) are accessed and utilized during online language processing.
Research
My current research, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Marianne Gullberg, uses eyetracking to investigate the activation of agent arguments in short adjectival-passive as compared to verbal-passive constructions. We further seek to identify processing differences in the relative contribution of lexical frequency and syntactic cues between native and second language learners of English for such structures.
Other tasks and qualifications
PUBLICATIONS AND MANUSCRIPTS
Tutunjian, D., (2010). Processing coordinated verb phrases: the relevance of lexical-semantic, conceptual, and contextual information towards establishing verbal parallelism. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. pdf
Tutunjian, D., & Boland, J. E. (2008). Do we need a distinction between arguments and adjuncts? Evidence from psycholinguistic studies of comprehension. Language and Linguistics Compass, 2(4), 631-646.
pdf of pre-publication draft or LLC pdf
Tutunjian, D. (2007) The Lexical-semantic vs. Conceptual Source of Implicit External Arguments in Short Passives. Unpublished Qualifying Research Paper, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
PRESENTATIONS
Tutunjian, D. (2009, April). Re-Examining Facilitation from Coordinated VPs:
What is preferred in the parallel preference? Colloquium presentation at the University of Michigan Department of Linguistics, Ann Arbor, MI.
Tutunjian, D. & Boland, J.E. (2007, May). The Lexical-semantic Versus Conceptual Source of Implicit Agents in Short Passives. Presentation to the University of Toronto Department of Computer Science, Toronto, ON.
Tutunjian, D. & Boland, J. E. (2006, March). Sentential focus affects the pattern of looks to potential verb arguments. Poster session at the 19th Annual CUNY Conference on Human Sentence Processing, New York, NY.
pdf
RESEARCH POSITIONS
Graduate Student Research Assistant 2004-2010
Psycholinguistics Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Principal Investigator: Professor Julie Boland
Graduate Student Research Assistant 2005
Language & Cognitive Architecture Lab, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Principal Investigator: Professor Richard Lewis
TEACHING POSITIONS SOLE INSTRUCTOR
Lecturer Spring 2011
Introduction to English Grammar, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden
Lecturer Fall 2010
Phonetics, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden
Lecturer Fall 2010
Global Language, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden
Graduate Student Instructor Fall 2006, Fall 2009, Winter 2010
College Writing (Eng 125). University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Graduate Student Instructor Spring 2009
Introduction to Language. (Ling 111). University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI\
ASSISTANT TEACHING POSITIONS
Graduate Student Instructor (with Prof.Julie Boland) Winter 2009
Talking Minds (Ling 347/Pscyh 349). University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Graduate Student Instructor (with Prof. Samuel Epstein Fall 2008
Language and Mind (Ling 209/Psych 242). University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Graduate Student Instructor (with Prof. Thomas Toon) Winter 2007
History of English (Eng 308). University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Graduate Student Instructor (with Prof. Andries Coetzee) Fall 2007
Introduction to Language (Ling 111). University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Graduate Student Instructor (with Profs J. Boland and S. Epstein) 2005-2006
Language and Mind Sub-concentration Development Project. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Graduate Student Instructor (with Profs E. McNulty and A. Coetzee) Winter 2006
Introduction to Language (Ling 111). University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Graduate Student Instructor (with Profs E. McNulty and S. Duanmu) Fall 2005
Introduction to Language (Ling 111). University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
