Faculty

Education

• Ph.D. , University of Southern California



Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History

• Professor, University of Southern California, 01/01/2001-  



Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests

Yen-hui Audrey Li, Ph.D. (University of Southern California); joint appointment with Linguistics. Audrey Li is interested in the structural properties of natural languages: how and why human languages are the way they are and how and why languages differ in the way they do. The theme of her works is that languages differ in a principled and systematic manner. Meaningful cross-linguistic comparison is based on in-depth investigation of individual languages. The topics of her research include the issues related to constituency and order at the sentential and nominal level, the interpretive mechanisms in universal grammar and the well-formedness conditions on the interpretation and spell-out of syntactic structures. The data have been mainly drawn from English and East Asian languages from a comparative perspective. Li is also quite interested in the issues regarding language acquisition and pedagogical implications. Li’s important publications include the following books: The Syntax of Chinese (with James Huang and Yafei Li), 2009 Cambridge University Press, Essays on the representational and derivational nature of grammar: the diversity of wh-constructions (with Joseph Aoun) 2003, MIT Press. Functional Structure(s), Form and Interpretation, (ed. with Andrew Simpson) 2003, RoutledgeCurzon Press. New Horizons in Chinese Linguistics, 1996 by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (ed. with James Huang). Syntax of Scope, 1993. MIT Press (with J. Aoun), Order and Constituency in Mandarin Chinese, 1990, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

Research Keywords

syntax, Chinese language and linguistics

Research Specialties

Syntax, Chinese language and linguistics



Publications




Book

• Huang, J., Li, Y. A., Li, Y. (2009). The Syntax of Chinese. Cambridge,: Cambridge University Press.
• Simpson, A. A., Li, Y. (2003). Functional Structure(s), Form and Interpretation: Perspectives from Asian Languages. Routledge-Curzon.
• Huang, J., Li, Y. (2003). New Horizons in Chinese Linguistics. 1996. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (ed. with James Huang).
• Li, Y. A., Aoun, J. (2003). Essays on the representational and derivational nature of grammar: the diversity of wh-constructions.
• Li, Y. A., Aoun, J. (1993). Syntax of Scope.
• Li, Y. A. (1990). Order and Constituency in Mandarin Chinese.



Book Chapter

• Aoun, J., Li, Y. (2008). Ellipsis and missing objects. pp. 251-274. MIT Press, Cambridge: Foundational Issues in Linguistic Theory/MIT Press.
• Li, Y. A. (2006). Chinese ba. pp. 374-468. Malden, Mass: Blackwell.



Journal Article

• Li, Y. A. (2012). The structure of Mandarin nominal phrases: from the perspective of the MinNan modification marker. Shanghai Education Publisher (Shanghai Jiaoyu Chubanshe). Vol. 11, pp. 82-92.
• Li, Y. A. (2012). Mandarin de ? Taiwanese e. Chinese University of Hong Kong. Vol. 33 (1), pp. 17-40. PubMed Web Address http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/ics/clrc/english/pub_scl_catalogues_33.1.html
• Li, Y. A. (2011). Non-canonical objects and case. The Society of Chinese Studies. Vol. 1 (1), pp. 21-51.
• Li, Y. A. (2008). Theories of phrase structures and DE as a head. Contemporary Linguistics, Academy of Social Sciences. (2), pp. 97-108.
• Li, Y. A. (2007). Beyond empty categories. Bulletin of the Chinese Linguistic Society of Japan. (254), pp. 74-106.
• Li, Y. A. (2007). Theories of empty categories and Chinese null elements. Linguistic Sciences. Vol. 6, pp. 37-47.




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