Research
As a linguist, I am interested in semantics and its interfaces. More specifically, I investigate the meaning of tense, aspect, and modality.
A belief that is woven into my work is the importance of cross-linguistic insights for semantic theory. Along with my native language, English, I have an empirical focus on the so-called ‘Altaic’ languages (e.g., Mongolic, Tungusic, Turkic). Much of my thinking is informed by my work on Khalkha Mongolian, and I have the ongoing privilege of collecting semantic data in collaboration with native speakers. I have additionally worked on Turkish and Paraguayan Guaraní.
Below, I provide an overview of topics that I consider central to my research, as well as selected references. My full CV can be viewed here.
The future
The semantics of future temporal reference has been of long-standing interest in linguistics and philosophy. How are the meanings of future expressions best modeled, and to what extent does the semantics of the future vary across languages?
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(submitted) Knick, Emily. Future shifting with present marking in Khalkha Mongolian. [manuscript]
(2025) Knick, Emily. Proximate futures in English and Turkish: An analogy between spatial and temporal proximity. Talk at North East Linguistics Society 56, New York University, October 17, 2025. [handout: last updated Nov 7 2025]
The perfect
A well-known property of the perfect aspect is that it can lead to different readings (e.g., the experiential, universal, resultative, and “hot news” perfects). What drives the semantic differences between these readings, and what factors constrain whether a particular reading of the perfect is available in the first place?
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(2025) Knick, Emily* and Sharf, Eli*. On focus and the perfect aspect. Talk at Sinn und Bedeutung 30, Goethe University Frankfurt, September 26, 2025. [handout]
Narratives and tense
In English, the meaning of the present tense shifts within narrative contexts, where it can receive a non-indexical interpretation (i.e., the “historical present”). How do we formally capture the interactions between narratives and tense, and in what ways do narrative contexts shape the interpretation of tense cross-linguistically?
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(ongoing project) Knick, Emily. Narrative tense in Khalkha Mongolian.