Brian Buccola

buccola@msu.edu
(517) 355-5171

B404 Wells Hall
619 Red Cedar Rd
East Lansing, MI 48824

FacultyLinguistics, Languages, and Cultures

Assistant Professor
Linguistics

Biography

Ph.D., McGill University

Brian Buccola specializes in formal semantics and pragmatics, with further interests in syntax, psycholinguistics, and cognitive science more generally. His research explores how human languages encode meaning, how humans put linguistic meanings to use, and whether (and to what extent) non-human animals have similar capacities. He is particularly interested in the ways that humans reason about what their interlocutor could have said but chose not to, thereby drawing various inferences, and whether such inferential reasoning is language- or even human-specific. His published work has appeared in Semantics and PragmaticsJournal of SemanticsLinguistics and PhilosophyFrontiers in Psychology, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He previously held research positions at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

University News

Varg-Sullivan Graduate Award Winners Announced
Published May 2, 2022 in College of Arts & Letters
Each year, the College of Arts & Letters presents two Varg-Sullivan Endowed Graduate Awards to graduate students for their outstanding achievement in the arts or letters. This year’s winners…Read now »
MSU Linguistics Ascends Rankings as a Solid Choice for Scholarship
Published June 22, 2021 in College of Arts & Letters
Michigan State University’s Linguistics program is ranked among the top places in the field for study, research, and employment…Read now »
College Welcomes New Faculty and Staff Members
Published August 22, 2019 in College of Arts & Letters
Brown brick building with blue sky and clouds in the background and trees with changing fall leaves in front
This year, the College of Arts & Letters welcomes 28 new faculty and staff members. They include the following:  Sara Allison Sara Allison, Administrative Business…Read now »