astronomy

Judith Aissen

Judith Aissen is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Judith Aissen rather than just read about it. In short: Judith Lillian Aissen (born 4 June 1948) is an American professor emerita in linguistics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Career Aissen began to study Mayan languages in 1972 as a graduate student at Harvard University, conducting field research in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas.

Key takeaways

Judith Aissen belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Judith Aissen to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Judith Aissen from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Judith Lillian Aissen (born 4 June 1948) is an American professor emerita in linguistics at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Career Aissen began to study Mayan languages in 1972 as a graduate student at Harvard University, conducting field research in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. Her 1974 Harvard dissertation on The Syntax of Causative Constructions was published by Garland in 1979. She joined the faculty of the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1983. Aissen is particularly known for her analysis of Tzotzil and other Mayan languages having abstract obviation systems akin to those described in Algonquian languages as well as for her work on differential object marking. Since 1995, she has been making trips to Chiapas to teach workshops in syntax to linguistics students who are native Mayan language speakers.

Awards and distinctions On January 3, 2008, she became a fellow of the Linguistic Society of America. In 2011, Aissen's colleagues at University of California, Santa Cruz organized a festschrift in her honor, entitled Representing Language: Essays in Honor of Judith Aissen. In 2018, she was awarded the Linguistic Society of America's Kenneth L. Hale Award "for her energetic documentation of Tzotzil and other Mayan languages, her success at bringing these languages to bear on linguistic theory, and her commitment to the nurturing of Indigenous linguists."

Selected publications

Books Aissen, Judith. The syntax of causative constructions. Vol. 10. Garland Pub., 1979. Aissen, Judith. Tzotzil clause structure. Vol. 7. Springer Science & Business Media, 2012.

Articles Aissen, Judith, and David M. Perlmutter. "Clause reduction in Spanish." Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society. Vol. 2. 1976. Aissen, Judith. "Topic and focus in Mayan." Language (1992): 43-80. Aissen, Judith. "On the syntax of obviation". Language. 73 (1997): 705–750. ISSN 1535-0665. doi:10.1353/lan.1997.0042 Aissen, Judith. "Markedness and subject choice in Optimality Theory." Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 17.4 (1999): 673-711. Aissen, Judith. "Differential object marking: Iconicity vs. economy." Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 21.3 (2003): 435-483.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Judith Aissen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Judith Aissen claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Judith Aissen before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Judith Aissen ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Judith Aissen

In research: Judith Aissen appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Judith Aissen in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Judith Aissen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1948 births, 21st-century Mesoamericanists, American women linguists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Judith Aissen outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Judith Aissen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Judith Aissen means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Judith Aissen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Judith Aissen in simple terms?

Judith Lillian Aissen (born 4 June 1948) is an American professor emerita in linguistics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Career Aissen began to study Mayan languages in 1972 as a graduate student at Harvard University, conducting field research in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas.

Why does Judith Aissen matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Judith Aissen?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Judith Aissen.