Hello! My name is
Marta Massaia
Researcher in Linguistics · Utrecht University
Syntax
Adverbial Clauses
Germanic Languages
Comparative Linguistics
Explore my work ↓
Hello! My name is
Researcher in Linguistics · Utrecht University
I am a theoretical syntactician, currently completing my PhD at Utrecht University (UU).
My research is carried out within the Mind your Manner Adverbials! (MiMA-)project headed by Norbert Corver and funded by NWO. The MiMA-project investigates the internal syntax and external distribution of manner adverbials from a cross-linguistic perspective. My research within the MiMA-project focuses on the syntax of two types of clausal manner adverbials in Germanic, namely similative (as-) and simulative (as if-)clauses. In addition to prof. dr. Corver, I am co-supervised by dr. Marijana Marelj (Utrecht University), and prof. dr. Denis Delfitto (University of Verona).
My research interests include comparative Germanic linguistics, with a particular focus on the syntactic structure of the left periphery of adverbial clauses in English, Dutch, German, Icelandic, and Swedish.
Before getting a position at UU, I obtained both my BA and MA cum laude at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice.
Beyond research, I am committed to teaching. Since I was an MA-student, I have taught several German language and linguistics courses at both BA and MA level.
Within UU, I am also co-organizer of the Syntax Interface Lectures (SIL).
If you want to know more about me and see what else I worked on, you can download my CV here, or keep scrolling to the end of the page :)
My paper Allora as an Italian discourse particle based on my MA-thesis has been published! Check it out here.
I was invited to contribute to the thematic volume Adverbial Clauses and Subordinate Dependency Relationships edited by Łukasz Jędrzejowski (University of Adger) and Andreas Pankau (FU Berlin) to appear in the Studies in Generative Grammar series.
The talk I gave at the Grote Taaldag 2026 was mentioned in a newspaper article by Peter-Arno Coppen (Radboud University). Check it out here.
The syntax of simulation in Scandinavian and beyond
Fronting similar manners in different ways: Accounting for a topicalization asymmetry in similative and simulative clauses
Adverbial Clauses: New Horizons — FU Berlin
Topicalizing manners
De Grote Taaldag — Utrecht University
Adverbial clauses as relative clauses? The view from similarity constructions
Adverbial Clauses as Relative Clauses: Old Questions, New Answers — University of Hamburg
How similar are similatives and simulatives?
MiMA-workshop on the Grammar of Manner Adverbials — Utrecht University
Mapping the left periphery of Germanic similative clauses: Dutch dialects as a case study
De Grote Taaldag — Utrecht University
Similative clauses as relative clauses: Evidence from West-Germanic
Germanic Sandwich 9 — Lancaster University
Mood alternations in simulative clauses: The (minor) role of subjunctive in the expression of irrealis
Workshop Mood Alternation in Adverbial Clauses — FU Berlin
The syntax of simulative clauses: as-clause+if-clause, as if-clause, or as+if-clause?
ÖLT 2023 — University of Graz
A cross-Germanic perspective on simulative clauses
International Conference on the Variation of Adverbial Clauses — University of Göttingen
Similative clauses as relative clauses: Evidence from Germanic (poster)
TABU Dag 2023 — University of Groningen
On similative clauses in Germanic
On the Diachrony of Adverbial Clauses — University of Tübingen
"Allora" als Diskurspartikel des Italienischen
Ways of Expressing Modality — Ca' Foscari University
Topicalizing manners
Syntax Circle — Leiden University
How similar are similatives and simulatives?
RUG Syntax Seminar — University of Groningen
Germanic similative clauses: as-clause + if-clause, as if + clause, or as + if-clause?
Research Seminars in Linguistics — Ulster University
Mapping the left periphery of similarity constructions in Germanic
Syntax Square — MIT & SyntaxLab — University of Cambridge
The syntax of simulation: A new perspective from Germanic (poster)
LOT Summer School — Leiden University
Germanic simulative clauses
Research Seminar in Linguistics — Ulster University
Similative clauses as relative clauses: Evidence from Germanic (poster)
The 5th Crete Summer School of Linguistics — University of Crete
A cross-Germanic perspective on simulative clauses: Some thoughts and questions (poster)
LOT Summer School — Utrecht University
Decomposing clausal manner adverbials
Syntax Seminar Talks — University of Verona
I am always happy to discuss research, collaborations, or academic opportunities. Feel free to contact me (also for papers, handouts, and slides)!