Jason Merchant

Jason Merchant is the Lorna Puttkammer Straus Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics at the University of Chicago, where he also serves as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. His research specializes in syntax and its interfaces with morphology and semantics, particularly ellipsis phenomena in diverse languages including Greek, Germanic, and Slavic languages.

Merchant examines how meaning can exist without overt form through elliptical constructions. His work addresses fundamental questions about linguistic representation, variable binding, and the architecture of grammar. Current investigations explore bilingual code-switching under ellipsis and computational approaches to historical semantics.

He teaches courses spanning introductory linguistics to advanced seminars on syntax-semantics interfaces and legal interpretation. Merchant has held academic appointments globally and studied over 20 languages. His administrative leadership includes oversight of faculty appointments and graduate education policy.