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Talks

Conference talks on my personal website.

2025

• John and the hammer broke the vase: Generative AI and the innateness of counterintuitiveness.
  XXIII International Association for the History of Religions World Congress (IAHR), Jagiellonian University Kraków, August 24-30, 2025.
• Neurodivergent Criticism: How Reading without a Theory of Mind Creates Rabbinic Culture?
  SBL International Meeting and EABS Annual Conference (Section: Cognitive and Cultural Evolutionary Perspectives on the Biblical World 2) Uppsala University, June 2027, 2025.
• Gen 17 és Ábrahám körülmetélése mint egy ókori keleti bizalomrituálé.
  Authentic Speech and Rituals of Trust in the Ancient Near East, ELTE, Budapest, June 5, 2025. Abstract and slides.
• Open-book online hallgatói tevékenységek az MI korában.
  [Open-book online student activities in the time of AI.]
  Felsőoktatás Felsőfokon, ELTE, February 6, 2025. Abstract and slides.

2024

• „Jani és a kalapács összetörték a vázát”: Ágencia, kontraintuitivitás és a nagy nyelvi modellek.
  [“Johny and the hammer broke the vase”: Agency, counterintuitiveness and large language models.]
  Humán tudományok és a mesterséges intelligencia [Humanities and AI], ELTE BTK, November 15, 2024. Abstract and slides.
• Agencying the Heart: Metaphors in the Book of Job. (together with Zoltán Bödör)
  EABS Annual Conference 2024, Sophia, July 17, 2024. Abstract and slides.
• “Sesquiveritas”: Biblical Criticism at the Landesrabbinerschule in Budapest.
  EABS Annual Conference 2024, Sophia, July 17, 2024. Abstract and slides.

2023

• Topic-focus word order in Biblical Hebrew and its translations into Hungarian.
  The First Theoretical and Experimental Linguistics Workshop, KRE, Budapest, October 26, 2023. Abstract and slides.
• “Dr. Elsass tends to place the coverbs incorrectly”: A Sociolinguistic History of the Landesrabbinerschule in Budapest in the 19th Century.
  Branching Out: Diversity of Jewish Studies, Twelfth EAJS Congress. Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, July 18, 2023. Abstract and slides.
• A köszöntőversek a digitális bölcsészet szemszögéből.
  [A digital humanities perspective on the gratulatory poems.]
  Carmina Gratulatoria Hebraica – Magyar peregrinusok héber köszöntőversei a 17. században [Hebrew Carmina Gratulatoria of the Hungarian Peregrines in the 17th century] (end-of-project conference), Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Aprils 28, 2023. Slides [in Hungarian].
• Raus hasono, davenolás, Söma Jiszroél! – Kutatási kérdések a zsidó religiolektus és a zsinagógai nyelvhasználat terén.
  [Raush hashono, davenen, Shma Yisroel! – Reserach questions on the Jewish religiolect and language use in the synagogue.]
  Language and sacral communication: a conference on theolinguistics, KRE, Budapest, April 20, 2023.
  Abstract and slides [in Hungarian].

2022

• Ki alkalmas felsőoktatásban oktatni? A hollandiai BKO rendszerről.
  [Who is able to teach in higher education? On the BKO system in the Netherlands.]
  Kihívások a felsőoktatásban – kerekasztal beszélgetés [Round table on challenges in higher education], I. Felsőoktatás Felsőfokon konferencia [1st conference on Higher Education at a Higher Level], ELTE, June 16. Abstract and slides.
• Rabbi David Zvi Hoffmann, the hero of neolog poskim in Hungary.
  Rabbi Dr. David Zvi Hoffmann (1843-1921): scholar, exegete, halakhist, leader. January 3, 2022, Bar Ilan University, Israel (in a hybrid format). Abstract and slides.

2021

• Circumcision, immersion and dietary restrictions as rituals: Jewish rituals extending the Lawson–McCauley model.
  Rituals Between Mind and Society, November 4-5, 2021, Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia. Abstract and slides.
• Judaism in Mind: Cognitive approaches to rituals, to rabbis and to rebbes.
  The annual conference of the British Association for Jewish Studies (BAJS), University of Southampton (online),
  July 7, 2021. Abstract and slides.
• [Szandra Juhász and T. B.]
  Struggling with the Hebrew Language: Gratulatory poems by 17th century Hungarian students.
  The annual conference of the British Association for Jewish Studies (BAJS), University of Southampton (online),
  July 6, 2021. Abstract.
• PeregrXML: The challenges posed by a 17th century corpus of Medieval Christian Hebrew.
  #DHJewish - Jewish Studies in the Digital Age, Luxemburg (online), January 11–14, 2021. Abstract and slides.

2020

• „…Milyen jo dolog magyar zsidonak lenni, de ez már egy masik vita temaja…”
  Kutatási lehetőségek egy késő 20. századi digitális korpuszban
  KDFI A magyar internet történetei, BME, Budapest, February 13–14, 2020.

2019

• Számít-e a kronológia? Néhány gondolat a bibliai héber és a modern héber tanításának sorrendjéről.
  Idegennyelv-oktatás napjainkban, OR–ZSE, November 12, 2019. Abstract and slides (in Hungarian).
• „…milyen jo dolog magyar zsidonak lenni, de ez mar egy masik vita temaja…”
  Lojalitáshierarchiák egy késő 20. századi digitális korpuszban.
  Zsidó lojalitáshierarchiák dinamikája a modernkori Közép-Európában,
  SZTE BTK, Szeged, November 6–7, 2019. Abstract and slides (in Hungarian).
• PeregrXML: Building and annotating a 17th century corpus of Medieval Christian Hebrew.
  DH_Budapest_2019 Conference. Budapest, September 25–27, 2019. Poster.
• Biblical Hebrew Who will Understand? Methodological Reflections on Identifying Topic and Focus in a Dead Language.
  BLINC 3 (3rd Budapest Linguistics Conference), Budapest, 6–8 June 2019. Abstract and slides.

2018

• Modes of religiosity and the history of Jewish rituals.
  Conference on Interpreting Rituals: Historiographical Perspectives and Pluralistic Contexts. Leiden University, October 29-31, 2018. Abstract and slides.
• Early Modern Christian Hebrew: A hitherto overlooked variety of Medieval Hebrew.
  XIth Congress of the European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS 2018). Kraków, July 19, 2018. Abstract and slides.
• A “postcolonial” reading of Neolog Judaism in Hungary.
  XIth Congress of the European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS 2018). Kraków, July 16, 2018. Abstract and slides.
• “Whoever did not see the Rejoicing of the House of Drawing never saw rejoicing in his lifetime” (mSukkah 5:1):
  The role of high-arousal memories in post-destruction Judaism.
  Workshop “Personal and Social Emotions in Rabbinic Literature: Methods and Approaches”.
  University of Groningen, Netherlands, May 24–25, 2018. Slides.
• Optimality Theoretical morphology for hybrid grammars: Implementing Burzio’s Output-Output Faithfulness.
  18th International Morphology Meeting (IMM18), Budapest, May 10–13, 2018. Abstract and slides.
• What can we learn from implementing Optimality Theory?
  PTA workshop on ‘The importance of formalization in phonology’ at GLOW 41. April 14, 2018. Abstract and slides.
• From Harmonic Grammar to Optimality Theory: Production and maturation in q-HG.
  Generative Linguistics in the Old World (GLOW 41). April 11, 2018. Abstract and poster.
• Andrea Götz, Tamás Biró, Szandra Juhász, Kornélia Koltai and József Zsengellér:
  Magyar peregrinusok héber köszöntőversei a 17. században
  [Hebrew Carmina Gratulatoria by Hungarian Peregrines in the 17th Century].
  Hungarian Hebrew Studies Conference. February 8, 2018. Poster and abstract [in Hungarian].
• Honnan származik az ábécénk? Sémi nyelvek, sémi írások a hebraisztika szakon.
  [Where does our alphabet come from? Semitic languages and Semitic scripts in the Hebrew studies programme]
  ‘Open day’ at the Faculty of Humanities of ELTE (for prospective students). January 26, 2018. Slides.

2017

• From Harmonic Grammar to Optimality Theory: The strict domination limit.
  'K + K = 120' Workshop. Dedicated to László Kálmán and András Kornai on the occasion of their 60th birthdays.
  December 18, 2017. Research Institute for Linguistics, HAS, Budapest. Slides. Related paper.
• Neológ zsidóság és bibliakritika. [Neolog Judaism and Bible Criticism]
  In the series Az Írás arcai [The Faces of the Scriptures]. ELTE. December 13, 2017.
  Poster (in Hungarian). Facebook and ELTE News. Download slides.
• Meddig tart egy nyelv? Migráció és többnyelvűség a zsidó közösségekben.
  [How far/how long does a language last? Migration and multilingualism in Jewish communities.]
  Össznyelvész Conference. ELTE, November 10, 2017. Abstract and slides [in Hungarian].
• From neural networks to religious networks: An ICS (integrated connectionist/symbolic) architecture for religion.
  Fourth Symposium on Network Theory, Cognitive Science and Historiography.
  October 3, 2017, Orthes, Mylopotamos, Crete, Greece. Slides.
• Zsidó nyelvek, zsidók nyelvei [Jewish languages, the languages of the Jews].
  Researchers’ night, 2017 (link, poster, Facebook event). Slides [in Hungarian].
• AVM: Data Structures for the Cognitive Science of Religion
  Computational Foundations of Religious Cognition, workshop hosted by the IACSR
  at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, July 26, 2017. Abstract and poster. Picture.
• Harmonic Grammar growing into Optimality Theory: Maturation as the strict domination limit (or vice-versa).
  2nd Budapest Linguistics Conference, June 1–3, 2017. Abstract and slides.
• Optimalitáselmélet és analógia: tényleg kiengesztelhetetlen ellentét? [Optimality Theory and analogy: An irreconcilable conflict?]
  KAFA, Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, May 18, 2017. Abstract and slides (in Hungarian).
• Narratívák a status quo hitközségekről [Narratives about the status quo ante congregations].
  Schweitzer Lectures, by the Hungarian Hebrew Studies Society, Febr. 14., 2017. KRE, Budapest.
  Slides and abstract (in Hungarian).
• Héber nyelv(ek), zsidó nyelvek. [The Hebrew language(s) and the Jewish languages.]
  Open day at the Faculty of Humanities of ELTE. January 27, 2017. Slides.

2016

• Kulturálisan posztulált állapotok: Rituális tisztátalanság a zsidó vallásban és a kognitív vallástudományban
  [Culturally postulated states: Ritual impurity in Judaism and in the cognitive science of religion].
  Purum et immundum: vallási tisztaság és tisztátalanság [Conference on Ritual purity and impurity],
  October 14, 2016, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest. Slides.
• Agent-based modeling: Agents with a complex cognitive architecture (a tutorial).
  Network Theory and Computer Modeling in the Study of Religion, September 1, 2016, ELTE, Budapest. Slides.
• Mathematical modeling: A tutorial.
  Network Theory and Computer Modeling in the Study of Religion, August 31, 2016, ELTE, Budapest. Slides.
• Non-phonological factors of phonological variation: A large scale wug-experiment for Hungarian vowel harmony.
  Thirteenth Old World Conference in Phonology (OCP) (pictures: here), January 16, 2016, ELTE, Budapest.
  Abstract and slides. Joint work with Mihály Füredi.
• Backing vacillating stems: Hungarian vowel harmony in fast speech.
  Thirteenth Old World Conference in Phonology, Workshop on Variation in Phonology. January 13, 2016, Budapest.
  Abstract and slides. Joint work with Eszter Hetényi.

2015

• „Határozatlanság” vagy „aranyközépút”? Módszertani megjegyzések a neológia meghatározásához
  [“Uncertainty” or “Golden Mean”? Methodological remarks on defining the neolog movement.]
  A megújulás hagyománya – Zsidó és más monoteista identitásmintázatok kétszáz éve
  [The tradition of the renewal: conference on two hundred years of Jewish and other monotheistic identity patterns].
  December, 7, 2015, Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives, Budapest. Abstract and presentation (both in Hungarian).
• Let’s compute language! Mathematics, physics and algorithms in language.
  KöMaL Ifjúsági Ankét (Mathematical and Physical Journal for Secondary Schools), Budapest, Oct. 28, 2015. Presentation.
• Bible reading practices in Judaism.
  Conference on Bible reading, Károli Gáspár Reformed University (KRE), Budapest, October 23, 2015.
  Reports and pictures: evangelikus.hu, and reformatus.hu.
• What appears and what does not appear in speech: Performance errors, covered information and language change.
  Talk given at KAFA, the series of the Experimental and Analogy-Based Phonology and Morphology Research Group,
  October 8, 2015, Research Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest. Abstract and slides.
• (Not) only the circumcised may circumcise: Theological correctness and intuitive religiosity in Judaism
  XXI IAHR World Congress (International Association for the History of Religions), August 24, 2015, Erfurt, Germany.
  Abstract and presentation (both pdf).
• Can you learn hidden information?
  Budapest Linguistics Conference (BLINC), June 18, 2015, ELTE, Budapest. Abstract and presentation.
• Az áldozat fogalma kognitív vallástudományi megközelítésben.
  [The concept of the ‘sacrifice’ from a cognitive science of religion perspective.]
  „Áldozat” szümposzion [Symposion on ‘Sacrifice’],
  Wesley János Lelkészképző Főiskola [John Wesley Theological College], May 1, 2015. Download the article.
• „Ez a hónap legyen nektek a hónapok elseje” (Ex. 12:2): Rabbinikus csillagászat és naptárszámítás dióhéjban.
  [“This month shall be for you the first of the months” (Ex. 12:2): Rabbinical astronomy and calendar in a nutshell.]
  OR-ZSE doctoral program, May 5, 2015.

2014

• Hanukka candle lighting at the exhibition Picking up the Pieces of the Museum of Ethnography.
  December 17, 2014, at 6 pm (local copy). Speech (in Hungarian).
• Nyelvészet, kultúra, vallás, számítógép – és ezek kapcsolata: “Bemutatkozó” előadás
  [Linguistics, culture, religion, computers – and the relation between all of these: Introducing myself].
  Department talk, October, 6, 2014. Slides.
• “Jegar Szahaduta” vagy “Galed”? Héber és arámi a Tanachban és a zsidó történelemben
  [Yegar Sahaduta or Galed? Hebrew and Aramaic in the Tanach and in Jewish history].
  OR-ZSE doctoral program, November 11, 2014. Summary (in Hungarian).
• Ki metélte körül Ábrahámot? Gen. 17. a nyelvész szemszögéből
  [Who circumcised Abraham? Gen. 17 from the perspective of the linguist].
  OR-ZSE doctoral program, September 30, 2014. Summary (in Hungarian).