The current research project has employed qualitative methods to conduct a language attitude study that gauges the inter-generational perspectives of South Africans about the variety of English...Show moreThe current research project has employed qualitative methods to conduct a language attitude study that gauges the inter-generational perspectives of South Africans about the variety of English spoken in the country and its accents. The objective of this research project is to evaluate how South Africans feel about English, 26 years since the inception of democracy in the country, its role in education, governance and business, and the value they assign to language status. Ten South Africans between the ages of 17 and 65 from the main ethnicities in the country (Black, White, Coloured, Indian, Muslim) have been interviewed according to a semi-structured Interview Protocol. The attitudes of the younger speakers were compared to those that were born in previous generations, before democracy. The phonological properties of the participants’ speech were recorded within the BATH, KIT and GOOSE vowel spaces which have been identified as important social markers in South Africa and the South African English (SAE) sound. The participants pronunciations across the ethnic and social class spectrum were evaluated. The interviews and phonological recordings were conducted according to an elicited communications methodology (computer-mediated) using WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook. The participant attitudes were coded into six categories, i.e. positive, negative, perceptiveness, awareness, overcompensation, political correctness. Their vowel recordings were analysed according to its place of articulation and the presence of fronting. The participants displayed an innate positive attitude toward SAE and its role in stimulating future progress in the country.Show less
Linguistic literature addressing the roles of discourse particles in English Lingua Franca (ELF) settings currently remains scarce. Research has shown that ELF communication presents different...Show moreLinguistic literature addressing the roles of discourse particles in English Lingua Franca (ELF) settings currently remains scarce. Research has shown that ELF communication presents different rules and structures than native English conversations. This study aims to explore the use of the particle I mean in ELF business communication. Building on general work in the subject, it asks two main questions: What are the functions of I mean as a DP used by ELF speakers in business settings? To what extent is I mean employed to pre-empt communicative misunderstanding? Based on the review of previous findings and the analysis of empirical data from a corpus of ELF business meetings, this thesis demonstrates the multifunctionality of I mean executing 15 functions. The results indicate that speakers in such contexts stay engaged in discourse, anticipating any potential source of misunderstanding. On that basis, it is recommended that further research should concentrate in the study of the influence situations involving hierarchical structures like business meetings have on the behaviour of I mean.Show less
This research is aimed at characterizing the Dutch law of perjury with theories of lying as described by philosophers of language. In American law various inconsistencies of perjury cases led to...Show moreThis research is aimed at characterizing the Dutch law of perjury with theories of lying as described by philosophers of language. In American law various inconsistencies of perjury cases led to research on the topic. Those studies all have concluded that lying and perjury differ greatly in several notable areas. Often discussed is the well-known perjury case of former US President Clinton. Research states Bill Clinton obviously was not speaking the truth, but he was never impeached with perjury. Possible explanations could be a political agenda or the lack of adequate evidence. This research paper will discuss the differences between the Dutch and American legal systems, as well as offering a critical analysis of why these systems differ. The central question in this research answers in what ways the Dutch law of perjury can be characterized by the pragmatic theories of lying. Four court cases, all different in outcome, will be linguistically analysed. The linguistic analysis performed in this research is based on Grice’s maxims of Cooperation, Searle’s Speech Act theory, the provided definition of lying and the analytic tools as described by Shuy. This will provide various insights in the interpretation of the Dutch perjury law. Based on the results, this research paper concludes that lying cannot perfectly characterize the Dutch law of perjury, however, they cannot be fully separated from each other either. What this analysis clearly shows are the possibilities of a linguistic analysis when discussing perjury lawsuits. The discourse analysis can provide insights in someone’s intentions, as well as the weaknesses in someone’s statements. This paper strongly promotes the statement that using linguistic analyses is beneficial to the legal system, especially in court cases concerning crimes of language.Show less
Naar aanleiding van de toenemende aandacht voor de vrouwelijke retoriek in de politiek en de publicatie van Grebelsky-Lichtman (2017) is er in deze scriptie onderzoek gedaan naar het gebruik van...Show moreNaar aanleiding van de toenemende aandacht voor de vrouwelijke retoriek in de politiek en de publicatie van Grebelsky-Lichtman (2017) is er in deze scriptie onderzoek gedaan naar het gebruik van vrouwelijke communicatiekenmerken door acht Nederlandse fractieleiders, vier vrouwen en vier mannen. Door van iedere fractieleider één toespraak te onderzoeken op het gebruik van zes verschillende aan de vrouwelijke spreekstijl toegekende communicatiekenmerken, zoals opgesteld door Grebelsky-Lichtman (2017), is er getracht om een antwoord te geven op de volgende hoofdvraag: In hoeverre gebruiken Nederlandse vrouwelijke en mannelijke politici communicatiekenmerken toegekend aan de vrouwelijke spreekstijl in hun toespraken gegeven tijdens de Algemene Beschouwingen in de Tweede Kamer, gebaseerd op het model van Grebelsky-Lichtman (2017)? De deelvraag die in dit scriptieonderzoek geadresseerd wordt is als volgt: In hoeverre kan er een sterk verband aangetoond worden tussen communicatiekenmerken en gender in een beperkt corpus? Grebelsky-Lichtman heeft haar onderzoek gefundeerd op verschillende theorieën, zoals IMT, PIM en AAT. De theorieën zijn afkomstig uit relevante literatuur op het gebied van communicatie en politiek. Centraal in het onderzoek staat de analyse van een corpus bestaande uit 24 toespraken gegeven door 12 invloedrijke vrouwelijke politici, afkomstig uit verschillende Westerse landen, waarin wordt onderzocht welke communicatiekenmerken door deze vrouwen gebruikt worden. De conclusie van het onderzoek van Grebelsky-Lichtman (2017) is dat de geanalyseerde vrouwen allemaal gebruik maken van een zogenoemd gemixt communicatiemodel, bestaande uit het gebruik van voornamelijk mannelijke communicatiekenmerken en een minimale hoeveelheid kenmerken gekoppeld aan de vrouwelijke spreekstijl, en vrouwelijke non-verbale communicatiekenmerken. Door te onderzoeken in welke mate de Nederlandse fractieleiders gebruik maken van vrouwelijke communicatiekenmerken kan de conclusie getrokken worden of er in Nederland ook sprake is van het gebruik van een gemixte communicatieset of dat de Nederlandse fractieleiders zich vasthouden aan de kenmerken die worden gekoppeld aan hun gender vanuit gevestigde wetenschappelijke inzichten. De conclusie van dit scriptieonderzoek is dat de Nederlandse fractieleiders communicatiekenmerken gebruiken die onafhankelijk zijn van hun gender. De geanalyseerde mannelijke en vrouwelijke fractieleiders gebruiken beide een minimale hoeveelheid vrouwelijke kenmerken in hun toespraken. Ook is er geconcludeerd dat vrouwen significant meer gebruik maken van het aan de vrouwelijke spreekstijl toegekende communicatiekenmerk verzoeken doen aan medepolitici, en dat de mannen significant meer gebruik maken van het aan de vrouwelijke spreekstijl toegekende communicatiekenmerk stellen van vragen. Om aan te tonen in hoeverre de verschillen in gebruik van alle zes communicatiekenmerken significant zijn is er gebruik gemaakt van log likelihood, een berekening die geschikt is om te gebruiken voor verschijnselen die weinig voorkomen in een corpus. Er kan in dit corpus niet aangetoond worden dat er een verband bestaat tussen communicatiekenmerken en gender. De reden dat ook de mannelijke fractieleiders gebruik maken van vrouwelijke communicatiekenmerken is dat de kenmerken wellicht niet gender gebonden, maar genre gebonden zijn.Show less
In the field of comparative German-Dutch linguistics, there is a preconception that AN-compounds are much more productive in German than in Dutch (Booij 2019: 10, Hüning 2004: 160). After analyzing...Show moreIn the field of comparative German-Dutch linguistics, there is a preconception that AN-compounds are much more productive in German than in Dutch (Booij 2019: 10, Hüning 2004: 160). After analyzing a list of German and Dutch AN-compounds, this does not seem true. Both languages have a substantial number of AN-compounds. In the framework of Construction Morphology, the productivity of a pattern is defined as the openness of one ore more ‘slots’ (Booij 2010, Jackendoff & Audring 2020). AN-compounds have two slots: in the first slot we find adjectives, in the second slot we find nouns. A pattern is productive if the slots are open for new words, so new combinations (new AN-compounds) can easily be made and understood. In this MA thesis, the lists of attested German and Dutch AN-compounds, collected from the Celex database (http://celex.mpi.nl), will be analyzed for each variable slot (A and N respectively). The goal is to find out which of the slots in the [AN]N pattern is more open and to identify potential restrictions for each slot. We could assume that some adjectives are more frequent than others, for instance that there are a lot of compounds which start with half-/ Halb- but not so many with the Dutch adjective astraal- or the German adjective achter-. This will raise the question whether the pattern [AN]N is productive or if it is just the subpattern [half-N]N and if those subpatterns influence our perception of the productivity of the [AN]N pattern. It might be possible that those subpatterns are in fact the productive ones instead of the [AN]N pattern itself. In this thesis I will research how productive the compounding of adjectives and nouns is in German and Dutch, what the differences are between the two languages and what the subpatterns tell us about the productivity of a word formation.Show less
This thesis describes and analyzes the semantic categorization of fauna terms in Wayana and the role of culturally significant animals. Wayana is a Cariban language and this thesis specifically...Show moreThis thesis describes and analyzes the semantic categorization of fauna terms in Wayana and the role of culturally significant animals. Wayana is a Cariban language and this thesis specifically focusses on the language as it is spoken in the village of Apetina in the south of Suriname. My research approaches this subject using a transdisciplinary view in order to broaden the perspective on fauna to include indigenous knowledge which in turn can enlighten us about different conceptualizations of the world. Using the data collected from elicitations and spontaneous speech in the village over the course of two visits, I will attempt to create a semantic network of fauna terms. Issues on the perspective on fauna in Wayana include what their categorizations are for animals (e.g. what animals do they eat/do they not eat? How are the animals categorized, and in what priority?). I also attempt to create a better understanding of the role of fauna in ecological management and the role fauna plays in what could be called the “Wayana calendar”. This traditional ecological indigenous knowledge can lead to a deeper understanding of Wayana and the relation that the Wayana have with their natural world.Show less
The bilingual brain has the ability to control and switch between languages at any given moment. This alternation between two languages is known as code-switching (Bullock & Toribio, 2009),...Show moreThe bilingual brain has the ability to control and switch between languages at any given moment. This alternation between two languages is known as code-switching (Bullock & Toribio, 2009), which requires cognitive control mechanisms to inhibit the first language once the second language is encountered (Green & Wei, 2014). During the process of switching from one language to the other, costs have been observed, which are assumed to mirror the effort required to access the target language schema. With this background in mind, this study examined the influence of intra-sentential code-switch types on cognitive control costs on (N= 70) L1 Greek L2 English bilinguals. We used an executive function task, where participants were presented with code-switched and non-code-switched sentences that were followed by either a comprehension question or a Flanker trial. Comprehension findings showed that higher scores in Accuracy lead to greater cognitive effort, and thus, costs on monolingual conditions, and in the presence of a code-switch, the costs and levels of Accuracy were decreased. Results from the Flanker task demonstrated a significant link between code-switching type and direction: the performance on Alternational Conditions demanded greater levels of inhibition, and entailed larger costs compared to Insertional Conditions, that caused lower costs. However, the overall performance was better when on the direction of the switch occurred from the L2 to L1, in all levels. Lastly, it was observed that after a code-switch sentence, the performance on Flanker Congruency was faster and more accurate in incongruent than congruent trials. These results provide evidence of the processing demands that intra-sentential code-switch types generate in terms of domain-general cognitive control cost mechanisms.Show less
In this thesis I present articulatory processes to challenge the restrictive grammar of Element Theory. Backley’s work presents the many advantages of this new grammar and its implementations in...Show moreIn this thesis I present articulatory processes to challenge the restrictive grammar of Element Theory. Backley’s work presents the many advantages of this new grammar and its implementations in phonological analyses. However; ET’s purely acoustic origins reflects signs of substantial restriction when the grammar is utilized to describe purely articulatory processes such as nasal place assimilation. In some cases a possible solution can be presented in the segmental structure where in other cases the theory as represented in Backley (2011) just reasons to be too restrictive.Show less
Offensive and taboo words are becoming more common in audiovisual texts. Consequently, a translator or subtitler is faced with the complexities of transferring this type of language into the target...Show moreOffensive and taboo words are becoming more common in audiovisual texts. Consequently, a translator or subtitler is faced with the complexities of transferring this type of language into the target text. This study is a qualitative and quantitative analysis of offensive and taboo words, their function, and the transfer of these components to the Dutch subtitles of Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012). An adapted version of Avila-Cabrera’s (2015a) taxonomy, who differentiates between offensive and taboo words, is used in this study. Pinker (2007) and Dynel’s (2012) typologies of function is used for the classification of function. The results show a frequent use of offensive and taboo words in both movies. There were significant differences in the offensive and taboo words found in the source texts and the target texts. For example, Inglourious Basterds contained offensive words comprised of references to diseases, whereas this was not the case in the source text. However, there were no significant differences in the subtitling of offensive and taboo words between the both movies. Overall, the results suggest that other reasons besides the harshness of the written offensive/taboo words, played a significant role in the translation choices made. Taboo words had more plot-pertinent functions than offensive words, and were therefore retained more often. Also, temporal and spatial constraints and the availability of certain offensive and taboo words in the target language affected the subtitling. In conclusion, the subtitling of offensive and taboo words might not always meet the viewers’ expectations and those of traditional translation, however, there are certain linguistic and cultural justifications associated with the subtitling’s choices.Show less
This thesis examines to what extent the long midvowels [eː], [oː], and [øː] are diphthongised in L1 Dutch and whether phonetic transfer of these diphthongisation patterns from L1 Dutch to L2 German...Show moreThis thesis examines to what extent the long midvowels [eː], [oː], and [øː] are diphthongised in L1 Dutch and whether phonetic transfer of these diphthongisation patterns from L1 Dutch to L2 German occurs. In order to collect data to answer the research questions, two recorded scripts, one in L1 Dutch and one in L2 German, from 29 participants between 18 and 25 years old are analysed. The script involves 15 words, five per phoneme, in both languages. These phonemes are measured for their vowel duration and the corresponding formant values for F1 and F2 at 25% and 75% of the vowel duration. In doing so, figures are constructed signifying a line of diphthongisation for each phoneme. Additionally, the data are analysed per word and per participant, and are compared to the average results of all participants together. The results suggest that the phonemes [eː], [oː], and [øː] are diphthongised in L1 Dutch and that phonetic transfer occurs as predicted by Flege’s (1988, 1990, 1991, 2007) Speech Learning Model.Show less
Despite the increased scholarly attention towards swearing, there is no consensus on the matter of gendered swearing (Dewaele, 2016, 2017; Hughes, 2006; Jay, 2000; Jay & Jay, 2013; McEnery,...Show moreDespite the increased scholarly attention towards swearing, there is no consensus on the matter of gendered swearing (Dewaele, 2016, 2017; Hughes, 2006; Jay, 2000; Jay & Jay, 2013; McEnery, 2004). Moreover, perceptions of profanity related to adolescence and other than English languages, like Dutch, have received relatively little scholarly attention. Hence, the present research aimed to advance the understanding of gendered perceptions of use and offensiveness of profane language of Dutch adolescents. A mixed-method was employed utilizing questionnaires (n = 352) and interviews (n = 12) amongst Dutch youth to gauge perceptions of swearing in different domains, the offensiveness of swear words and differences in attitudes towards native Dutch or borrowed English swear words. While adolescents are believed to be most prone to swearing, this was not reflected in the findings of the current study, since adolescents did not rate their utterances as frequent. “Kanker” was perceived as most offensive and “kut” as most frequently uttered. Participants also shared opinions on perceived appropriateness of swearing in different domains. Moreover, Dutch profanities were perceived as more offensive than borrowed English swear words. This was mirrored in the perceptions of religious-related words: Dutch religion-related profanities were considered possibly blasphemous depending on the religious beliefs of the hearer, while English religion-related profanities were never perceived offensive. Note that “O my God” was perceived as feminine. Differences in perceptions on profanities between young men and women were found as well. Young men were perceived to swear more frequently, employing stronger swear words and perceived profanities referring to sexual orientation less offensive. Young women perceived swear words as more offensive and felt restrained by society in their swearing behaviour. These results are in line with McEnery (2004), who concluded that men are still on the lead in terms of frequency and offensiveness of swearing.Show less
This thesis aims at providing a preliminary description of body part terms and their use in Hamar, a language of Ethiopia. Mainly based on elicited data from a native speaker, an overview is given...Show moreThis thesis aims at providing a preliminary description of body part terms and their use in Hamar, a language of Ethiopia. Mainly based on elicited data from a native speaker, an overview is given of body part terms in Hamar. Several lexical and grammatical features of body part terms are discussed. It is explained why a body part partonomy could not be established. Going beyond the human body, animal body part terms and their relation to human body part terms are explored. The way in which Hamar denotes the ‘top’ and the ‘back’ of objects is based on anthropomorphic and zoomorphic models. It is argued that body part mapping in Hamar is mainly due to an analogy in shape/appearance, space/position and function. Hamar uses body part terms to express deictic orientation, similar to other African languages. In doing so, the language interacts with case markers and elevation deictics. Based on the four-stage model of Heine et al. (1991), it is argued that Hamar body parts have only partly been grammaticalized. Locational body part nouns usually appear as BODY PART NOUN-F.OBL-LOCATIONAL CASE MARKER and are part of a genitive construction.Show less
The thematic stems are an important class within the Indo-European nominal morphology. This thesis seeks to analyze how the thematic class should be reconstructed for Proto-Anatolian and an early...Show moreThe thematic stems are an important class within the Indo-European nominal morphology. This thesis seeks to analyze how the thematic class should be reconstructed for Proto-Anatolian and an early stage of Indo-European, through the study of the class in the major Anatolian languages.Show less
Questa tesi approfondisce lo status quaestionis dell’accusativo preposizionale, il quale è in continua espansione sia nell’italiano che nelle altre lingue romanze. È stato elaborato un quadro...Show moreQuesta tesi approfondisce lo status quaestionis dell’accusativo preposizionale, il quale è in continua espansione sia nell’italiano che nelle altre lingue romanze. È stato elaborato un quadro teorico in cui questo fenomeno linguistico, le gerarchie e le tipologie verbali sono discussi in dettaglio. Sulla base di questo quadro, le due banche dati (PEC e BADIP) sono state esaminate. Inoltre il sondaggio ha fornito una visione aggiornata sull’uso dell’accusativo preposizionale. Questi dati sono stati confrontati tra loro e con la teoria, al fine di fornire una risposta alla domanda di ricerca: Quanto l’accusativo preposizionale sia diffuso nell’italiano parlato contemporaneo nell’Italia settentrionale e nella Toscana?Show less
Recently, there has been a renewed interest in understanding the linguistic behaviour of humans when profanity is used. However, much of the current literature focuses on adult participants, the...Show moreRecently, there has been a renewed interest in understanding the linguistic behaviour of humans when profanity is used. However, much of the current literature focuses on adult participants, the factual usage of swear words or the distinction between English as an L1 and L2 when using profane expressions. Thus, the perceived profane behaviour amongst Dutch adolescents still has to be understood. Hence, this research aimed to analyse the perception of frequency and severity with regard to profane behaviour amongst Dutch adolescents. As a result, four research questions were posed in order to compare the perceptions of adolescents to profanity in relation to two demographic factors, namely, socioeconomic status and urbanity. The different social contexts and the perception of severity related to such contexts were also explored. The current study employed a crosslinguistic approach using both a questionnaire and follow-up interviews as tools. The results of this research show that the lower socioeconomic status group perceived their swearing behaviour as less frequent compared to average and higher socioeconomic statuses. The degree of urbanity for the places in which the schools were situated was divided into three categories: urban, semi-urban, and rural, based on the official ranking of the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek considering the address density (CBS, 2019). When regarding the perceptual parameter for frequency and severity, the findings yield similar results, concluding that the students in rural areas perceive to use the most frequent, and severe profane words. Lastly, the different social environments in which Dutch adolescents perceive to use profane words were analysed. The findings show a general tendency of profanity being expressed in informal environments, and in particular in the presence of friends. However, it seems unacceptable to utter swear words when in the presence of a family member or an authoritative figure. This study implies that Dutch adolescents perceive to use swear words frequently, distinguishing between mild swear words such as ""kut"" ""fuck"", and ""shit"" versus more severe expressions such as ""kanker"" ""tyfus"" and ""homo"". This is in line with the existing literature 4 (see, e.g. Jay, 1992; Jay & Janschewits, 2008). In order to gain more insight into the perspective of Dutch adolescents, further research could be required.Show less
The Netherlands is a country with a subtitling tradition. This tradition would suggest that Dutch viewers generally have a more positive attitude towards Dutch subtitling compared to Dutch dubbing....Show moreThe Netherlands is a country with a subtitling tradition. This tradition would suggest that Dutch viewers generally have a more positive attitude towards Dutch subtitling compared to Dutch dubbing. However, this subtitling tradition does not seem to have been established at the hand of the attitudes of Dutch viewers towards both modes, considering these attitudes have received nearly no coverage in academic work. This is problematic, since a lack of data on these attitudes makes it challenging for translators of audiovisual media to create translations that are suitable for a Dutch audience. Therefore, this thesis collected data on the attitudes of 53 Dutch participants towards Dutch subtitling and dubbing in the Netherlands through an online questionnaire. The results show that the participants prefer Dutch subtitles over Dutch dubs, but also rate the overall quality of both modes in a similar manner and even list slightly more disadvantages for Dutch subtitles than Dutch dubs. There also appears to be a consensus amongst the participants that children are the main target audience for Dutch dubs, and most participants indicated that Dutch dubs are the most suitable for children’s programs, cartoons and commercials. Furthermore, 69.8% of the participants believe that there is a negative stigma surrounding Dutch dubs and 88.7% of the participants stated that they do not desire for more audiovisual media to become available with Dutch dubs. Additionally, 49.1% of the participants indicated they do not desire for more audiovisual media to become available with Dutch subtitles either. Although 56.6% of the participants indicated they do not feel restricted by Dutch subtitles, the majority of the participants stated that they frequently disagree with the translation choices in Dutch subtitles. Finally, 66% of the participants indicated that they prefer English subtitles over Dutch subtitles. While these findings only represent the attitudes of 53 Dutch viewers, they can form a starting point for future research regarding attitudes towards both modes in the Netherlands.Show less
This study aimed to investigate the ways in which multilingual Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning+ (LGBTQ+) youth in Dutch cities make use of English originating ‘queer’ language...Show moreThis study aimed to investigate the ways in which multilingual Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning+ (LGBTQ+) youth in Dutch cities make use of English originating ‘queer’ language and why they utilise it. A mixed-methods survey was used to collect data in order to answer the research question (how and why do multilingual LGBTQ+ youth in Dutch cities make use of ‘queer’ language originating from English?) and sub- questions. The content of the survey was developed in response to past research and consisted of three sections which each investigated different aspects of the research question. The results showed which lexical items are most commonly used by the LGBTQ+ youth aged 18-30 in Dutch cities and also demonstrated that English is overwhelmingly the preferred language of use when multilingual LGBTQ+ youth wish to discuss/describe their sexual/gender identity. The results also suggest that ‘queer’ language is being used to create a sense of belonging to a community and to better integrate and socialise with others within the LGBTQ+ community.Show less
This thesis investigates the relationship between vocabulary and grammar learning aptitude (measured by two LLAMA subtests) and accuracy constituents in adult L2 speakers’ oral and written...Show moreThis thesis investigates the relationship between vocabulary and grammar learning aptitude (measured by two LLAMA subtests) and accuracy constituents in adult L2 speakers’ oral and written discourse productions. It also examines the relationship between the speaking and writing attainment, and the extent to which the link between performance in aptitude and speaking differs from the one for writing. Oral and written picture narratives elicited from 30 ESL speakers were analyzed and coded in terms of lexical and morphosyntactic errors per 100 words. The results of the Spearman correlation analyses revealed that vocabulary learning aptitude is significantly associated with the command of lexis and morphosyntax in writing, explicit grammar learning aptitude shows no significant association with accuracy in both production modes, and time availability in writing has no influence on the interplay between explicit and implicit knowledge with regard to the access of lexical forms. No significant differences were found with respect to the strength of aptitude-speaking and aptitude-writing relations.Show less
Regional Dialect Levelling is a common development in a number of languages whereby supra-local forms are diffused over regionally marked forms (Auer, 1998; Kerswill, 2002; 2003; Kerswill &...Show moreRegional Dialect Levelling is a common development in a number of languages whereby supra-local forms are diffused over regionally marked forms (Auer, 1998; Kerswill, 2002; 2003; Kerswill & Williams, 2002). Basque sociolinguists (Unamuno & Aurrekoetxea, 2013; Zuazo, 1998) have also observed levelling patterns in the language, arguably under the influence of the standard. According to Aurrekoetxea (2006, p. 147), one of the features that seems to be undergoing change towards supra-localisation is the cross-dialectally widespread Low Vowel Assimilation (LVA); however, this phenomenon has received little sociolinguistic attention. Therefore, this study aims to gauge the depth of variation of LVA in the Western Basque town of Lezama in order to determine whether claims of levelling can be substantiated. Through an apparent-time study of two generations of Lezamans, the results reported here do not fully support a levelling interpretation of the feature. Gender-specific patterns of use emerge that corroborate observations that “women deviate less than men from linguistic norms when the deviations are overtly proscribed, but more than men when the deviations are not proscribed” (Labov, 2001, p. 367). Furthermore, consistent with recent studies (Elordieta & Romera, in press; Urtzelai Vicente, 2018), attitudes towards the ingroup are established as a determinant of the language trends in Lezama.Show less
This thesis provides an insight into the workings and uses of Indonesian metaphors in a Malay-speaking area. It is shown that despite not having Indonesian as their native language, most...Show moreThis thesis provides an insight into the workings and uses of Indonesian metaphors in a Malay-speaking area. It is shown that despite not having Indonesian as their native language, most participants were still able to recognise Indonesian metaphors when presented with them in an interview.Show less
