This thesis investigates the prosodic properties of the Mandarin Chinese sentence final particle ne. Frequency (F0) and duration of the particle in questions and declaratives are analyzed, as well...Show moreThis thesis investigates the prosodic properties of the Mandarin Chinese sentence final particle ne. Frequency (F0) and duration of the particle in questions and declaratives are analyzed, as well as the influence of the particle on prosodic properties of preceding syllables. It was found that the particle ne has different realizations with respect to interrogative and declarative sentences, and that it influences the prosody of preceding syllables to a certain extent.Show less
This study focuses on the variation in pronunciation of 18 Dutch loanwords. These loanwords know variation in a vowel or consonant, or in their stress pattern. With the help of a questionnaire and...Show moreThis study focuses on the variation in pronunciation of 18 Dutch loanwords. These loanwords know variation in a vowel or consonant, or in their stress pattern. With the help of a questionnaire and wordlist, the varying pronunciation forms of these Dutch loanwords were analysed. By studying the origin of these loanwords, it became evident whether the donor language influenced the pronunciation. It became clear that French is the most influential donor language with regards to the pronunciation. Correlations with sex, age, region, educational level, and dialect proficiency were also studied to find any patterns. The social variables sex and educational level influenced the choices speakers made for a certain pronunciation form the most.Show less
In deze scriptie is er onderzoek gedaan naar beleefdheid in reclames. Het was een cross-linguistisch onderzoek tussen het Engels en het Nederlands. Hieruit bleek dat, hoewel de verschillen klein...Show moreIn deze scriptie is er onderzoek gedaan naar beleefdheid in reclames. Het was een cross-linguistisch onderzoek tussen het Engels en het Nederlands. Hieruit bleek dat, hoewel de verschillen klein zijn, er merkbaar een duidelijkere keuze was voor beleefdheid in de zin van Brown en Levinson bij de Engelsen dan bij de Nederlanders.Show less
Im niederländischen Fremdsprachenunterricht stellt sich immer wieder heraus, dass die Modalverben für Schwierigkeiten während der Deutschstunde sorgen. Es handelt sich dabei nicht nur um...Show moreIm niederländischen Fremdsprachenunterricht stellt sich immer wieder heraus, dass die Modalverben für Schwierigkeiten während der Deutschstunde sorgen. Es handelt sich dabei nicht nur um Sprachschwierigkeiten, sondern auch um Verständigungsprobleme. Im Mittelpunkt dieser Arbeit stehen die Modalverben müssen und sollen und ihr niederländisches Äquivalent moeten, da sie im DaF-Unterricht für die größten Schwierigkeiten sorgen. Diese Untersuchung hat einerseits zum Ziel eine kontrastive Analyse der deutschen und niederländischen Modalverben müssen, sollen und moeten darzustellen. Andererseits werden die sprachlichen Probleme niederländischer Schüler beim Erlernen und beim Gebrauch dieser deutschen Modalverben gezeigt. Das Ergebnis dieser Arbeit ist eine didaktische Konzeption für die erfolgreiche Vermittlung der Modalverben im niederländische DaF-Unterricht.Show less
The results of this research show that female participants have more positive attitudes towards English loanwords than male participants. Female participants were consistently more positive...Show moreThe results of this research show that female participants have more positive attitudes towards English loanwords than male participants. Female participants were consistently more positive regarding statements 1, 2 and 3 or, respectively, this is an ordinary Dutch sentence, the use of [loanword] is appropriate in this sentence and I would also make use of this sentence as can be found in Figure 1. Furthermore, there is significant correlation at the 0.05 level between both statement 2 and statement 3 and gender, which means that female participants have scored significantly higher than male participants for these statements. The results of this research also suggest that the mean scores of the participants become consistently lower when age increases for each of the statements. Figure 2 shows that the mean scores for the statements mentioned above consistently decrease when ages of the participants increase. These data suggest that older participants have more negative attitudes towards loanwords than younger participants. In furthermore, there is significant negative correlation at the 0.05 level between the statement I would also make use of this sentence and age. This implies that the attitudes towards using these loanwords are significantly more negative when the ages of the participants increase. This research indicated that most participants do not prefer alternative words to the used loanwords. Table 11 (in section 4.3) indicates that crash is the loanword with the most preferred alternatives as it is preferably replaced by ongeluk and neerstorten, according to nine and ten participants, respectively. Table 11 also indicates that seven participants prefer vraaggesprek to interview, six participants prefer behaald or gepresteerd to gescoord and five participants prefer peiling(en) and voorlopige uitslagen to exit polls. Preferred alternatives to the other loanwords were only provided by four participants or less, and are therefore not widely supported among the participants. In addition, the majority of the loanwords (all except crash) are catachrestic. Furthermore, the results of this research suggest that the participants generally consider that the used loanwords are more precise than other Dutch words. The second favoured reason is that participants consider that the used loanwords sound better regarding pronunciation, which can be found in Table 12.Show less
This thesis explores the language situation on the Isle of man, and looks into the ongoing language revitalization thereof. The research outlines what steps a language revitalization process...Show moreThis thesis explores the language situation on the Isle of man, and looks into the ongoing language revitalization thereof. The research outlines what steps a language revitalization process consists of, which steps are the most efficient and how they may be applied to the Manx Gaelic language situation, whether Manx Gaelic can be revitalized, and whether the language attitudes of the inhabitants of the Isle of Man have an influence on the ongoing revitalization effort. The results of this thesis were gathered though the means of a survey, and through the participants’ replies, the optimal method of Manx Gaelic language revitalization is found, and this approach is outlined.Show less
The origin of the research idea of this thesis comes from a feature discovered through fieldwork on Bugis, a Western Malayo-Polynesian language. In this language, two different word orders are...Show moreThe origin of the research idea of this thesis comes from a feature discovered through fieldwork on Bugis, a Western Malayo-Polynesian language. In this language, two different word orders are possible: in the basic order, different affixes occur on the verb and the arguments, while the non basic order receives no marking. The goal of this thesis is to examine some unrelated languages in order to find out if, with different word orders, there is any difference in marking. Seven languages belonging to different families and areas have been chosen for this purpose: Tuvan (South Siberian Turkic), Lao (Tai, Tai-Kadai), Figuig Berber (Berber, Afroasiatic), Itonama (Amazonian isolate), Savosavo (Papuan), Madurese (Western Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian) and Santali (Munda, Austroasiatic). The obtained results indicate that most languages show some different marking with different word orders, and a few languages that do not, have a rigid word order that does not allow changes. The changes in marking are not as obvious as in Bugis except in Madurese, which shows a high interaction between marking and word order. Moreover, the fact that clauses with the basic word order receive more marking occurs also in Figuig Berber. Further research with many more languages would be needed in order to discover if this feature may be common cross linguistically, given that the low number of the studied languages does not allow cross linguistic generalisations.Show less
This thesis analyses the English borrowings in a corpus of Dutch original and translated cookbooks. The main purpose is to determine whether translators’ tendency to explain and clarify causes them...Show moreThis thesis analyses the English borrowings in a corpus of Dutch original and translated cookbooks. The main purpose is to determine whether translators’ tendency to explain and clarify causes them to produce translations that contain fewer anglicisms than similar original Dutch texts. The results show that the anglicisms found in the translations and original texts are similar in terms of type, function, and degree of conventionality, but the total number of anglicisms is larger for the corpus of original texts.Show less
This paper is aimed at offering a theoretical discussion and interdisciplinary investigation into theories and concepts concerning categorization and individual and/or group differences in...Show moreThis paper is aimed at offering a theoretical discussion and interdisciplinary investigation into theories and concepts concerning categorization and individual and/or group differences in cognition. From this it is suggested that there is the possibility of miscommunication, or at least degradation of the communicative value of a message, as the result of perception and/or reception differences concerning the connotations (consisting of of all combined properties and implications) of specific lexical items between individuals and/or groups. These differences are suggested to be present both in practical instances of use as well as in people's prototypes of said terms. Based on these theoretical expectations a schematic model is created, and a possible solution in the form of intralingual intersemantic translation is suggested. The theory, model, and solution are exemplified through an investigative qualitative case study into the use of the term sustainability by several political leaders in environmental speeches.Show less
British literature was becoming increasingly popular in the Dutch book market around 1900. British books were imported and translated on a large scale. This dissertation presents a case study of...Show moreBritish literature was becoming increasingly popular in the Dutch book market around 1900. British books were imported and translated on a large scale. This dissertation presents a case study of the translation and publication of the novels by the British author Mary Augusta Ward in the Netherlands from 1888 to 1924. An analysis of primary evidence from the Bohn Archives of the Leiden University Library and the Vereeniging ter Bevordering van de Belangen des Boekhandels’ "Nieuwsblad voor den Boekhandel", offers new insights into Dutch translation rights procedures, the negotiations between the Dutch and the British publishers of Ward’s works, the communication between the Dutch publishers and the translators, the competition between English editions of Ward’s novels and the Dutch translations, and the publication of unofficial, competing, translations. In this dissertation, the Dutch publisher De Erven F. Bohn is shown to have paid Smith Elder & Co of London in order to be the first to obtain the Dutch rights to translate Ward’s novels, despite the fact that the Netherlands had not yet signed the Berne Convention. Furthermore, evidence is found suggesting that individual translators could have titles registered at the Translation Committee on their own behalf, in order to become the private owner of the Dutch translation rights. In addition, the archival sources show that there was a danger of competing Dutch translations being published in the Dutch periodicals of the time, and of the Dutch readers reading the novel in English if their patience was tried, throughout the translation and publication process of Ward’s novels.Show less
