Het plotseling verschijnen van portolaankaarten in de 13de en 14de eeuw houdt historici en cartografen al eeuwen bezig. Deze scriptie probeert een nieuw licht op dit mysterie te werpen, door de...Show moreHet plotseling verschijnen van portolaankaarten in de 13de en 14de eeuw houdt historici en cartografen al eeuwen bezig. Deze scriptie probeert een nieuw licht op dit mysterie te werpen, door de vroegste portolaankaarten te vergelijken met portolaanschriften en mappae mundi. Dit werk zal niet alleen een bijdrage leveren aan de herkomst van portolaankaarten, maar probeert ook de Nederlandstalige discussie hierin nieuw leven in te blazen. The sudden appearance of portolan charts in the 13th and 14th century has puzzled historians and cartographers for centuries. This thesis tries to shine a new light on this mystery, by comparing the earliest portolan charts with ‘portolano’ portolan writings and mappae mundi. This work will not only contribute to the search for the source of portolan charts, but will also attempt to revitalize the Dutch-language discussion on this topic.Show less
This thesis examines whether native speakers of Dutch can aspirate unvoiced word-initial plosives in English as a second language and if they are able to do so to the same degree as native speakers...Show moreThis thesis examines whether native speakers of Dutch can aspirate unvoiced word-initial plosives in English as a second language and if they are able to do so to the same degree as native speakers of English. Aspiration was measured in word-initial unvoiced plosives /p, t, k/ using Voice Onset Time (VOT). Influence of sex, age, age of onset of the second language, and self-reported general pronunciation ability in English were also examined. Native Dutch VOT generally lies between 0-20ms, while native English VOT is anywhere between 50-100 ms. Using recordings from 19 participants who read both Dutch and English sentences out loud, it was found that participants increased their aspiration with an average of 10 ms when switching from Dutch to English. The analysis also shows that two participants out of 19 had an average VOT at a native-like level (>50 ms). Further investigation showed that sex, age, and age of onset did not influence VOT. Participants who graded their general pronunciation abilities with an 8 or higher did show a bigger increase in VOT, but there was no correlation to higher VOT in English when compared to other speakers. Other results showed that /p, t, k/ were not aspirated to the same extent, with /t/ being aspirated significantly more and /p/ significantly less. Lastly, the co-existence of words in both English and Dutch did not significantly alter the VOT, only when words started with /k/ did aspiration significantly improve when the exact word also existed in Dutch. These results conclude that native speakers of Dutch increase aspiration and can aspirate to a native-like degree while speaking English. Any defining factors of the participants who were able to do so are not available due to the limited sample size.Show less
As offensive and taboo language is becoming increasingly common in day-to-day life, this type of language has also become a part of our entertainment media, including in subtitles. Offensive and...Show moreAs offensive and taboo language is becoming increasingly common in day-to-day life, this type of language has also become a part of our entertainment media, including in subtitles. Offensive and taboo language can be used for many different reasons and to create many different effects in the source text. This means that offensive and taboo language can also be used for a character’s characterisation, meaning it will be a way for them to express their own personality, their intent, or to form a relationship with the people around them. However, subtitlers often deal with spatio-temporal constraints that will not allow them to retain every single instance of offensive and taboo language in the target text. This means offensive and taboo language is often the first to be omitted, and this could potentially negatively affect the characterisation of certain characters. This study is an analysis of the offensive and taboo language in the first season of Netflix’s Sex Education and the characterisation of four characters in the English and Dutch subtitles. Ávila-Cabrera’s (2016) taxonomy of offensive and taboo language was used to categorise the offensive and taboo language that was found in the target text. Pinker’s (2007) and Dynel’s (2012) typologies of function were used to classify the functions of the offensive and taboo language. Lastly, a combination of Vinay & Darbelnet’s (2000) and Díaz Cintas & Remael’s (2007) translation strategies were used. The results show that, even though all four characters had parts of their offensive or taboo language omitted during the translation process, their characterisation was not negatively affected. This entails that the Dutch subtitles did not portray an entirely different personality compared to the English source text.Show less
This thesis questions whether dangling topics, also often called ''Chinese-style'' topics really only occur in Chinese. This is done by investigating Chinese (from mainland China and Taiwan),...Show moreThis thesis questions whether dangling topics, also often called ''Chinese-style'' topics really only occur in Chinese. This is done by investigating Chinese (from mainland China and Taiwan), Japanese, Turkish and Dutch. The results show that dangling topics in Chinese are only possible to a certain extent. Moreover, they are also acceptable in other languages (although mostly in marginal contexts).Show less
Merchant’s (2004) work on fragment answers has been groundbreaking in how clausal ellipsis is discussed today. In the article, Merchant defends the notion that in fragmented utterances, an...Show moreMerchant’s (2004) work on fragment answers has been groundbreaking in how clausal ellipsis is discussed today. In the article, Merchant defends the notion that in fragmented utterances, an interpretable syntactic structure is present but elided on the surface; a view that has been much contended with (see e.g. van Riemsdijk 1978; Hausser and Zaefferer 1978; Ginzburg and Sag 2000; Jackendoff 2002; Barton 1990; Stainton 1995, 1997, 1998; Jackendoff and Culicover 2005). His main argument boils down to the fact that fragments in fragment answers are part of a generated structure, and are proven to undergo movement (p. 664). Ever since, movement has been a crucial element in the discussion on ellipsis. Consequently, Ott and Struckmeier (2017) published an article on why the theory by Merchant is false, using gapping, a type of clausal ellipsis, in German for their prime examples. This thesis aims to further tackle Merchant’s approach using gapping in Dutch and showing that particles in gapping propose significant problems for Merchant’s theory.Show less
When the Dutch settled in North America during the seventeenth century, for colonising and trade purposes, came language contact between the two groups of speakers. One result from this contact is...Show moreWhen the Dutch settled in North America during the seventeenth century, for colonising and trade purposes, came language contact between the two groups of speakers. One result from this contact is loanwords. This research investigates Dutch loanwords in American English and their frequency. Through a combination of Schultz’s (2012, 2017, 2018, 2019) framework, the Oxford English Dictionary and Van der Sijs’ (2010) glossary of Dutch loanwords in North American languages, this research was performed. The frequencies were analysed through the Corpus of Historical American English and the Corpus of Contemporary American English. These corpora provided an overview of the development of frequencies both over time and across text types. This research concludes that the frequency of Dutch loanwords in American English increases over time.Show less
This thesis aims to shed light on legal practice of the nineteenth century in France and The Netherlands and contrast it with legal theory and current historiography. In both older and newer French...Show moreThis thesis aims to shed light on legal practice of the nineteenth century in France and The Netherlands and contrast it with legal theory and current historiography. In both older and newer French and Dutch historiography, the nineteenth century is described as the century of legalism, also referred to as exegetical thinking. This exegetical school of law considers the codified law to be the highest and practically the only source of law on which the judge and legal scholar must rely. This historiography is mainly based on the development of legal theory as practised at universities. Implicitly or sometimes even explicitly, legal practice is equated with this legal theory. This fallacy obscures the practice of law, which did not take place in the university or the chambers of scholars, but in the courtroom. To address this lacuna, the following question was answered: To what extent was legalism in the Netherlands and the exegetical school in France really the dominant approach in legal practice and how can possible differences between both countries be explained? In order to know the practice of law and to assess whether judges, like legal theorists, were under the spell of exegetical thinking, judgments of courts were analysed. These can be found in case law journals that emerged in the nineteenth century. This study looked specifically at the judges' references to case law; the work of colleagues. The reference to case law is contrary to the doctrine of the exegetical school which accepts codification as the sole source of law. Referral to sources of law outside the codification by the courts, either implicit or explicit, imply a freer attitude towards the codification than legal scholars of the nineteenth century and current historiography would have us believe. Analysis of approximately two thousand Dutch and French judgments throughout the nineteenth century showed a difference in the quantity and nature of the references between both countries. In France, judges themselves referred explicitly to specific case law or to case law in general, whereas in the Netherlands judges did not refer to case law themselves, but relied on the arguments of the litigants and the Advocate-General, who did explicitly invoke case law. My research gives cause to adjust the image of nineteenth century legal history. The nineteenth-century judge was a child of his time, but not a puppet of legal theory. Lex semper dabit remedium: The law always provides a remedy; this was the starting point, but case law often supplemented it. The demonstrated difference between legal theory and legal practice fits within a broader development in current historiography, emphasising continuity of politics, culture, and in this case legal practices, in the wake of the French Revolution.Show less
With the adoption of the European Union Global Strategy in 2016 the EU renewed its quest for attaining strategic autonomy. However, the EU document did not specify what would constitute European...Show moreWith the adoption of the European Union Global Strategy in 2016 the EU renewed its quest for attaining strategic autonomy. However, the EU document did not specify what would constitute European strategic autonomy (ESA), so, as is the case with the EU’s external policies, the national perspectives of Member States are its obvious basis. Historically, the Netherlands has been an obstructionist when it came to European security and defence integration due to its Atlanticist position, begging the question: how is European strategic autonomy represented in Dutch politics? To understand the Dutch perspective and positioning regarding ESA, this thesis drew from the field of Critical Geopolitics, conducting an interpretive-explanatory research employing discourse analysis by analysing statements made by party representatives in the Tweede Kamer during the period of 2016-2021. Three distinct schools of thought underpinning the representations of ESA in the Dutch debate. The Sovereigntists are Eurosceptics who present ESA as an attempt to establish a European army and a threat to national sovereignty. The Europeanists actively champion ESA and envision it as an emancipatory project to make the EU able to act independently of the US because it is an increasingly unreliable ally. The Atlanticists present ESA as an opportunity to take responsibility within NATO and improve burden-sharing with the US. This thesis found that the Dutch debate regarding European security policy has substantially Europeanised. While the Atlanticists are still cautious, they no longer take an active obstructionist position, instead adopting Europeanist talking-points from the 90s. Considering this Europeanist momentum, there is potential for the Netherlands to become an active and serious promotor of ambitious European security commitments.Show less
A microhistorical approach to the history of New Netherland, which dives into the lives of several families and individuals that lived in the colony of New Netherland to, one, determine what their...Show moreA microhistorical approach to the history of New Netherland, which dives into the lives of several families and individuals that lived in the colony of New Netherland to, one, determine what their influence was on the development of the colony, and two, to show that a microhistory of New Netherland can shed new light on the existing historiography.Show less
This master thesis investigates what stylistic features within the Dutch Covid-19 press conferences held between March 2020 and October 2020 contribute to creating a sense of solidarity. This...Show moreThis master thesis investigates what stylistic features within the Dutch Covid-19 press conferences held between March 2020 and October 2020 contribute to creating a sense of solidarity. This research will use a qualitative approach, analyzing what certain pronouns and the word ‘people’ refer to and how they are used. The study found that the stylistic features that contribute to creating solidarity within the public are explicitly marking the inclusive form of ‘we’ and using a first-person plural possessive pronoun when referring to health care and those who suffer from the corona virus. The stylistic features contributing to creating solidarity between the speaker and the public is using ambiguous clusivity and using a form of the second-person singular that has a more general meaning, therefore reducing the distance between the speaker and the public.Show less
After the conquest of Banda in 1621, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) introduced the perkeniersstelsel to ensure a monopoly on nutmeg and mace. Due to the commercial nature of the spices and the...Show moreAfter the conquest of Banda in 1621, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) introduced the perkeniersstelsel to ensure a monopoly on nutmeg and mace. Due to the commercial nature of the spices and the use of slave production, the perkeniersstelsel is often compared to the Atlantic plantation system. This study traces the development of the perkeniersstelsel between 1621 and 1640 and compares it to the Atlantic plantation system. This study argues that although the VOC was attempting to develop the perkeniersstelsel in the direction of the Atlantic mode, Banda’s unique environment and the VOC’s weaknesses in accessing terrestrial resources led the system down its own path. Furthermore, it proposes that Banda slavery should be regarded as the first expansion of slavery into rural areas in Southeast Asia, rather than the first penetration of European slavery into Southeast Asia.Show less
When the Dutch East India Company (VOC) came to Asia, its presence was contingent on relations with Asian polities. Elephant gift-giving was one of the practices the VOC conducted and experienced...Show moreWhen the Dutch East India Company (VOC) came to Asia, its presence was contingent on relations with Asian polities. Elephant gift-giving was one of the practices the VOC conducted and experienced with Asian rulers alongside trade. The VOC acted as a giver and a receiver; it received gift-elephants from Southeast Asian polities plus Kandy and transferred them westward. This study examines the Dutch-Asian elephant diplomacy and sociocultural foundations behind the diplomatic scene during the seventeenth century. It argues that the existing Dutch acknowledgment of elephant gift-giving traditions and imaginations and perceptions of the emblematic elephant facilitated the elephant diplomacy between the VOC and Asian polities. In other words, these mentalities were integral to the commensurability in the Dutch-Asian elephant gift-giving. Furthermore, the case of the emblematic elephant imagined and perceived by the Dutch shows that the seventeenth-century historical change in worldview from emblematic to empirical was more nuanced and not linear.Show less
This thesis questions the representation of the Dutch West- and East-Indies slavery pasts in current museum exhibitions. What is on display? Whose stories are told? Whose voices are silenced? Which...Show moreThis thesis questions the representation of the Dutch West- and East-Indies slavery pasts in current museum exhibitions. What is on display? Whose stories are told? Whose voices are silenced? Which sources could be added to create more critical and multi-perspective museum narratives?Show less
Dutch uses cardinal posture verbs (/zitten/ ‘to sit’, /staan/ ‘to stand’, and /liggen/ ‘to lie’) for all sorts of purposes, many of which have received considerable research attention — like the...Show moreDutch uses cardinal posture verbs (/zitten/ ‘to sit’, /staan/ ‘to stand’, and /liggen/ ‘to lie’) for all sorts of purposes, many of which have received considerable research attention — like the posture progressive, e.g. /zitten te lezen/ ‘lit. sit to read: to be reading’. This thesis investigates an understudied posture verb pattern in which a posture verb is combined with a complementive past participle, e.g. /zitten vastgeplakt/ 'lit. sit stuck: to be stuck' and /staan volgepriegeld/ 'lit. stand scribbled full: to be scribbled full'. Previous analyses disagree on the status of this pattern in terms of its productivity (is it fixed or are new combinations possible?), meaning (what does the pattern as a whole express?), and structure (is the complementive participle verbal or adjectival?). By examining over 6,000 attestations of the pattern in a corpus of written Dutch, this thesis evaluates these competing accounts, concluding that (i) the patterns are indeed productive; (ii) constraints on that productivity can be accounted for in terms of the meaning of the pattern as a whole, i.e. 'locativity' and 'resultativity'; and (iii) the pattern's syntax appears highly heterogeneous: some past participles behave like adjectives, others like verbs. Finally, I show that this heterogeneity is compatible with the semantic properties of past participles in general, and of the posture verb-participle pattern in particular.Show less
Secondary schools in the Netherlands have been offering Chinese Language and Culture as an official exam subject for three years now. Studies on Dutch students SLA of Mandarin are very limited in...Show moreSecondary schools in the Netherlands have been offering Chinese Language and Culture as an official exam subject for three years now. Studies on Dutch students SLA of Mandarin are very limited in number, and established literature often studies participants in their twenties with English as their L1. This study aims to look at improvement shown in tonal production by Dutch teenagers aged 13-17 who follow the relatively new Mandarin course in secondary school, to provide deeper insight into SLA of Mandarin by Dutch teenagers, and into the effectiveness of the course. There were two groups of participants: students with four months of experience in Mandarin, and students from the same school with three and a half years of experience. They were asked to produce a selection of both monosyllabic and disyllabic words. Their tones were visualized using Praat, and compared to both the tonal production of native speakers to identify errors. The production of the two different grades was then compared to one another to identify points of improvement. The results showed that female students showed improvement mainly in pitch contour, and to some extent even acquired tonal coarticulation. The male students showed improvement in pitch height, and very little improvement in pitch contour. For both genders the production of tone 3 appeared most difficult, followed by tone 4, then tone 2. Tone 1 was the easiest to produce.Show less
In the last century the Netherlands went through several large changes. After the Second World War, the Netherlands, as many other West-European countries, modernized which included the creation of...Show moreIn the last century the Netherlands went through several large changes. After the Second World War, the Netherlands, as many other West-European countries, modernized which included the creation of large industry, the process of destratification, secularization, emancipation of women, democratization of politics and the emancipation of minority groups like homosexuals. Supposedly, Iran went through an opposite and backward development. From the glory years of the Shah, when modernization of Iran was top priority, the country rapidly declined, in the eyes of the Dutch, into the realm of a backward religious society which the Netherlands tried to espouse for a long time. The knowledge Dutch people have about Iran is not based on individuals visiting Iran but on how the media portrays Iran and reports on Middle Eastern affairs. However, is this dichotomy between Iran, as an Eastern country, and the Netherlands, as a Western country, so clear? When looking into contemporary documentaries Iran is still portrayed as different country than the Netherlands. Portraying is focused on the religious repression, backward economy, bearded men and veiled women. When comparing the footage of contemporary documentaries with documentaries from the start of this genre in 1960, the same type of footage is shown. Has Iran not changed since then? This type of footage seems to fall under the greater themes of Orientalism and the Western narrative of modernity and have been present in the Western conception of the Middle East for very long. This research focusses on the discourses of Orientalism and the Western narrative of modernity in Iranian representation in Dutch documentaries from 1960 until 2018 and the continuity and discontinuity in this representation. This research contributes to the understanding of the development of Orientalism and the Western narrative of modernity in the 20th and 21st century.Show less
Between 1639 and 1854 was the Netherlands the only European country allowed to trade with Japan. After 1854, when Commodore Perry uses gunboat diplomacy to open diplomatic contact with Japan, the...Show moreBetween 1639 and 1854 was the Netherlands the only European country allowed to trade with Japan. After 1854, when Commodore Perry uses gunboat diplomacy to open diplomatic contact with Japan, the unique position of the Netherlands had changed drastically. Nonetheless, the Dutch government was not eager to give up its monopoly on Japan that easily. As a result, after Japan opened, the Dutch government can be observed undertaking many projects in Japan to convince the Japanese that unique relations with the Dutch were still in the Japanese interest. Especially in Nagasaki, where the Dutch had a trading post for since the 17th century, the Dutch undertook many projects and this started to shape the city going forward. This thesis examines how Dutch influence shaped three prominent sectors in Nagasaki throughout the nineteenth century; the rising military & industrial sectors and the declining trade sector in Nagasaki. The developments in these sectors are framed within wider Japanese history of that era and also the decline of Dutch influence in the nineteenth century. The conclusion of this thesis is that the Dutch still fulfilled a prominent position within Japanese, and then especially Nagasaki, after the years of the opening in 1854. The Dutch worked hard to introduce Japan with new military and industrial knowledge, while simulataneously aiming to include within a new trade network. The Dutch supplied new materials, worked as teacher and also worked as intermediaries with other Western nations. Eventually the Dutch could not keep up with other Western nations and by the 1870s most Dutch experts had disappeared from Japan. Nonetheless, by this time their influence had played a major role in Nagasaki. The basis had been laid for the rise of many factories in the city, the city had become a centre for military knowledge and trade had dwindled from the city. Byt the time the last of the Dutch experts left, Nagasaki had been set on a course to become a military-industrial complex, which would play an important part in the next century.Show less
