This thesis covers a pilot study that examines whether Dutch infants can distinguish lexical tonal patterns in pseudowords. It is inspired by Sato et al.’s 'Development of Hemispheric...Show moreThis thesis covers a pilot study that examines whether Dutch infants can distinguish lexical tonal patterns in pseudowords. It is inspired by Sato et al.’s 'Development of Hemispheric Specialization for Lexical Pitch–Accent in Japanese Infants' (2010). Sato et al. found that Japanese infants can distinguish lexical tonal patterns in Japanese disyllabic words, and that they start processing these stimuli mostly in the left hemisphere (rather than bilaterally) as they get older in their first year of life, suggesting that Japanese infants perceive lexical pitch-accent as a lexical acoustic cue. Since Dutch does not use pitch-accent as a lexical cue, we would not expect Dutch infants to start processing tonal patterns in the left hemisphere as they get older within their first year. The first step to examining this expectation is carrying out a behavioural discrimination task to establish whether Dutch infants can distinguish lexical tonal patterns in pseudowords in the first place. Only then does it become fruitful to carry out a NIRS experiment like Sato et al. to investigate in what parts of the brain Dutch infants process lexical tonal patterns, and whether this differs as they get older. We found that Dutch infants do seem to be able to distinguish lexical tonal patterns in pseudowords. Though the sample size of this pilot is small, the effect that we found is of such significance that we expect to find it in the larger sample size of the official study as well, showing that Dutch infants can distinguish words on the basis of their tonal pattern. We therefore expect that performing a NIRS study like Sato et al. (2010) will be feasible.Show less
In this thesis the dialect attitudes towards the Kyoto dialect are studied. A list of stereotypical characteristics of the dialect, seen from the perspective of the Tokyo standard is provided,...Show moreIn this thesis the dialect attitudes towards the Kyoto dialect are studied. A list of stereotypical characteristics of the dialect, seen from the perspective of the Tokyo standard is provided, according to which the results of the study are evaluated. A survey on Japanese native speakers is used, which mainly confirmed the validity of the stereotype of the Kyoto dialect.Show less
In this thesis we take a closer look at Role Language. We compare the speech style of Hero characters in Japanese Manga to those of Villains characters in order to identify the characteristics of...Show moreIn this thesis we take a closer look at Role Language. We compare the speech style of Hero characters in Japanese Manga to those of Villains characters in order to identify the characteristics of those Villain characters. These characteristics eventually form what we will call Villain Speech 悪役語 'akuyakugo'.Show less
In this thesis I examine the complications in constructing an identity that is based in a past of conflict, an identity that has been hidden and negatively approached. I focus on three Indisch...Show moreIn this thesis I examine the complications in constructing an identity that is based in a past of conflict, an identity that has been hidden and negatively approached. I focus on three Indisch-Japanese descendants, whose stories show the problems they faced in constructing an identity in a sphere of taboo. I will show how by deriving more information about their past, they can rethink the memory of their history and as such bring a new form of negotiating their identity. In this thesis, I look at the trip to Japan as a central source of gathering information about their background. The stories show that identification to a Japanese background is a process that takes shape over time.Show less
