This thesis looks at positive and negative existentials in Finnish and Hungarian with the help of the framework of Denis Creissels’ 7 types of existentials for the positive constructions, as well...Show moreThis thesis looks at positive and negative existentials in Finnish and Hungarian with the help of the framework of Denis Creissels’ 7 types of existentials for the positive constructions, as well as Croft’s Cycle for the negative constructions. The findings are that neither language fits neatly within Creissels’ types, as both show several different constructions. Finnish has three distinct ways of forming existentials: ‘olla + locative’, ‘olla + agent participle of olla + locative’, or a ‘copula only’ construction. Hungarian has two different ways of forming existentials: with ‘lenni + locative’, as well as a ‘copula only’ construction. Not every construction is grammatical in every context. Often existentials cannot be clearly separated from locatives and possessives. Generally, word order and context work together with a specific construction to somewhat differentiate it from other constructions. However, multiple interpretations of a single construction are often possible, so this is not absolute. These findings go against multiple claims often made in conventional literature.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
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This thesis is a synchronic study of the derivation of ordinal numerals from cardinal numerals in several different dialects of Dutch, combining a dialectological and a formal linguistic approach....Show moreThis thesis is a synchronic study of the derivation of ordinal numerals from cardinal numerals in several different dialects of Dutch, combining a dialectological and a formal linguistic approach. Ordinals are formed with one of two ordinal suffixes, -de or -ste, both of which occur in all Dutch varieties. However, there is variation among several dialects in Flanders (Belgium): they exhibit stem-suffix combinations which differ from those in Standard Dutch (SD), giving forms like zeven-ste and twaalf-ste for SD zeven-de and twaalf-de. The thesis investigates the patterns of this variation and offers motivations for those patterns. Novel data acquired through an online questionnaire show that there are three patterns: SD, a core Flemish pattern and a transitional pattern in between. These patterns show a clear geographical distribution. I propose that the distribution of the two suffixes can be largely explained by syllable weight in the transitional system and that an analysis in terms of the final stem consonant or in terms of foot weight cannot capture all the facts.Show less
