This study examines the predictive properties of Dutch prepositions. In a self-paced reading experiment, native speakers of Dutch were presented with verb-final sentences containing five different...Show moreThis study examines the predictive properties of Dutch prepositions. In a self-paced reading experiment, native speakers of Dutch were presented with verb-final sentences containing five different spatial prepositions, combined with both predictable and unpredictable argument nouns and verbs. Results revealed that the unpredictable nouns and verbs caused processing difficulty, indicating that the parser can use information activated at the preposition to form expectations about upcoming material. These results provide support for the theory that sentence processing is incremental and occurs on the basis of constraint accrual.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Nederlandse taal en cultuur (BA)
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In dit onderzoek is door middel van een enquête onderzocht welke strandingsposities preposities hebben in de Nederlandse zin en hoe deze syntactisch kunnen worden verantwoord. De analyse die in dit...Show moreIn dit onderzoek is door middel van een enquête onderzocht welke strandingsposities preposities hebben in de Nederlandse zin en hoe deze syntactisch kunnen worden verantwoord. De analyse die in dit onderzoek zal worden geopperd, is dat de mogelijke strandingsplaatsen gevolg zijn van kettingverplaatsing van het zinsdeel met het vraagwoord, waarbij andere kopieën uitgespeld kunnen worden in plaats van het voorzetsel in de positie van de SpecCP. Deze analyse sluit aan bij de Multiple Spell-Out of Chain theorie.Show less
This thesis investigates prepositions in Melanesian Pidgin, consisting of the varieties Tok Pisin, Bislama and Pijin. It provides a systematic overview of the different types of simple prepositions...Show moreThis thesis investigates prepositions in Melanesian Pidgin, consisting of the varieties Tok Pisin, Bislama and Pijin. It provides a systematic overview of the different types of simple prepositions, as well as a discussion of some complex prepositions. Full Bible translations of all three varieties have been used as a corpus. It is argued that the category of simple prepositions consists of basic prepositions and verbal prepositions. The latter category is divided into prepositions with verbal charachteristics and bifunctional forms. In taking all three varieties into account, existing theories are either affirmed or debated, the latter especially counting for the prepositional use of bifunctional forms in relation to serial verb constructions. A continuum on which the simple prepositions appear is proposed. Complex prepositions are shown to occur in all three varieties, with variation in the occurrence of the locative preposition and word order in Pijin. Additionally, a quantitative comparison is made between the varieties to learn more about the preferred prepositional strategies, concluding that Bislama prefers complex prepositions over similar bifunctional forms, Pijin displays the opposite, and Tok Pisin may use different lexical items.Show less
