The objective of this thesis is to provide a comparison of good-enough parsing effects in written and spoken sentences. The written portion of the experiment functions as a close replication of the...Show moreThe objective of this thesis is to provide a comparison of good-enough parsing effects in written and spoken sentences. The written portion of the experiment functions as a close replication of the effect of lingering misinterpretation of garden-path sentences found in Christianson et al (2001) and the effect of the frequent misinterpretation of implausible passive sentences found in Ferreira & Stacey (2000). In an online experiment with writ- ten and spoken content, participants read and heard garden path and implausible passive sentences and were asked to answer comprehension questions about them. Effects of good-enough parsing were found for both target sentence types. No significant effect of mode of presentation was detected, but interactions of mode of presentation and control conditions of the sentences turned out to be significant. It can be concluded that the re- plication effort was successful, but the comparison of good-enough parsing effects for written and spoken sentences did not deliver clear-cut results.Show less
Slur reclamation is a linguistic process wherein a community reclaims words intended to hurt them. This paper focuses on the sociolinguistic factors behind LGBTQ+ slur reclamation in French. Hence...Show moreSlur reclamation is a linguistic process wherein a community reclaims words intended to hurt them. This paper focuses on the sociolinguistic factors behind LGBTQ+ slur reclamation in French. Hence the research question: What are the sociolinguistics factors behind the reclamation process of anti-LGBTQ+ slurs in French? The research was conducted under the hypothesis that French reclamation would only differ from English in people’s objections which would be based on a prestige-appealing ideology. An online questionnaire was used, which participants completed on a voluntary basis. From the results, it appears that LGBTQ+ slur reclamation in French operates in a similar manner as in English. Prestige, however, was less often a factor in French than the hypothesis assumed. Instead, those against reclamation cited the following reasons: derogation too deeply encoded in the slur (always has the potential to hurt anyone, could contribute to internalised oppression), refusal to be defined by your label, pointlessness of the reclamation process. Those in favour of slur reclamation stated the following reasons in the questionnaire: reinforcement of an ingroup feeling, erosion the derogation, humour, unintentionally (part of their lexicon), provocation, secret queer language, ignorance of the insulting nature.Show less
Palaic shows consistent geminate spelling in certain words. Although the phonetic realization of geminate spelling is commonly reconstructed as a long consonant, little consensus is found...Show morePalaic shows consistent geminate spelling in certain words. Although the phonetic realization of geminate spelling is commonly reconstructed as a long consonant, little consensus is found concerning the other Anatolian languages. This thesis analyzes the evidence found in Palaic texts and concludes that a difference in length is more probable than a difference in voice, as is often suggested.Show less
This thesis describes the linguistic innovations of pronominal self-reference and particle usage of cisgender women and third-gender (transgender, non-binary) speakers in Thailand, using Thai talk...Show moreThis thesis describes the linguistic innovations of pronominal self-reference and particle usage of cisgender women and third-gender (transgender, non-binary) speakers in Thailand, using Thai talk shows and series as a source of data. The study finds that both groups of speakers innovate self-reference strategies and index their gender/sexual identities through gender-neutral pronouns, zero anaphora, kinship terms, nicknames and the frequent use or avoidance of feminine forms. Additionally, the study looks into how other people refer to women and third-gender persons in a discursive context.First, this paper begins with an introduction to the relevant theoretical framework regarding language, gender/sexuality, and identity. Following that is background information concerning the current reconceptualizations of gender/sexual identities in Thailand. Next, the traditional Thai pronominal reference strategies and gendered status particles are introduced, followed by the case study about the pronominal self-reference strategies and other particle choices made by cisgendered women, transgender women, and non-binary persons in Thai talk shows and series. I conclude with a discussion of these innovative linguistic practices in the context of changing gender roles in Thailand, and of how speakers use these features to establish new gender identities in day-to-day interaction.Show less
This thesis identifies the social and phonetic variables that affect the learning process of Dutch L2 learners (second language acquisition). The native and non-native speakers who were asked to...Show moreThis thesis identifies the social and phonetic variables that affect the learning process of Dutch L2 learners (second language acquisition). The native and non-native speakers who were asked to participate in this research provided authentic audio recordings, which were added to the two online surveys that were used. The survey respondents that participated in this empirical study were asked to share their thoughts, via an online survey, on the individual speakers, with its primarily focus on the phonetic and social variables. By analysing the results of this research and examining the correlation between these results and the literature discussed, it was possible to draw a conclusion on which social and phonetic variables obstruct the learning process of Dutch L2 learners. This thesis concludes that the social variables (the division between a younger and older group of participants) and the phonetic variables (sounds that were identified as unintelligible and/or intolerable) that were recognized in this empirical research are collectively responsible for disrupting the comprehension and production of sounds for second language learners. Keywords: phonetic variables, sociolinguistic choices, sound systems, IPA, L1, L2Show less
An attempt at reconstructing the practice of bird-divination for the speakers of Proto-Indo-European by comparing the terminology for this practice in Greek, Latin and Hittite texts.
Experimental approaches to sentence processing focus on localizing areas responsible for language comprehension in the brain oftentimes disregarding the role of time in both the construction and...Show moreExperimental approaches to sentence processing focus on localizing areas responsible for language comprehension in the brain oftentimes disregarding the role of time in both the construction and deconstruction of linguistic structure. Inspired by predictive coding and cue integration, this thesis proposes a theoretical framework for sentence processing where the hierarchical structure of language and its evolution over time profoundly influences its processing leading to time-contingent weighted integration of information. Essential to this theory is the assumption that the reliability of the internal representations generated by each level of linguistic analysis influences the gain of the predictions formulated by the other levels. Multivariate Pattern Analysis was used to compare the gain of semantic and phonological processing at two different timepoints in a sentence. Experiment 1 was the design of an EEG Multivariate Pattern Classification experiment where the classification accuracy of a phonological and semantic classifier for words in early and late positions in a sentence would be compared. We expected classification accuracy of the phonological classifier to be constant regardless of word position and a higher classification accuracy for the semantic classifier at later time points relative to the phonological classifier. Experiment 2 was a Representational Similarity Analysis of nouns in early and late positions from MEG audiobook data. When correlating Phonological and Semantic models with the data, no significant time windows were found. However, the presence of uncorrected clusters suggests the implementation of nested timescales as variations in temporal integration frequency.Show less
English and Farsi are languages that maintain a plosive voicing contrast in word-final position, unlike Dutch, a language that neutralizes this contrast in word-final position, while maintaining it...Show moreEnglish and Farsi are languages that maintain a plosive voicing contrast in word-final position, unlike Dutch, a language that neutralizes this contrast in word-final position, while maintaining it in word-initial and word-medial position. With the use of an online questionnaire, I wanted to find out whether native speakers of Farsi are better at categorizing the English word-final plosive voicing contrast than native speakers of Dutch, because native speakers of Farsi have native-language experience with the same contrast in the same position. The results show that both the Dutch and the Farsi group were relatively successful in distinguishing this contrast, but the Farsi group categorized it significantly better. The results of the Dutch group are in line with previous literature that indicate that perception of an L2-contrast is supported by native-language experience with the same contrast in other positions. Additionally, the results of the Farsi group imply that perception of an L2-contrast becomes even better when there is native-language experience with the same contrast in the same position.Show less
Abstract In dit BA eindwerkstuk heb ik onderzocht welke soorten conversationele humor voorkomen in sitcoms. Ik heb dit gedaan door middel van het beantwoorden van mijn hoofdvraag "In welke...Show moreAbstract In dit BA eindwerkstuk heb ik onderzocht welke soorten conversationele humor voorkomen in sitcoms. Ik heb dit gedaan door middel van het beantwoorden van mijn hoofdvraag "In welke categorieën binnen conversationele humor van Dynel (2009) vallen de talige grappen die worden gemaakt in sitcoms?”. Voor dit onderzoek heb ik in eerste instantie een kwalitatieve analyse uitgevoerd en daarna een kwantitatieve analyse. Ten eerste heb ik twee afleveringen van sitcoms voor volwassenen en twee afleveringen van sitcoms voor preadolecenten bekeken en van iedere talige uiting waarna een lachband volgde besloten van wat voor soort humor hier sprake was en die, wanneer mogelijk, ingedeeld in de categorieën van conversationele humor die Dynel (2009) heeft opgesteld. Daarna heb ik een kwantitatieve analyse uitgevoerd om te bekijken hoe vaak iedere vorm van conversationele humor voorkomt. Aan de hand van deze analyses heb ik een conclusie kunnen trekken. Door de categorieën van Dynel aan te houden en zelf nog twee extra categorieën - “andere soort humor” en “geen humor” - op te stellen, heb ik de talige uitingen in de sitcoms die door de makers zelf als grappig worden beschouwd, gecategoriseerd. Alle categorieën van Dynel worden in de sitcoms gebruikt, maar wel in verschillende mate. Naast de bestaande categorieën van conversationele humor werden er ook veel potentiële grappen in de categorie “andere soort humor” ingedeeld. Na de analyse kwamen er uit deze categorie drie nieuwe categorieën naar voren: 1) Personage-specifiek, 2) Context-specifiek, en 3) Zelf-referentie. Deze categorieën kunnen ingedeeld worden in conversationele humor, doordat ze gebaseerd zijn op interactie.Show less
There are different theories on the nature of sentence processing. Early research argued for implementation of old material into a known structure, but more recent theories argue that the language...Show moreThere are different theories on the nature of sentence processing. Early research argued for implementation of old material into a known structure, but more recent theories argue that the language processing facility is predictive and tries to construct sentences before completely receiving the input. This study investigates two different predictive accounts to language processing, the Hyper-active Gap Filling account and the Garden Path model, by presenting native English participants with an online self-paced reading task containing sentences with differing degrees of ambiguity. Analyses of reading time data in key regions were carried out to assess whether the parsing difficulty predicted by these theories could be elicited. The Garden Path analysis was further complemented by questions testing for a lingering reanalysis. The experiment showed significant results for the Hyper-active Gap Filling account as well as for the Garden Path model.Show less
This thesis discusses and analyses the commonalities and disparities in syntax between English as a superstrate and Sranan, an English-based pidgin that is now a creole. As freed slaves and new...Show moreThis thesis discusses and analyses the commonalities and disparities in syntax between English as a superstrate and Sranan, an English-based pidgin that is now a creole. As freed slaves and new generations of native speakers have continued using the creole, it has separated itself from the original context as a pidgin dependent on English lexicon and grammar. The study conducted for the thesis functioned as an opportunity to learn how modern-day Sranan modal expressions help demonstrate tense in simple clauses compared to modern-day English modals. The comparative analysis was based on the Burton-Roberts analytic methodology (2016), including syntactic trees, to aid in visualising relations between clauses and within phrases. A native speaker was interviewed to gain practical and implemental knowledge about the translations used in the analysis. Since English was the superstrate for Sranan, the sentences were translated from English to Sranan to ensure non-variable sentences with modals for comparison. After these translations, the syntactic structure of simple clauses, including modals in both languages, were compared, focusing on how modals may facilitate the specification of tense. A comparative analysis of English and Sranan simple declarative and interrogative clauses was conducted to discover potential patterns. These analyses revealed patterns in the simple clauses and verb phrases in English and Sranan that were influenced by modality. Each analysis demonstrated overlap and contrast between the languages in tense marking and verb inflection. By the end of the thesis, it becomes clear that, in English, there are differences in word order in clauses. English verb phrases can contain auxiliary and lexical verbs that influence tense in declarative and interrogative sentences. However, in Sranan, word order does not change in either declarative or interrogative sentences. Additionally, Sranan does not use auxiliary and lexical verbs in clauses to indicate tense, using tense markers instead to imply timeframe. Based on the results of the comparative analysis, it can be concluded that Sranan modals function differently than English modals in verb phrases and clauses. As Sranan modals do not directly influence tense, there is a need for another functional class, in this case, tense markers.Show less
