Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
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Comparative Correlative (CC) constructions, such as “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” are a relatively understudied construction within English syntax. The existing research further...Show moreComparative Correlative (CC) constructions, such as “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” are a relatively understudied construction within English syntax. The existing research further points to a great deal of disagreement on the nature of this construction. The aim of my research was to conduct a diachronic study of the CC construction, using a corpus-based approach, in order to show that the construction has remained largely the same from its earliest attestation in Old English through to the Middle English period. Five hypotheses are explored in this work: (1) there are two terms which express the same construction; (2) CC constructions are hypotactic, not paratactic; (3) the date given for the lexical change of swa to the is earlier than previously proposed; (4) the current syntactic structure can be explained by a process (micle-deletion) that took place in the Old English period, and lastly (5) that the Latin CC construction influenced the syntax of the OE construction. The results from this analysis show that hypotheses (1), (2) and (4) are true, while (3) remains unclear and (5) proves false.Show less
The aim of this thesis is to gain insight into the attitudes of native speakers of Dutch toward Dutch English used in different social contexts. To investigate these attitudes, an online survey was...Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to gain insight into the attitudes of native speakers of Dutch toward Dutch English used in different social contexts. To investigate these attitudes, an online survey was distributed among native speakers of Dutch. The participants were first asked to judge four fragments of speakers of Dutch English according to various features: pleasantness, acceptability, intelligibility, comprehensibility and seriousness. The participants also gave their opinions about the English language, Dutch English and the acceptability of speaking Dutch English in specific professions. The results indicate that attitudes differ depending on the social context, such as formality, field of work, humoristic intentions and professional rank. The results were also used to assess whether Dutch English can be considered a variety of English.Show less
This thesis investigates the morphological status of COVID-related splinters. It examines whether the splinters cov(i)-, -demic, and quaran- are in the process of becoming combining forms, in...Show moreThis thesis investigates the morphological status of COVID-related splinters. It examines whether the splinters cov(i)-, -demic, and quaran- are in the process of becoming combining forms, in similar vein to forms like -(a)holic, a splinter which has developed into a combining form. Corpus-based investigation and feature-based analysis have shown that cov(i)- and -demic indeed behave like combining forms in word formation processes, while quaran- does not. However, an analysis of its lexical structure has indicated that it is not impossible for quaran- to become a combining form eventually.Show less
This thesis examines the status of whether in Generative Grammar. There is no consensus in the existing literature on the syntactic status of whether. Some linguists (Haegeman, 2006; Huddleston ...Show moreThis thesis examines the status of whether in Generative Grammar. There is no consensus in the existing literature on the syntactic status of whether. Some linguists (Haegeman, 2006; Huddleston & Pullum, 2002; Van Gelderen, 2013; among others) argue that whether is a complementiser, on a par with that and if. The example in (1) illustrates this position: (1) I don’t know whether/if I’ll go to the party. Other linguists (Newson et al, 2006; Radford, 1997, 2004, 2009; among others) have posited that whether is a wh-phrase, on a par with who and when. The example in (2) illustrates this position: (2) I don’t know whether/when I’ll go to the party. In this thesis, I aim to find out which of these positions is to be preferred: is whether a complementiser or a wh-phrase? I will attempt to answer this question through synchronic and diachronic research, using data from the existing literature. I will analyse the present-day syntactic behaviour of whether, its historical development and its morphology and critically evaluate the evidence for the two positions as presented in the existing literature.Show less
