This research discusses whether male authors sexually objectify their female characters in comparison to female authors. This was done by analysing two classic and two contemporary fiction novels...Show moreThis research discusses whether male authors sexually objectify their female characters in comparison to female authors. This was done by analysing two classic and two contemporary fiction novels each by male and female American authors. These novels were chosen because of their similarities and because they feature a male protagonist who narrates the story. The novels were analysed for phrases used to describe the female characters appearance and these descriptions were compared to the novels of the opposite gender to check for any sexual objectification. The results revealed that male authors were more likely to sexually objectify their female characters in comparison to female authors. However, due to the size of this research, more research must be done to understand the scale and nuances of this.Show less
This study investigates language use and code switching (CS) in parliamentary sessions of the People’s Council of Representatives in Aceh, Indonesia. Three recordings of plenary sessions of the...Show moreThis study investigates language use and code switching (CS) in parliamentary sessions of the People’s Council of Representatives in Aceh, Indonesia. Three recordings of plenary sessions of the Council were transcribed and used as data sources for the research. The study used transcriptions to obtain frequency and syntactic constructions and interviews with speakers of Acehnese to obtain social functions and perceived attitudes toward CS. It was found that the use of Acehnese relative to Indonesian and other languages in the parliamentary was 26.5% in terms of word count and 3.3% in terms of continuous speech duration and furthermore could be classified as CS wherein Acehnese served either as Matrix and Embedded Language based on Matrix Language Framework (MLF – Myers-Scotton and Jake, 2009). The CS were mostly intersentential in both direction and extrasentential CS were found only from Indonesian to Acehnese. In addition, the CS mainly functioned as a manner of quotation and interlocutor addressing. This study contributed to a better understanding of language and code switching in politically-motivated settings in Aceh or other multilingual regions in Indonesia. Future research in this area could focus on the intellectual and political factors underlying deliberate code switching.Show less
In this research the English proficiency of two groups of students who attended the same secondary school in the Netherlands are compared. The first group of students followed a monolingual pre...Show moreIn this research the English proficiency of two groups of students who attended the same secondary school in the Netherlands are compared. The first group of students followed a monolingual pre-university programme, while the other group attended a bilingual preuniversity stream. After an explanation about the differences between these two programmes and an exploration of earlier research into pronunciation and vocabulary acquisition, this study examined what the differences/similarities were between these two groups in terms of oral proficiency after five years of secondary education. Twenty students, ten of each programme, were asked to complete two tasks. For the first task they were asked to read out a text, and afterwards their pronunciation of pre-selected vowels and consonants was analyzed with the speech analysis program Praat. The second task required the students to first describe a painting by Breughel in their own words and then to describe five specific scenes on the painting. The results showed that there were slight differences between the oral proficiencies of monolingual and bilingual students and that both groups of students had not acquired a set of characteristics that all of them adhered to in terms of vowel and consonant pronunciation. A lot of variation existed between the two groups, even though the agreement was stronger in the bilingual group. When comparing both groups’ lexicon quantitatively, the bilingual group clearly expressed themselves more extensively in their second language than the monolingual group, but qualitatively speaking the bilingual students did not appear to be familiar with more lower-frequency words than the monolingual students.Show less
This thesis examines to what extent the long midvowels [eː], [oː], and [øː] are diphthongised in L1 Dutch and whether phonetic transfer of these diphthongisation patterns from L1 Dutch to L2 German...Show moreThis thesis examines to what extent the long midvowels [eː], [oː], and [øː] are diphthongised in L1 Dutch and whether phonetic transfer of these diphthongisation patterns from L1 Dutch to L2 German occurs. In order to collect data to answer the research questions, two recorded scripts, one in L1 Dutch and one in L2 German, from 29 participants between 18 and 25 years old are analysed. The script involves 15 words, five per phoneme, in both languages. These phonemes are measured for their vowel duration and the corresponding formant values for F1 and F2 at 25% and 75% of the vowel duration. In doing so, figures are constructed signifying a line of diphthongisation for each phoneme. Additionally, the data are analysed per word and per participant, and are compared to the average results of all participants together. The results suggest that the phonemes [eː], [oː], and [øː] are diphthongised in L1 Dutch and that phonetic transfer occurs as predicted by Flege’s (1988, 1990, 1991, 2007) Speech Learning Model.Show less
This dissertation focusses on the gay identity construction in an online environment. The performativity of identity and the existence of a separate gay culture are discussed. Gay identity can be...Show moreThis dissertation focusses on the gay identity construction in an online environment. The performativity of identity and the existence of a separate gay culture are discussed. Gay identity can be constructed regardless of sexuality. 1.Can gay slang construct gay identity on a social media platform such as twitter and what context or demographics might be relevant to do so? 2.How gay are the terms coded according to the respondents of the NRE compared to the other 4 sources? 3.Can anyone participate in gay culture? This will be examined by looking at how and who use 10 slang terms on Twitter selected from Rupaul's Drag Race. Next to this a Natural Response Elicitation is also conducted, a questionnaire posted on Reddit with three questions per term regarding users, meaning and context. There were several results concerning the meaning of the terms, the users and the context of the usage. All these led to see which terms could, and in which context, construct gay-identity. And in turn, whether outsiders can participate in gay culture. The main conclusion is that the meaning given to the terms, the users of the terms and the context in which they are used are relevant in order to perform gay-identity through gay linguistic expressions.Show less
This bachelor’s thesis has investigated the use of accents in the portrayal of characters in Disney movies. The thesis is of sociolinguistic nature and will contribute to the field of language...Show moreThis bachelor’s thesis has investigated the use of accents in the portrayal of characters in Disney movies. The thesis is of sociolinguistic nature and will contribute to the field of language ideology and language attitudes. Previous studies on accent use in children’s television and Disney movies tended to only focus on animated Disney movies and did not usually take live-action versions into account (Dobrow & Gidney, 1998; Fouts, Callan & Lawson, 2006; Sønnesyn, 2011; Lippi-Green, 2012; Reinacher, 2016; Soares, 2017). To fill the niche between the animation-focused studies and the recent release of live-action remakes of older Disney movies, this thesis compared two sets of Disney movies in order to detect a change in the accent use between the first and latest release. It is important to understand language use in combination with character portrayal to see whether conveyed stereotypical messages have changed or have remained the same.Show less
Research in the field of high-proficiency in L2 speakers most commonly focuses on the age of acquisition and the corresponding critical period hypothesis. More current research tends to focus on...Show moreResearch in the field of high-proficiency in L2 speakers most commonly focuses on the age of acquisition and the corresponding critical period hypothesis. More current research tends to focus on the high-proficiency L2 speaker’s sentence structure or syntax, and their influence on comprehensibility. In this case study, a high-proficiency L2 speaker was phonetically analyzed to describe his L2 accent choices successfully and find possible deviations in his General American accent, according to listeners. 17 American born listeners were recruited to mark deviations based on an 8-minute long audio-clip containing high-proficiency L2 sentence fragments. This audio file was accompanied by a script (appendix 1), which allowed the listeners to highlight deviations, accentedness, or foreignness. The same materials were also presented to an expert listener who would be able to shed more light on the speaker’s possible deviations. Results suggested that the speaker indeed still exhibited some slight deviations according to the listeners. Elements of foreignness were found in in the /g, /l/, /t/, /ɾ/, /ɹ/, /æ/, /ɛ/, /ɪ/, and /ɑ/ sound, and the word ‘campfire’ was most commonly marked as deviating according to the listeners.Show less
Regional Dialect Levelling is a common development in a number of languages whereby supra-local forms are diffused over regionally marked forms (Auer, 1998; Kerswill, 2002; 2003; Kerswill &...Show moreRegional Dialect Levelling is a common development in a number of languages whereby supra-local forms are diffused over regionally marked forms (Auer, 1998; Kerswill, 2002; 2003; Kerswill & Williams, 2002). Basque sociolinguists (Unamuno & Aurrekoetxea, 2013; Zuazo, 1998) have also observed levelling patterns in the language, arguably under the influence of the standard. According to Aurrekoetxea (2006, p. 147), one of the features that seems to be undergoing change towards supra-localisation is the cross-dialectally widespread Low Vowel Assimilation (LVA); however, this phenomenon has received little sociolinguistic attention. Therefore, this study aims to gauge the depth of variation of LVA in the Western Basque town of Lezama in order to determine whether claims of levelling can be substantiated. Through an apparent-time study of two generations of Lezamans, the results reported here do not fully support a levelling interpretation of the feature. Gender-specific patterns of use emerge that corroborate observations that “women deviate less than men from linguistic norms when the deviations are overtly proscribed, but more than men when the deviations are not proscribed” (Labov, 2001, p. 367). Furthermore, consistent with recent studies (Elordieta & Romera, in press; Urtzelai Vicente, 2018), attitudes towards the ingroup are established as a determinant of the language trends in Lezama.Show less
This Perceptual Dialectology study of three dialects spoken in the South of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands (Roosendaals, Oudenbosch, and Ruchpens) explored to what degree people from these towns...Show moreThis Perceptual Dialectology study of three dialects spoken in the South of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands (Roosendaals, Oudenbosch, and Ruchpens) explored to what degree people from these towns are aware of the dialect features that make up their dialect, what these dialect features are and if these people are aware of the differences and similarities between their own dialect and that of the other two towns. The participants were thirty dialect speakers who are born, raised and still residential in one of the three studied towns. Interviews were held with these participants in which they were asked about their views on and knowledge about their own dialect and that of the two other towns. From these interviews it has become clear that, although Roosendaals, Oudenbosch and Rucphens have similarities, they do differ from each other on a lexical and a phonetic level. Most importantly, the results suggest that one’s level of sociophonetic awareness of their dialect relates to what degree they are capable of speaking Standard Dutch.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
closed access
Although there have been many studies looking into the integration process, likelihood and types of loans, the position of loans in the recipient language is less clear. They seem to be part of a...Show moreAlthough there have been many studies looking into the integration process, likelihood and types of loans, the position of loans in the recipient language is less clear. They seem to be part of a grey area, between the lexicon and incidental language use, bordering on code-switching. Through the analysis of a Dictionary Project, a Survey Project and Language Expert Interviews, this study attempts to map the factors that influence the perceived Dutchness of English loans in Dutch and attempts to narrow the grey area that loans are part of. The results show that the Linguistic Aspects, Age and Semantics of loans most strongly influence the perceived Dutchness. Moreover, the loans should not be a niche concept or be rarely used. Subsequently, the results make it possible to create a tentative blueprint for the characteristics a loan should have to be perceived as part of Dutch, in effect slightly narrowing the grey area loans are part of.Show less
This thesis aims to research the way L1 pronunciation transfer occurs and how this could potentially be employed in order to improve pronunciation teaching. Dutch ESL learners were chosen for the...Show moreThis thesis aims to research the way L1 pronunciation transfer occurs and how this could potentially be employed in order to improve pronunciation teaching. Dutch ESL learners were chosen for the research and their pronunciation errors were analysed. Afterwards, the learners were offered two ways of instruction, one that explained how English sounds are made and one that compared Dutch sounds to English sounds. Finally, the learners were asked to explain which instruction type they ought to be more beneficial and their pronunciation was examined once more.Show less
The current study provides insight into how Dutch students react to two different didactic methods used to learn English vocabulary. In order to investigate this, students at a high school in The...Show moreThe current study provides insight into how Dutch students react to two different didactic methods used to learn English vocabulary. In order to investigate this, students at a high school in The Hague voluntarily participated. The participants were divided over two classes which were split into two groups. One group memorized 15 words with help of visualization while the other group memorized the words with plain memorization in silence. Results showed that the group who memorized the words with plain memorization did better on the questionnaires they had to fill out to test their retainment. The same questionnaire had to be filled out again a week later and showed that the students did not remembered much, as they now made more mistakes. To see how this pattern arose, opinions of students were asked on how they felt about the method they had to use.Show less
The present study explored the attitudes of secondary school teachers and non-teachers towards different degrees of Dutch-accented English and whether there was a difference in attitudes between...Show moreThe present study explored the attitudes of secondary school teachers and non-teachers towards different degrees of Dutch-accented English and whether there was a difference in attitudes between these groups. In addition to this, it investigated whether there were certain pronunciation features that would lead to a lower grade. This was tested through an online survey consisting of two parts, namely a listening task and an open-ended question. The listening task asked the participants to grade a total of twelve recordings on a scale from 1 to 10 and to motivate their answer as to why they gave a certain grade. The recordings consisted of two native speakers and ten speakers with different degrees of Dutch accentedness. The degree of accentedness was determined by three people who had listened to the recordings beforehand and these recordings were then categorized into three different groups based on the degree of accentedness. These three groups consisted of (1) native speakers/light Dutch-accented English, (2) medium-Dutch accented English, and (3) heavy Dutch-accented English. The survey ended with an open-ended question which asked the participants wat they thought was the most important aspect to be taught when teaching a foreign language. The results showed that teachers graded most of the recordings (77.8%) higher than the non-teachers, though there was only a small difference. Furthermore, the results showed that both the teachers’ and non-teachers’ grades were lower for the medium- and heavy-accented Dutch Englishes than they were for the native speakers/lightly-accented Dutch Englishes. When asked why a certain grade was given, however, pronunciation only came up 25.8% of the time in the teachers’ answers and only 16.4% of the time in the non-teachers’ answers. A similar pattern was found in the open-ended question, where pronunciation as an important aspect of language learning came up 21.4% of the time in the teachers’ answers and 26.8% in the non-teachers’ answers.Show less
This study focuses on the way Spanish ESL speakers pronunce the English phonemes /v/ and /w/. It parts from the hypothesis that the issue starts with language interference from the speakers’ mother...Show moreThis study focuses on the way Spanish ESL speakers pronunce the English phonemes /v/ and /w/. It parts from the hypothesis that the issue starts with language interference from the speakers’ mother tongue (Ellis, 2008). In order to find whether the mispronunciation comes from the mother tongue, the two phonetic systems of English and Spanish were analysed in relation to /v/ and /w/. By doing so, the results showed some overlap between both language systems and possible language transfer. Consequently, the speech of five participants was analysed through two tasks to see whether the theory matched the practice. This research concludes with the statement that indeed there is language transfer at stake, in addition to possible overgeneralization of English rules. These results show the relevance for English teachers of ESL students to spend more time and give more attention to raising awareness of the manner of pronunciation of these phonemes. This can be done by showing the different environments the phonemes can be found and how they can be realized respectively.Show less
This paper examines through an empirical research whether Dutch students exhibited the pronunciation issues mentioned by sources in the field of applied phonetics such as Collins and Mees (2003),...Show moreThis paper examines through an empirical research whether Dutch students exhibited the pronunciation issues mentioned by sources in the field of applied phonetics such as Collins and Mees (2003), and Swan and Smith (2001). In addition, the students’ opinions were tested to see how they judged aesthetic appreciation for another speaker who exhibited the pronunciation features in an exaggerated way. After reviewing the literature, the ten most significant problems that could complicate mutual intelligence were collected, and a list of ten sentences with each five tokens of the same phenomena were used to test if 30 students in the South-West part of the Netherlands exhibited these ten specific pronunciation difficulties. The students read the ten sentences aloud and their speech was recorded and analysed. Additionally, the students filled in a questionnaire grading a native Dutch speaker who consciously exhibited these problems on a scale from 1 (ugly) to 5 (beautiful), and accounted for their reasoning. Only five out of these ten problems were distributed by the students, namely, final devoicing of [z], [d] to [s] and [t], [ae] realised as [a] or [e], the [ð] becomes [d], the voiced fricative [v] is realised as the voiceless counterpart [f] , and lastly, voiced [b], [d] and [g] for aspirated [pʰ], [tʰ] and [kʰ]. This paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this study and suggestions for further study.Show less
Computer-Mediated-Communication is bereft of any intonation markers usually found in face-to-face conversations. As a result, how a sender meant to send out a message versus how their addressee...Show moreComputer-Mediated-Communication is bereft of any intonation markers usually found in face-to-face conversations. As a result, how a sender meant to send out a message versus how their addressee reads it sometimes differ. This can lead to uncooperative and confusing online communication. This paper set out to examine if (and what) effects different punctuation types have on the interpretation of meaning in WhatsApp communication, and whether one’s age or native language influences the perception of these markers. The punctuation types were the exclamation mark, ellipsis, periods, and no punctuation. Unlike previous studies conducted on this topic which focussed only on students, this study was conducted among 123 respondents from a wide variety of ages and countries. Through an online survey, participants were asked for their opinions and thoughts to different types of punctuation used in recurring but otherwise identical messages. Results indicated that different punctuation types elicit strong and differing views, based on what punctuation type is used, and that these types influence their feelings towards the message as well as to the personal state of their interlocutor. The most significant findings were found for ellipsis points and messages lacking any punctuation: ellipses can lead to very negative interpretations in respondents, and a lack of punctuation can lead to respondents feeling sidelined. Interpretations of certain punctuation types are influenced by a reader’s age and native language. Using Yus’ theory of a phatic internet and cyber literacy, this paper posits that the reason respondents assign these meanings to different types of punctuation is to avoid misunderstandings, form identities, and stay on good terms with people in a world in which most daily conversation happens online.Show less
This study aims to investigate whether subtitles have a beneficial effect on incidental L2- vocabulary acquisition among students in the first grade of secondary school aged 12-13 years old....Show moreThis study aims to investigate whether subtitles have a beneficial effect on incidental L2- vocabulary acquisition among students in the first grade of secondary school aged 12-13 years old. Previous studies seem to indicate that subtitles have a beneficial effect on L2-vocabulary acquisition in adults, and so a case study was devised to investigate the effects of subtitles on children. These children were subjected to a cartoon YouTube clip of approximately 3 minutes recounting Aesop’s fable ‘The Frogs Who Desired a King’; half of the children viewed this clip with subtitles in their native language, or L1, the other half with captions in their non-native language, or L2. This clip contained a total of 15 words that were assumed the children would not yet know. After having seen the clip, the children were asked to provide accurate translations of these words to test the possible effects of the subtitles. The eventual conclusion was that subtitles seemed to have no effect on incidental L2-vocabulary acquisition, while captions may actually prove beneficial.Show less
