This thesis studies the current differences in lexical choice in male and female speech in Dutch in order to find out which Dutch language features are indicative of the gender of a speaker and...Show moreThis thesis studies the current differences in lexical choice in male and female speech in Dutch in order to find out which Dutch language features are indicative of the gender of a speaker and which Dutch language features laypersons associate with a certain gender. While the field of language variation due to gender has increased in popularity, there is still little research available about the differences between male and female speech in languages other than English. This thesis was written in order to add to this currently underrepresented subject within the field of language variation due to gender. Furthermore, this thesis also focuses on the subject of lexicality, which is a subject that is often overlooked in favour of other parts of language variation, such as the variation in the use of certain language acts, the variation in voice and the frequency of interruptions. Social indexicality and previous studies about the differences between male and female speech are discussed in this thesis, before the methodology is explained. The data used in this thesis consist of fifty transcribed conversations from Dutch television programmes such as Van de Kaart, and these data were scrutinized for the presence of various gendered language features, such as the use of negation or locatives. Furthermore, twenty-five participants were asked to read three transcriptions and to indicate what they thought the gender of the speaker was. While the data showed that all analysed language features are used by both men and women, there is often a difference in the frequency of use, which means the feature is either feminine or masculine. For example, the use of negation is more frequent in female speech, while men use more quantities. Laypersons, on the other hand, determined the gender of speakers both through contextual clues and the lexical choices made by the speakers.Show less
In this study, a comparison is made between dyslexia as experienced by both L1 and L2 speakers. In addition, L1 dyslexia in English, German, Hebrew and Hindi is compared with L1 dyslexia in Japanese.
In my paper I decided to compare how fast people learn Dutch as their third language compared to how they learn it as their fourth. My hypothesis was that the people who learn it as fourth are...Show moreIn my paper I decided to compare how fast people learn Dutch as their third language compared to how they learn it as their fourth. My hypothesis was that the people who learn it as fourth are gonna be better (they'll have better mastery of the language after the same amount of time following the same course compared to people who learn it as their third language). To test my hypothesis I ran an experiment with the help of students who were learning Dutch at the Leiden University. They came from 2 different courses and each group had a selection of students who learned Dutch as third or fourth language.Show less
This thesis will examine the question ‘why are natural languages ambiguous?’ by discussing the function of ambiguity in natural language. Formal linguistic approaches such as the Chomskian approach...Show moreThis thesis will examine the question ‘why are natural languages ambiguous?’ by discussing the function of ambiguity in natural language. Formal linguistic approaches such as the Chomskian approach consider ambiguity as a fault in language design. This view is challenged by functional linguistic approaches, which recognize that ambiguity has a communicative function. Ambiguity can create greater communicative efficiency (Piantadosi, Tily & Gibson, 2012); it enables us to say more with fewer words and to keep information vague if we want the listener or reader to decide what we mean (Chen, 1992). I will discuss which of the two approaches is on the right track by analysing several cases of ambiguity, such as the structurally ambiguous Elizabeth saw the man with the binoculars. In chapter 1 I will define the notions ambiguous and ambiguity. I will contrast ambiguity with similar linguistic phenomena and discuss different subtypes of ambiguity. In chapter 2 the two linguistic approaches to ambiguity will be discussed: Chomsky’s formal approach and several functional approaches. In chapter 3 I will put these approaches to the test by analysing three different instances of structural ambiguity.Show less
Chinese students studying in UK Universities contribute significantly to the UK economy (Leedham, 2011). There are other non-economic potential benefits to both UK universities and Chinese students...Show moreChinese students studying in UK Universities contribute significantly to the UK economy (Leedham, 2011). There are other non-economic potential benefits to both UK universities and Chinese students which are not currently efficiently utilised. These include academic skills, cultural competency and the knowledge base of domestic students (Arthur, 2015). Students’ success at university depends on their ability to write academic English however, some UK academics report that Chinese students’ writing is not at a sufficient level for academic success. Previous studies have examined Chinese students written errors in their home countries or during their pre-sessional course, but have not examined the main grammatical errors affecting students’ in-course writing. A corpus of Chinese students academic writing in UK universities was accessed and examined to identify the main grammatical writing errors following the procedure for Error Analysis proposed by Corder (1967). The main errors were examined using Lado’s 1957 Contrastive Analysis procedures to determine the difficulty of the grammatical forms for Chinese students. Previous strategies for redressing Chinese students’ grammatical errors are reviewed and the importance of the link between academic success and cross cultural communication competence in the efficient utilization of the non-economic benefits of Chinese students studying in the UK is highlighted.Show less
