Most researchers agree that frequency plays a role during the processing or accessing of words. Hay (2001) argues that there is a type of frequency called relative frequency which has an important...Show moreMost researchers agree that frequency plays a role during the processing or accessing of words. Hay (2001) argues that there is a type of frequency called relative frequency which has an important effect on the processing of derived forms through a two-route model of morphological processing. She argues that complex forms with a frequency lower than the frequency of their base forms (e.g. uncommon) are more likely to be perceived as decomposable than a complex form with a higher frequency than the frequency of their base words (e.g. uncanny). She reports the results of an experiment which provides evidence for this view. Since it is reasonable to assume that these relative frequency effects also occur in other languages, I replicated her experiment for Dutch. The results of my experiment suggest that relative frequency effects are observed in the processing of Dutch derived forms.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
Many sociolinguistic studies see a difference in the language of men and women. This study explores the differences in gendered language use in the letters written by Marian Evans and those written...Show moreMany sociolinguistic studies see a difference in the language of men and women. This study explores the differences in gendered language use in the letters written by Marian Evans and those written under her better-known male pseudonym, George Eliot. By combining gender theory, social history, and computational linguistics, this study argues that Marian Evans took up a pseudonym and a more masculine writing style to succeed in the male-dominated literary world. Machine learning indeed shows that the letters signed as George Eliot were classified as belonging to a male-writing style.Show less
This paper contains a detailed analysis of the use and non-use of biased language amongst students of the BA English Language & Culture at the Leiden University. To be more precise, it...Show moreThis paper contains a detailed analysis of the use and non-use of biased language amongst students of the BA English Language & Culture at the Leiden University. To be more precise, it discusses the reasoning behind the use and non-use of biased language, as well as the contexts and manners in which they occur alongside the targeted groups of such biased language. There was a general tendency to abstain from using biased language in general with the exception of camaraderie forms among the subjects. Still, the participants reacted very differently to the instances of biased language pertaining to different groups of people, with religion being treated the least careful, and race the most careful.Show less
This thesis focuses on the factors influencing the language of determiners in nominal constructions in two sets of bilingual data, Spanish-English from Miami and Spanish- Nicaraguan Creole English...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the factors influencing the language of determiners in nominal constructions in two sets of bilingual data, Spanish-English from Miami and Spanish- Nicaraguan Creole English from Nicaragua. Previous studies (Liceras, Fernández Fuertes, Perales, Pérez-Tattam, and Spradlin, 2008; Quintanilla, 2014) have argued that Spanish determiners are preferred in mixed nominal constructions because of their grammaticized nature, since they mark gender. However, those studies did not take the matrix language into account, even though Herring, Deuchar, Parafita Couto, and Quintanilla (2010) found that the language of the determiner generally matched the matrix language. For that reason, the hypothesis of this study is that the matrix language is the main influence on the language of the determiner in both mixed and unmixed nominal constructions. This would mean that bilinguals will have to option to switch language in selecting the noun, meaning that the noun complement could be influenced by extra-linguistic factors. The results are consistent with this hypothesis: once the matrix language is controlled for, the Miami data shows a greater tendency for Spanish determiners to appear in mixed DPs than English determiners. However, the reverse tendency is found in the Nicaragua data, in which we found only mixed DPs with an English creole determiner. The results suggest that bilingual communities can follow different patterns, and that social factors play a role as well. This study concludes that while the language of the determiner is influenced by clause-internal structure, the language of its noun complement and the matrix language itself depend on extralinguistic considerations.Show less
The goal of this paper is to examine the extent to which the language proficiency of parental input can be related with what kind of bilingual children’s language acquisition. The research objects...Show moreThe goal of this paper is to examine the extent to which the language proficiency of parental input can be related with what kind of bilingual children’s language acquisition. The research objects were bilingual children (1.5 - 9 years old) who have been exposed to two languages either from birth (simultaneous) or within the preschool years (successive). The literature was re-examined from a perspective of the input quality. The purpose was to use the already existing data to assess different qualities of input, where they were classified in terms of the uniform standardized language proficiency levels of the CEFR. The main findings are: (1) A2 level of CEFR could be seen as the threshold point of input quality; input proficiency at A2 or below A2 level of CEFR is so- called “low proficiency” and has little or no impact on bilingual acquisition; input proficiency above A2 can have an increasingly significant impact on language acquisition of bilingual children, except “mixing” (one sentence with words from two languages). (2) The language input quality with “mixing” or “low proficiency”, could not effectively stimulate language acquisition of bilingual children for them to be able to keep pace with their monolingual peers. Moreover, (3) native input might not always be the best, but it will always be positive for bilingual acquisition.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis investigates the structure keep V-ing in English and the grammaticalization process of keep in this construction from a diachronic perspective. In Present-Day-English, this structure...Show moreThis thesis investigates the structure keep V-ing in English and the grammaticalization process of keep in this construction from a diachronic perspective. In Present-Day-English, this structure conveys a continuative aspectual meaning when the V-ing is characterized by an atelic Aktionsart (activities and states) and an iterative aspectual meaning when the V-ing is telic (accomplishments and achievements). This thesis was written from a Functional Discourse Grammar perspective (Hengeveld & Mackenzie 2008). Within this framework, grammaticalization is seen as the combination of contentive and formal change. Using corpus data from two historical English corpora, COLMOBAENG and COHA, comprising the Late Modern English and Present Day English periods, two stages of the grammaticalization process were observed: i. Location → Continuation, ii. Continuation → Iteration. On the contentive side, the second phase shows an increase in scope from an operator expressing phasal aspect at the layer of the Configurational property to an operator of event quantification at the layer of the States-of-Affairs. On the formal side, it has been observed that it has a very high degree of grammaticaliy based on Keizer’s criteria (Keizer 2007). Diachronically, the most relevant formal change is the combination with -ing verbs.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
closed access
Contrary to most studies of Polder Dutch, which argue that Polder Dutch and Standard Dutch have different social connotations (Stroop 1998, 2010; Van Bezooijen 1999, Van Bezooijen and Van den Berg...Show moreContrary to most studies of Polder Dutch, which argue that Polder Dutch and Standard Dutch have different social connotations (Stroop 1998, 2010; Van Bezooijen 1999, Van Bezooijen and Van den Berg 2001), this thesis aims to demonstrate that present-day language users do not distinguish between the two varieties. Combining two matched guise experiments it shows not only that non-linguists are not able to name ‘Polder Dutch,’ but also that they do not rate the two varieties differently on a range of evaluative scales, providing evidence that Polder Dutch is not perceived to be distinguishable from Standard Dutch.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis presents a corpus-based description of the use of kong2 in present-day Taiwanese Southern Mǐn (TSM). First a description of TSM phonology is given. This is followed by the synchronic...Show moreThis thesis presents a corpus-based description of the use of kong2 in present-day Taiwanese Southern Mǐn (TSM). First a description of TSM phonology is given. This is followed by the synchronic description of the use of kong2 in TSM. Finally, a brief overview of the process of its grammaticalization is presented.Show less
'Code-switching' is een onderwerp waarbij veel vragen worden gesteld. Het bestuderen van asymmetrische en symmetrische 'Code-switching' en de tijdkosten, zijn actuele onderzoeken. Veel definities...Show more'Code-switching' is een onderwerp waarbij veel vragen worden gesteld. Het bestuderen van asymmetrische en symmetrische 'Code-switching' en de tijdkosten, zijn actuele onderzoeken. Veel definities brengen 'Code-switching' in verband met Transfer ? Hoe onderscheidt men Transfer en leerstrategieen ? Is 'Code-switching een oorzaak van cross-linguitic activation of wordt 'Code-switching' tevens gebruikt als een leerstrategie. Onderzoekers bestuderen neurocognitieve mechanismen om meer te leren over 'Code-switching' en of het alleen een kenmerk bij tweetalige sprekers is.Show less
It has often been observed that English is gradually shifting from a predominantly synthetic towards a more analytic language (see e.g. Lutz 1997; McIntyre 2009; Haselow 2011). This thesis examines...Show moreIt has often been observed that English is gradually shifting from a predominantly synthetic towards a more analytic language (see e.g. Lutz 1997; McIntyre 2009; Haselow 2011). This thesis examines whether this gradual shift can also be observed in the way that English marks comparative forms. Many present-day English adjectives can form the comparative in two ways: by morphological means, viz. by suffixation of -er (greener), and by syntactic means, viz. by the periphrastic construction more green. Given that variation is a prerequisite of linguistic change, and that English is becoming more analytic, we would expect a gradual replacement of morphological comparatives by periphrastic constructions. Previous studies have found structural and frequency factors that affect the choice between the morphological and periphrastic comparative (see e.g. Hilpert 2008; Mondorf 2009; Cheung & Zhang 2016). This thesis also aims to examine whether these factors have an effect on the diachronic development as well. This corpus-based study examines fifteen English comparatives between 1810 and 2015. A clear replacement of morphological comparatives by periphrastic constructions can be observed from the 1950s onwards. The separate diachronic developments of the fifteen comparatives illustrate that there are clear developmental differences between these comparatives. These differences can be explained by structural and frequency factors, as will be suggested by this thesis.Show less
This thesis is focussed on the pronunciation and acquisition of second language phonology. More specifically, the acquisition of Dutch vowels in native Japanese speakers. A lot of research on...Show moreThis thesis is focussed on the pronunciation and acquisition of second language phonology. More specifically, the acquisition of Dutch vowels in native Japanese speakers. A lot of research on phonology acquisition, especially with Japanese, tends to look at consonants. However, in this paper vowel acquisition is addressed. Dutch has an extensive vowel system with twelve monophthongs and three diphthongs while Japanese has only five vowels. Japanese learners of Dutch were recorded and formant analysis was used to determine which phonological processes influence the pronunciation of target language phonemes.Show less
