Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
under embargo until 2025-07-31
2025-07-31T00:00:00Z
While multiple models of language production exist, it remains difficult to find conclusive evidence for one or the other model. The present study is one of the first to incorporate both behavioral...Show moreWhile multiple models of language production exist, it remains difficult to find conclusive evidence for one or the other model. The present study is one of the first to incorporate both behavioral data and EEG data in a native Dutch noun phrase production task to investigate the processing of grammatical gender. We used a picture-word interference paradigm in which speakers had to name a picture while being distracted by a superimposed word. The distractors were manipulated for grammatical gender congruency with and semantic relatedness to the picture names. In separate blocks, participants had to produce either bare nouns, or determiner noun constructions. We found a robust effect of the semantic relatedness effect in the behavioral data, in which targets belonging to the same semantic category as the distractor were named significantly later than unrelated targets. The EEG data on the semantic relatedness effect were less clear, possibly due to opposing ERP components in (partly) overlapping time windows. More importantly, we replicated the gender congruency effect in reaction times, showing that naming latencies were longer for gender-incongruent trials than for congruent trials. This behavioral effect disappeared in bare noun naming. The EEG data showed similar results, in which a more positive peak was found between 385-585 milliseconds for incongruent than for congruent trials, again only in the determiner noun block. The result seems to indicate a P300 effect rather than the expected enhanced N400, suggesting higher conflict resolution processes for incongruent trials. The absence of the gender effect in bare noun naming in both data types suggests that grammatical gender is not automatically accessed or selected in Dutch noun (phrase) production. This in turn has implications for speech production models.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
2022-08-31T00:00:00Z
Research has shown that code-switching (CS) is morpho-syntactically constrained (e.g. Poplack, 1980; Myers-Scotton, 1993; MacSwan, 1999; Lipski, 2019). The fact that phonology and syntax interface...Show moreResearch has shown that code-switching (CS) is morpho-syntactically constrained (e.g. Poplack, 1980; Myers-Scotton, 1993; MacSwan, 1999; Lipski, 2019). The fact that phonology and syntax interface in bilingual performance (Bullock, 2009) has been largely neglected in CS research. It is likely that the interface between prosody and morphosyntax, and not merely morphosyntax alone, may play a role in constraining CS. However, the phonetic and phonological reflexes of CS remain relatively unexplored. This thesis aims to improve our understanding of prosodic constraints on CS by examining the speech from a Papiamento- Dutch conversation corpus (Gullberg, Indefrey & Muysken, 2004; 2009). This language pair is eminently suitable for a prosodic analysis because Papiamento has a tonal system with two level tones that interacts with lexical stress, and Dutch a different lexical system: with stress, without tone. I examined whether stress constrains CS in the nominal domain (Akinremi, 2016), and whether Papiamento tone constrains Dutch insertions (Zheng, 1997; Tuc, 2003). Furthermore, I examined whether speech rate in bilingual vs. unilingual utterances differ to add to the research on speech planning in CS (Johns & Steuck, 2021). My findings are that the stress of switched nouns does not constrain CS, but the stress of adjacent words might; Dutch insertions occur mostly in a context where the prosodic systems of Papiamento and Dutch coincide; and speech rate in bilingual vs. unilingual utterances does not significantly differ. I conclude that congruency in prosody facilitates CS and that CS does not inhibit speech planning. Taken together, my findings are compatible with the view that CS may be an opportunistic strategy that bilinguals use to aid speech planning as prosody in both languages openly contributes to production (Beatty-Martinez, Navarro-Torres & Dussias, 2020).Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
In Dutch, one can order a drink, denoted by a mass noun, using phrases such as: Ik will graag twee (glazen) rode wijn, "I would like two glasses of red wine". Interestingly, the usage of the...Show moreIn Dutch, one can order a drink, denoted by a mass noun, using phrases such as: Ik will graag twee (glazen) rode wijn, "I would like two glasses of red wine". Interestingly, the usage of the classifier, in this case glazen ‘glasses’, is not obligatory. Borer (2005) argues that such sentences, without classifiers, are possible in a register she calls Restaurantese. This construction, however, is not possible with all adjective-noun combinations. Therefore, this study proposes two main hypotheses, similar to van Erkel (2020). First, one could argue that the acceptability of these configurations depends on the syntactic classification of the adjective. Second, one could argue that it depends on the relation between the adjective and the noun, which I refer to with the term combinability. There are different approaches one could take to define combinability. This study takes three different approaches: the collocation of the adjective and the noun; the familiarity of the combination; the chance one could find a combination on a menu, which I call the Restaurantese reading. Through different surveys, this study has shown that the syntactic level of the adjectives does not influence the acceptability of sentences in which you order drinks in Dutch. The combinability of the adjective-noun pair, on the other hand, plays a large role in the acceptability. This effect is, remarkably, not restricted to Restaurantese expressions. By comparing adjective-noun pairs that were ranking differently amongst the three approaches for combinability, I show that the Restaurantese reading is the best indicator for the acceptability of different adjective-noun pairs. Then I discuss the connection between the sentences with and without the overt classifier. I argue that the configurations without the overt classifier contain a covert classifier that introduces countability and the portion needed to express such sentences. Lastly, I note that the acceptability of these configurations is not set in stone. It is hugely dependent on cultural history and the usage of language by all its language users on the one hand, and one’s personal background and world knowledge on the other hand.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis is about Dutch prepositional phrases (PPs) headed by the preposition aan ‘on, at, to’, which generally denote locations, but are also regularly used in a ‘non-locational’ sense....Show moreThis thesis is about Dutch prepositional phrases (PPs) headed by the preposition aan ‘on, at, to’, which generally denote locations, but are also regularly used in a ‘non-locational’ sense. Specifically, this thesis concerns the second, ‘non-locational’ group, which is termed ‘situational’ because on closer inspection, they do denote not locations but situations. These 'situational aan-PPs' have a fixed structure: the preposition aan, followed by a definite article, and finally either an infinitive, verb stem or a noun as aan's complement. The first pattern, paired with the verb zijn 'to be', has been characterized in previous work as a ‘progressive construction’. This raises two questions: what exactly is progressive aspect, and how do the different verbs and complements that occur in the situational aan-PPs differ conceptually from that analysis? To answer these questions, an attempt is made at teasing apart the concepts constitutive of ‘progressivity’. There turn out to be four core components: temporal decomposability, dynamicity, boundary effectuation by the subject, and non-gnomicity. Next, the possible verbs (e.g. zijn 'to be', gaan 'to go', krijgen 'to obtain') and complements (i.e. infinitive, stem and noun) are analyzed in terms of these four components. For the complements, the four components turn out to be sufficient to distinguish them semantically: all three of them may exhibit the full, quadripartite 'progressive cluster', but infinitives do not require the effectuation of boundaries, verb stems do not exclude gnomic interpretations, and nouns strictly impose neither of these restrictions. The three complements do impose, by definition, temporal decomposability and dynamicity, which can therefore be seen as situational aan-PPs’ conceptual core. Regarding the verbs, at least eight features are relevant, including decomposability and boundary effectuation, but also (among others) causativity, continuativity and modality. These properties are contributed by the verbs, which are thus to a greater or lesser degree compatible with the conceptual structure of each of the complements. The main outcome of this thesis is a more integrated and precise account of situational aan-PPs, making it possible to gain a broader understanding of the well-known progressive construction 'zijn aan het + infinitive'. That broader understanding also sheds some light on the way that the expression of aspect is organized in Dutch. This thesis adds to the impression that this organization may be more systematic than is generally assumed.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
2022-02-01T00:00:00Z
Much of the literature on heritage language phonology finds heritage speakers to show some influence from their dominant language compared to homeland speakers, but heritage speakers still perform...Show moreMuch of the literature on heritage language phonology finds heritage speakers to show some influence from their dominant language compared to homeland speakers, but heritage speakers still perform more accurately in their heritage language than do naïve speakers. Yet, research on heritage language phonology is limited compared to that on heritage language syntax and morphology. This is even more so the case for research on heritage speakers’ suprasegmental phonology: for instance, very little is known about heritage speakers’ perception of lexical tone. The present study used an ABX task to investigate perceptual segment-tone integration in heritage speakers of Vietnamese in the Netherlands, compared to monolingually raised Dutch and Vietnamese speakers in the homeland, respectively. Heritage speakers were found to have a stronger segment-tone integration than the monolingually raised Dutch, whereas the homeland Vietnamese showed a slightly stronger integration than the heritage speakers. Moreover, the groups’ integrations were asymmetrical: heritage speakers considered both tones and segments in word identification but had a clear preference for segments; the Dutch controls almost exclusively considered segments and the Vietnamese controls had a slight preference for tone-based word identification. The findings thus conform to previous literature on heritage language phonology: the heritage speakers performed intermediately between monolinguals of their heritage and dominant languages.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
Previous studies have found that non-standard language varieties are at risk of discrimination in legal contexts. Additionally, slow speech has been shown to be less credible than normal speech....Show morePrevious studies have found that non-standard language varieties are at risk of discrimination in legal contexts. Additionally, slow speech has been shown to be less credible than normal speech. However, little is known about how accent and speech rate interact. In order to investigate this phenomenon further, this thesis examines how Dutch listeners judge utterances on a seven-point scale when presented with auditory stimuli in two accents of Dutch (Standard Dutch and Moroccan Dutch) and two speech rates (normal and slow). Contrary to previous studies indicating that non-standard language is perceived as less credible, the results of this study revealed that listeners generally perceive both accents as equally credible at a normal speed. Slower speech was judged as less credible in both varieties, but Standard Dutch was given lower ratings overall. The results suggest that what has previously been established for slow speech in languages such as English also holds true for Dutch, and may have adverse consequences for individuals in contact with the law.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
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This thesis is a synchronic study of the derivation of ordinal numerals from cardinal numerals in several different dialects of Dutch, combining a dialectological and a formal linguistic approach....Show moreThis thesis is a synchronic study of the derivation of ordinal numerals from cardinal numerals in several different dialects of Dutch, combining a dialectological and a formal linguistic approach. Ordinals are formed with one of two ordinal suffixes, -de or -ste, both of which occur in all Dutch varieties. However, there is variation among several dialects in Flanders (Belgium): they exhibit stem-suffix combinations which differ from those in Standard Dutch (SD), giving forms like zeven-ste and twaalf-ste for SD zeven-de and twaalf-de. The thesis investigates the patterns of this variation and offers motivations for those patterns. Novel data acquired through an online questionnaire show that there are three patterns: SD, a core Flemish pattern and a transitional pattern in between. These patterns show a clear geographical distribution. I propose that the distribution of the two suffixes can be largely explained by syllable weight in the transitional system and that an analysis in terms of the final stem consonant or in terms of foot weight cannot capture all the facts.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis concerns the semantic relations between coordination, conditionality and interrogativity. Some aspects of these relations have been noted in work concerning grammaticalization, typology...Show moreThis thesis concerns the semantic relations between coordination, conditionality and interrogativity. Some aspects of these relations have been noted in work concerning grammaticalization, typology and formal semantics. A notable example is the Russian question marker li, which is also found in the form for the disjunctive marker ili 'or' and the form for the conditional marker esli 'if'. While aspects of these relations have been examined in the past, this thesis fills out the gap in the study of the relations between coordination, conditionals and questions by putting them together in a semantic map. To examine the possible universality of these relations, the use of these concepts is investigated in three unrelated languages: Dutch, Macedonian and Wolof. The relations are indicated per language in separate semantic maps and finally plotted together in a single one to examine the overlap and differences between them. The most similarities are expected between Macedonian and Dutch, as they are both from the same family, namely Indo-European, while Wolof is an Atlantic language from the Niger-Congo family. This turns out to indeed be the case. Some of the relations are language specific, but there are universal cross-linguistic patterns, such as the relation between propositional questions and disjunction, which is found in all three of these languages. Thus, this contributes to the insight of the cross-linguistic universality of these concepts.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
The conceptual link between space and time is accounted for by two different theories: Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT, Lakoff and Johnson 1980) and A Theory of Magnitude (ATOM, Walsh 2003). Within...Show moreThe conceptual link between space and time is accounted for by two different theories: Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT, Lakoff and Johnson 1980) and A Theory of Magnitude (ATOM, Walsh 2003). Within a linguistic framework, CMT provides evidence for an asymmetric conceptual link between space and time, opposed to the symmetric link predicted by ATOM. Casasanto and Boroditsky (2008) and Casasanto (2010) presented evidence in favour of CMT from non-linguistic psychophysical tasks. Longer lines appeared to positively affect participants’ estimation of duration, analogous to metaphors for duration using spatial words such as long and short, but duration did not influence the perception of space (Casasanto and Boroditsky 2008). A subsequent study revealed language specific differences in effects of different stimulus types, parallel to the typical duration metaphors found in these languages (Casasanto 2010). The present investigation of Dutch shows that the relation between duration metaphors and the perception of space and duration is less straightforward than what might be expected on the basis of the accounts of Casasanto and Boroditsky (2008) and Casasanto (2010). The results of an experiment with speakers of Dutch reveal a symmetric link between space and duration in the case of space presented in the form of one-dimensional length, but an asymmetric link is reported in case of more-dimensional size. Overall, this provides evidence for ATOM rather than CMT.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
This study attempts to devise a unified account for three linguistic phenomena -- object type, object movement, and again-ambiguities -- that can be observed in Dutch and Swedish. Specifically,...Show moreThis study attempts to devise a unified account for three linguistic phenomena -- object type, object movement, and again-ambiguities -- that can be observed in Dutch and Swedish. Specifically, this study tries to untangle the interaction between theses three phenomena, as illustrated in the following Dutch sentences (in their literal reading): (1) a. Jan heeft weer de deur geopend. (repetitive/*restitutive) John has again the door opened `John opened the door again.' b. Jan heeft de deur weer geopend. (rep/res) John has the door again opened (2) a. *Jan heeft weer hem geopend. John has again it opened b. Jan heeft hem weer geopend. (rep/res) John has it again opened `John opened it again.' (3) a. Jan heeft weer een deur geopend. (rep/*res) John has again a door opened `John opened a door again.' b. *Jan heeft een deur weer geopend. John has a door again opened Comparing these three sets of sentences, it seems that the availability of the repetitive/restitutive ambiguity associated with the adverb weer `again' lies in both the type of the object and its position relative to the adverb. The unified account developed in this study has as its backbones the Mapping Hypothesis proposed by Diesing and Jelinek (1995) and a structural theory on again-ambiguities advocated by von Stechow (1995, 1996). The Mapping Hypothesis partitions a syntactic tree into the Nuclear Scope and the Restriction Clause and handles the interpretation of different object types by the object's syntactic position at LF. When the object is moved to the Restriction Clause by some object movement rule, it receives a specific reading, whereas when the object remains in the Nuclear Scope, it gets a non-specific reading. The structural theory on again-ambiguities claims that the repetitive/restitutive opposition has a syntactic origin. This theory relies heavily on a semantico-syntactic decomposition of verbs into an action and a state component, with the repetitive reading resulting from again modifying a syntactic constituent that represent an action and the restitutive reading from again a constituent that denotes a state. The current study argues that either the Mapping Hypothesis or the structural theory alone can explain only part of the data, and that only by integrating the two can we have a unified account that justifies the whole data. This unified account allows the position of the object (i.e., whether object movement applies or not) and the dual readings of again to be govern by two different mechanisms, but it also permits the two mechanisms to interact with each other so that ungrammatical constructions can be successfully ruled out. To explain the Dutch data above, we first move the objects that have a specific reading, as is often the case for definite descriptions like de deur `the door' and definite pronouns like hem `it', to the Restriction Clause and leave the objects with a non-specific reading, such as the indefinite een deur `a door' in the Nuclear Scope. Then we let weer `again' adjoin to different constituents that map onto either an action (which leads to the repetitive reading) or a state (the restitutive reading). The whole derivation just described can be represented as follows (NS stands for Nuclear Scope): (4) a. Jan heeft weer [NS de deur geopend ]. (rep/*res) John has again the door opened b. Jan heeft de deur_o [NS weer t_o geopend ]. (rep/res) John has the door again opened (5) a. *Jan heeft weer [NS hem geopend ]. John has again it opened b. Jan heeft hem_o [NS weer t_o geopend ]. (rep/res) John has it again opened (6) a. Jan heeft weer [NS een deur geopend ]. (rep/*res) John has again a door opened b. *Jan heeft een deur_o [NS weer t_o geopend ]. John has a door again opened (5a) and (6b) are rejected because the objects in them are in the wrong domain. Although (4a) is grammatical, this sentence does receive a slightly different interpretation than (4b) due to the position of the definite de deur in the Nuclear Scope. The same principles can be applied to Swedish as well, albeit only at LF instead of at S-structure as in Dutch. In future research, it will be useful if more data, especially from Icelandic, can be brought in and if we consider verbs beyond a simple open.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
Dutch grammar prescriptions decree that in subject position, the subject pronoun 'zij' and not the oblique 'hun' should be used. Consequently, the following sentence can only exemplify proper...Show moreDutch grammar prescriptions decree that in subject position, the subject pronoun 'zij' and not the oblique 'hun' should be used. Consequently, the following sentence can only exemplify proper written and spoken Dutch if 'zij' is selected: *Hun/Zij hebben dat gedaan! ("Them/They did that!"). Scholars have revealed that university students disapprove of *hun in a spoken Dutch story (Janssen 2004), and that the more highly educated a group of speakers is, the lower that group’s self-reported use of *hun is likely to be (Bennis & Hinskens 2014). Yet, it remains unclear whether and, if so, how different educational groups perceive 'hun hebben' as well as other 'taalergernissen' (“language annoyances”, or “usage problems”) in spoken Dutch. My sociolinguistic study into 45 young Dutch females’ perception and evaluation of five usage problems in spoken Dutch confirms that speakers’ education is a relevant social variable that future studies about related topics should consider. The speakers with a WO degree (“university degree”) more often commented on the non-standard features in a radio listening task than speakers with HBO (“higher vocational education”) or MBO (“intermediate vocational education”) degrees did. Additionally, the university graduates also were less tolerant of, and more strongly distanced themselves from, spoken sentences that included such non-standard features as compared to the HBO and MBO graduates.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
2016-08-31T00:00:00Z
Intra-sentential code-switching in Dutch-Papiamento bilingualism may create a conflict within the determiner phrase, because in Dutch the adjective precedes the noun (1), whereas in Papiamento the...Show moreIntra-sentential code-switching in Dutch-Papiamento bilingualism may create a conflict within the determiner phrase, because in Dutch the adjective precedes the noun (1), whereas in Papiamento the adjective follows the noun (2). 1.Het rode huis [Dutch]. 2.E kas kòrá [Papiamento]. “The red house”. The Matrix Language Framework (MLF – Myers-Scotton, 1993) suggests that the matrix language will provide the grammatical frame and that the embedded language will supply some content elements. The matrix language will thus determine the word order in a code-switched determiner phrase. In the case of Dutch-Papiamento intra-sentential code-switching, the MLF will predict an [adjective-noun] order when the matrix language is Dutch, and the MLF will predict a [noun-adjective] order when the matrix language is Papiamento. However, the MLF does not make a prediction about the origin of the adjective or the noun. Thus, when the matrix language is Dutch, both combinations of [Dutch adjective-Papiamento noun] and [Papiamento adjective-Dutch noun] would be possible according to the MLF. The same principle applies for Papiamento as the matrix language, both language combinations [Papiamento noun-Dutch adjective] and [Dutch noun-Papiamento adjective] would be possible according to the MLF. The aim of the present study is to test the predictions of the MLF in Dutch-Papiamento code-switching production. The four code-switching patterns mentioned above were used as conditions that match the predictions of the MLF (“MLF+ conditions”). Another four conditions were created by reversing the order of the adjective and the noun in both matrix language paradigms, to create a violation of the predictions of the MLF (“MLF- conditions”). A total of eight conditions were used in this study. The MLF predictions were tested by using an advanced psycholinguistic method, namely electro-encephalography (EEG). The integration of a psycholinguistic method in a code-switching experiment is an innovative way of testing the predictions of a theoretical model. In this study, an EEG signal was recorded while Dutch-Papiamento bilingual speakers conducted a modified picture naming task. The conditions were analysed by looking at naming latencies and by looking at the part of the EEG signal following target presentation. Based on results of previous picture naming tasks (Christoffels, Firk & Schiller, 2007; Rodriguez-Fornells, Van Der Lugt, Rotte, Britti, Heinze & Münte, 2005; Misra, Guo, Bobb & Kroll, 2012), I expected slower naming latencies and a more negative waveform for the conditions that violate the predictions of the MLF. The expected slower naming latencies were observed in two MLF- conditions: Papiamento adjective followed by a Dutch noun (Papiamento matrix language) and Papiamento noun followed by a Dutch adjective (Dutch matrix language). The expected negative waveform was observed in only one MLF- condition: Papiamento adjective followed by a Dutch noun (Papiamento matrix language). Furthermore, a P300 (with an early peak in the frontal/central area and a later peak in the occipital area) and a late positive component seem to be elicited in code-switching production. The amplitude of the P300 peak was higher in the conditions that contain a violation of the MLF, which could be explained by the higher complexity of the MLF- conditions. The occurrence of the P300 could be explained in terms of the context-updating theory (Donchin, 1981; Donchin & Coles, 1988) or the neural inhibition theory (Polich, 2007). On the whole, the results do not provide conclusive support for the predictions of the MLF.Show less
