bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A closer look at the Hebrew Construct and free locative PPs: The analysis of mi-locatives
Authors: Botwinik-Rotem Irena
Published: March 2014

Most Hebrew locative P(reposition)s are directly followed by their complement. However, the complement of Hebrew locatives prefixed by mi, referred to here as mi‑locatives (e.g. mixuc “outside”) often, but not always, is introduced by the light P le. Taking direct complementation to be an instance of a prepositional Construct State, with the occurrence of le indicating its free counterpart, the paper defines the roles of the prefix mi in the formation of mi-locatives, and accounts for the distribution of le with them. Furthermore, based on the unique ability of mi‑locatives to license implied complements, and assuming that locative phrases are instantiated in a nominal (extended) projection headed by the null noun Place, the prefix mi is argued to be a D(eterminer)-prefix, realizing the formal feature of this head in the (extended) projection of (Hebrew) locative PPs.
Case marking of Turkic adpositional objects
Authors: Libert Alan
Published: March 2014

Adpositional objects in Turkic languages can bear a variety of different cases, and the same adposition can often assign more than one case. For example, Turkish postpositions take objects in the nominative (or absolute), genitive, dative, or ablative case, and some assign either nominative or genitive, depending on certain properties of the object. This paper presents the main facts about the complex case-marking behavior of Turkic postpositions and places them in a cross-linguistic context. We shall see that, on the one hand, Turkic languages resemble many other languages in some relevant respects, while on the other hand, they are unusual in some ways, for example in having nominative postpositional objects.
The grammaticalization cline of cardinal numerals and numeral systems
Authors: von Mengden Ferdinand
Published: March 2014

This paper investigates the grammaticalization of cardinal numerals and numeral systems from a crosslinguistic perspective. The grammaticalization cline postulated here starts with a referential expression denoting a body part to a cardinal numeral and leads on to a functional affix which occurs in numeral systems and marks arithmetical operations in complex numeral expressions (e.g. English -teen in fifteen or -ty in fifty). The paper also shows that the numerals of the lowest cardinalities may follow a path different from that of the other simple numerals: they may evolve from pronominal elements, such as demonstratives and determiners, which often derive themselves from the cardinal numeral ‘1.’ The fact that low numerals and pronominal elements can be both each other’s sources and each other’s targets seems to challenge the unidirectionality of grammaticalization.
Language, ritual and historical reconstruction: Towards a linguistic, ethnographical and archaeological account of Upper Xingu Society
Authors: Fausto Carlos , Franchetto Bruna , Heckenberger Michael
Published: March 2014

In this article we present results from interdisciplinary research among the Kuikuro of the Upper Xingu (Brazil). The project integrates linguistic, ethnographic and archaeological data as a means to reconstruct the processes through which peoples speaking languages of the three largest South American linguistic groupings (Arawak, Carib, and Tupi), as well as a language isolate (Trumai), came to create a unique social system: the Upper Xingu sociocultural complex. We address the following questions: how did this system – spanning from the 9th century AD until the present and formed by peoples with distinct cultures and origins – come into being? Which cultural bases and historical circumstances led to its structuring? What role did language and multilingualism play in this process?
Endangered Caucasian languages in Georgia: Linguistic parameters of language endangerment
Authors: Gippert Jost
Published: March 2014

The paper discusses several linguistic peculiarities of three endangered Caucasian languages of Georgia that are currently being documented within the DoBeS “ECLinG” project, viz. Svan, Tsova-Tush (Batsbi), and Udi. The main focus lies on questions of the phonology (vowel systems, pharyngeal and laryngeal subsystems) and the morphosyntax (verbal agreement, ergativity) of these languages. The second part of the paper is devoted to the question whether the audiovisual material collected in the course of the project admits of establishing linguistic parameters of language endangerment with respect to the languages in question.
Propositional aspect and the development of modal inferences in English
Authors: Ziegeler Debra
Published: March 2014

The alignment of deontic modality with perfective lexical aspect and epistemic modality with imperfective lexical aspect has been observed in a number of recent publications on the interface between aspect and modality (e.g., Abraham 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003). The present study considers the way in which such associations arise, considering the possibility of compositional (propositional) aspect as a determining factor, and, at the same time, proposes a solution to a question arising from an earlier study (Ziegeler 2003) in which the source context for the generation of deontic modal inferences in a recently-developing semi-modal, be supposed to, was ill-defined. The earlier data is re-examined from the perspective of generic sub-categories, and it is demonstrated that the sources of the deontic modal inferences begin to appear in a normative generic type expressing social or moral duty. Deontic modality thus emerges out of an environment in which perfective lexical aspect is already a necessary feature of the original source context.
Russian modals možet 'can' and dolžen 'must' selecting the imperfective in negative contexts
Authors: Padučeva Elena
Published: March 2014

As is well known, there is a strong tendency in the Slavic languages to use the imperfective in negative contexts. However, linguistic mechanisms that lead to a correlation between negation and imperfective are still poorly understood and need further investigation. This paper deals with negation and the imperfective in modal contexts. For example, with the impersonal modal nado ‘‘it is necessary’’, occurring in its primary meaning exclusively with verbs denoting actions (and activities), negation drastically influences the choice of aspect in its dependent infinitive. While in non-negated contexts both aspects are possible, imperfective (ipfv) as well as perfective (pfv), with the ipfv version putting the activity at the center of attention, while with the pfv the focus is transferred to the resulting state. However, in the context of negated nado the only possibility is imperfective. This will be discussed in great detail in the ensuing sections with varying modalities. Section 1 concerns possibility, Section 2 is devoted to necessity. Section 3 deals with disputable examples.
On the scope of the referential hierarchy in the typology of grammatical relations
Authors: Bickel Balthasar
Published: March 2014

Split alignment in case-marking has often been hypothesized to be affected by the referential hierarchy in that higher-ranking arguments are more likely to be accusatively aligned while lower-ranking arguments are more likely to be ergatively aligned. A survey of typological databases suggests that while there are only very few counterexamples to the hypothesis, the total number of relevant cases is so small as to provide only marginal statistical evidence. In split alignment in agreement morphology and in structures like relativization, the statistical evidence is nil. The only domains where hierarchy effects seem to be common is (a) where they affect optional case-marking in discourse and (b) where they directly define grammatical relations, independently of alignment patterns, such as in hierarchical agreement.
Does passivization require a subject category?
Authors: Mithun Marianne
Published: March 2014

Passives are usually described in terms of subjects: they shift subject status from the semantic agent of a clause to a patient or other argument. We might accordingly expect that languages without a robust subject category should lack passives. Here passives are examined in a language with at best only marginal evidence of a subject category, Central Pomo of California. The construction alters argument structure by eliminating the grammatical agent from the clause, but has none of the other syntactic effects expected of passives. It does not promote arguments to subject status. There is no shift in pronominal shape or case marking: patients remain coded as grammatical patients, and obliques as obliques. It is not exploited for purely formal syntactic purposes, such as ensuring coreferentiality of arguments in clause combining. It does, however, serve the same kinds of semantic, pragmatic, and discourse functions as passives in many other languages. It eliminates mention of generic, unknown, irrecoverable, unimportant, predictable, stereotypical, and non-topical agents. The density of passives in spontaneous Central Pomo speech indicates these functions are more than sufficient to justify its central place in the grammar.
'Eating', 'drinking' and 'smoking': A generic verb and its semantics in Manambu
Authors: Aikhenvald Alexandra Y.
Published: March 2014

Many of the world’s languages have different forms for the concepts of ‘eating’ (solid food) and ‘drinking’ (liquid). Manambu, from the Ndu family in the Sepik region of New Guinea, has the same verb covering the notions of ‘eating’, ‘drinking’, smoking’ and ‘breast-feeding’. It also refers to destructive processes (‘drowning’ and ‘burning down’), and to the ritual distribution of a mortuary payment. The verb of consumption is similar to a number of general verbs in the language whose semantics is disambiguated by their object arguments. Having one form for all ingestive processes is a feature Manambu shares with many languages of New Guinea. Examples of a similar polysemy outside New Guinea come from a number of Australian languages, all adjacent to each other, pointing towards its diffusability.
Athapaskan eating and drinking verbs and constructions
Authors: Rice Sally
Published: March 2014

Athapaskan languages comprise one of the largest, most geographically distributed, and most culturally diverse families in North America. Nevertheless, each daughter language features a set of classificatory verb stems which, semantically, focus less on signaling a relational predication than on some physical attribute of a prominent relational participant. Consequently, most consumption expressions focus on the marking of the theme; that is, on the type of object consumed, the manner in which the consumption happens, or the extent of the dissipation of the object through a combination of classificatory verb stems and adverbial prefixes. Unlike what is found in many languages, there is no appreciable focus on the agent/consumer or on the benefits or detriments associated with the acts of eating or drinking.
From nominal to clausal morphosyntax
Authors: Heine Bernd
Published: March 2014

The study of the rise of syntactic complexity, in particular of clause subordination and recursive language structures has more recently become the topic of intense discussion. The present paper builds on the reconstruction of grammatical evolution as proposed in Heine and Kuteva (2007) to present a scenario of how new forms of clause subordination may arise. Taking examples from attested cases of grammatical development as well as using evidence that has become available on grammaticalization in African languages, it is argued that there are two major pathways leading to the emergence of clause subordination: either via the integration of coordinate clauses or via the expansion of existing clauses. The concern of this paper is exclusively with the latter pathway.
On the origins of serial verb constructions in Kalam
Authors: Pawley Andrew
Published: March 2014

In Kalam, a Trans New Guinea language spoken in Papua New Guinea, there are two main types of serial verb construction (SVC), showing different degrees of morphosyntactic complexity. Compact SVCs contain from two to four verb roots that form a single, semantically and syntactically very tight-knit verb phrase. Narrative SVCs depict a sequence of events that make up a familiar episode. They contain from two to five small verb phrases, compressed into a single clause–lik e construction. The paper will discuss the functions and origins of these two constructions and reflect on the paradox that while condensing multi-clause constructions into a single clause may simplify the task of speech planning it has creates a clause type of exceptional complexity.
Nominalization and the origin of subordination
Authors: Deutscher Guy
Published: March 2014

This paper argues that the paths portrayed in recent literature as the genesis of subordination are only superficial rearrangements of existing subordination, while the real syntactic-cognitive underpinnings of subordination are overlooked. (Derivational) nominalization, the ability to derive a noun from a verb, is shown as the core element in the channel of ‘expansion’, and may also be behind the genesis of relative clauses that are claimed to arise through ‘integration’. And yet, the origins of nominalization are little researched and understood, and thus accounts of the genesis of subordination are robbed of much of their explanatory power. One way is suggested to account for the genesis of nominalization without already presupposing it, based on back-formation from the process of verbalization.
Neural plasticity
Authors: Tublitz Nathan
Published: March 2014

The ability of the human nervous system to process information, perform complicated simultaneous mental and physical tasks, and express feelings and emotions is peerless. Because of its complexity, the human brain is the seminal achievement of biological evolution on our planet. This paper focuses on one aspect of brain complexity, neural plasticity, the ability of the nervous system to alter its output in response to changing stimuli. Several examples of neuroplasticity at the molecular, cellular, systems and cognitive levels are presented, all of which have physiological and behavioral consequences. The examples presented provide a basis for the premise that neural complexity arose from the need to perform complex functions. These examples also lend support for the notion that complex adaptive functions are subdivided into separate neural pathways which are oftentimes anatomically distinct.
How synchronic is synchronic analysis?
Authors: Vakhtin Nikolai
Published: March 2014

Siberian Yupik (SY) is considered a classical agglutinative polysynthetic language. Linguists often regard agglutination as more cumbersome but structurally less complicated than other morphological types. Consequently, in agglutinative languages, grammatical meanings are expected to be expressed by elements of a single level: standard morphemes. However, agglutinative morphemes occupy different ranks (orders) in the word structure, and display differences in their morphological and morphophonemic behavior. These features can be indicators of different origin and/or different time of origin for morphemes of different classes. Rank (order) analysis turns out to be “too powerful”: while designed to yield synchronic description, it “smuggles in” diachronic information. In this paper, this is illustrated by (1) a brief example of rules of the morphophonemic behavior of SY derivational suffixes, and (2) a more detailed analysis of the structure of the so-called “double tense” forms.
The efficacy of anaphoricity in Aleut
Authors: Sadock Jerrold M.
Published: March 2014

The unusual inflectional system of Aleut can be understood holistically, as deploying forms, meanings, and forces so as to make efficient use of the contrasts that its limited space of expression types makes available. Indeed, in every natural language, the features of its grammar work together to allow the communication of what needs to be communicated. Every language, I believe, accomplishes a great deal of this work by using the ability of native users of the language to know what else might have been said and how the alternatives would contrast with what is said. All that is unusual about Aleut is that a preconceived idea about how the direct relation between form and meaning works fails more obviously in Aleut than it does in more familiar languages. We expect that definite reference to third persons will always be directly encoded, either in inflection or by means of clitics or independent pronouns. Knut Bergsland, who devoted more time to the study of Aleut than anyone else has, provided convincing evidence that definite reference is not directly coded in Aleut. What is coded is only that there is an additional reference that is “left out as known from context or the situation”. The rest is Saussurean–Gricean holism.
Seward Peninsula Inupiaq and language contact around Bering Strait
Authors: Kaplan Lawrence D.
Published: March 2014

In the Bering Strait region, where Siberia and Alaska are in close proximity, the world’s greatest diversity of Eskimo languages is found, with five separate languages: Inupiaq, Central Siberian Yupik, Naukan Yupik, Central Alaskan Yupik, and Sirenikski (now extinct). The results of language contact among them are evident and must be due to extensive bilingualism, although the introduction of English and Russian has vastly decreased bilingualism involving the indigenous languages. Emphasizing Inupiaq, this paper presents a number of these language-contact phenomena, from lexical borrowing to profound alterations in phonology such as the prosodic-type systems found in Seward Peninsula Inupiaq, and discusses the history of the contact.
Typological constraints on code mixing in Inuktitut–English bilingual adults
Authors: Allen Shanley E.M. , Genesee Fred , Fish Sarah , Crago Martha
Published: March 2014

Patterns of code mixing vary according to relative typology of the languages and sociolinguistics of the contact situation (e.g., Muysken 2000). We extend understanding of the factors involved by analyzing for the first time mixing between an isolating Germanic language (English) and a polysynthetic Eskimo–Aleut language (Inuktitut). The adult bilinguals mixed English and Inuktitut in about 5% of the almost 17,000 utterances analyzed. Over half of the mixes comprised a single noun or verb root from one language (usually English) in an utterance of the other. Another third were tags or quotes from one language in an utterance of the other. Very few mixes involved phrases from each language as is common with typologically similar languages (e.g., Spanish–English, Poplack 1980).
Geschlechtsunterschiede; Sprechen Und Denken; Emotionen Und Beziehungen.
Authors: van der Geest Ton
Published: March 2014

In this article it is assumed that verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication should be accounted for in one integrative theory, as is for instance proposed by Watzlawick et al. (1967). The article examines the question whether Maccoby & Jacklin's (1973) hypotheses concerning sex differences hold when we also take pragmatic and non-digital but analogue nonverbal aspects of communication into account.
In considering these hypotheses (1) observational data of pre school and primary school interaction; (2) observational data of communication in a behavior therapy setting; and (3) the observational capacity of nonverbal communication with respect to the PONS-test, a test for emotions and one for human relations, are dealt with.
It is found amongst other things that (1) boys communicate more abstractly and therefore more succesfully in a school situation than girls do; (2) male therapists communicate more effectively with their clients than female therapists do; (3) female clients communicate more effectively than the male clients; (4) communicative capacity depends on situation, role, and on who is the addressee, and is to a large extent sex-specific; (5) male, female, and androgynous are effective self-attributions in a differential psychology sense in differentiating between achievements in tests on observational capacity with respect to nonverbal communication; (6) androgyny is generally advantageous for woman and disadvantageous for men; and (7) Maccoby and Jacklin's hypotheses should be reconsidered.
Sekseverschillen In Het Franse Taalgebruik
Authors: Schenk-van Witsen Rosalien
Published: March 2014

Quantitative research has been done on sex differences in French spoken language. A corpus of 51 interviews was fed into a computer with sex and age as independent variables.
Approximately the same word categories were examined as Gerritsen & de Jong tested in Dutch: categories that reflect the polite, correct and insecure behaviour of women and categories of "female" words (adorable, etc.) and "male" words (pompous words), categories of words referring to special subjects (house, sports, etc.).
Some other catagories, not studied by Gerritsen & de Jong, were introduced, like personal pronouns (subject).
The results in French confirm the Dutch results. Significant differences are found in so far as it concerns the subject people talk about. Other significant differences were found concerning abstract words ("male" words) and personal pronouns (used more by women than by men). No other signifi-cant differences were found.
Taal- en Sprekersbeoordeling Binnen En Buiten De Eigen Groep
Authors: Berenst Jan
Published: March 2014

Social status of and solidarity between participants in interaction are important for the way in which they formulate speech acts. The use of a particular language variety functions as a cue for the assessment of status and solidarity in intergroup interaction between strangers: speakers of a language variety are evaluated on these dimensions because of their use of that variety.
In our research we compared the evaluations of language varieties, made by speakers of those varieties and made by relevant outgroups. Discongruency in evaluations is likely to prevent a smooth interaction between participants. Agreement in .evaluation can be the basis for a mutual nonproblematic interpretation of the interaction. Perceived differences between speakers can explain the use of certain accommodation strategies and politeness strategies.
Our research concentrated on two accent varieties in relation to standard Dutch (AN), an ethnic variety Moluccan Dutch (MN) , and a regional variety Groningen Dutch (GN). There appeared to be interesting differences in the evaluations between the two accent groups in the city of Groningen. The Moluccan group evaluated the Correctness of MN and the Social Status of the MN-speaker more positively than the others did. The speakers of the regional GN however agreed with the AN-speakers about the low evaluation of GN and its speaker on this dimension. Moreover it turned out that the Moluccan group (by comparison) gave preference to the Moluccan speaker on the dimension of Solidarity, but that the GN-group preferred the AN-speaker. This result was similar to the degree of identification with speaker and language: the MN-group mostly with the MN-speaker, the GN-group with the AN-speaker.
It is argued that these differences are the result of differences in the perception of the social identity of the groups.
Tweetalig Leesonderwijs Aan Turkse Kinderen
Authors: Verhoeven Ludo Th. , Verhoeven Walther , Zouw Kim van der
Published: March 2014

In this paper a report is given of a study concerning the processes involved in the learning of reading by Turkish children when the
reading instruction is simultaneously given in LI en L2. After a short survey of the literature concerning bilingualism and learning to read
the design of the study is worked out with reference to three research questions: (1) What is the linguistic and socio-cultural background
of Turkish children at the moment when they start to read? (2) To what extent does interference play a role in the simultaneous acquisition
of two written codes? (3) How can the individual variation in L1/L2 reading results after one year of reading instruction be explained? The
results of the study show that the Turkish children are mainly dominant in LI-skilIs. Further it turns out that the simultaneous acquisition
of the written codes of two languages does not have to lead to negative learning results. It seems that LI reading skills results in a
positive transfer to L2 reading skills
De Rol Van Toonhoogtekontoeren Bij Het Segmenteren Van Spraak Door Luisteraars.Een Contrastieve Studie Frans-Nederlands
Authors: Ickenroth Jacques
Published: March 2014

A comparison was made between French and Dutch pitch contours at the level of the word and the prosodic word. The overlap between the two systems was supposed to cause problems in the segmentation of words in speech communication for French dominant and Dutch dominant French-Dutch bilinguals. Two types of experiments were reported. In the first type native speakers of French (French dominant French-Dutch bilinguals) read Dutch sentences. These sentences are ambiguous without orthographic or intonational specification. The resulting French coloured realisations were interpreted by native speakers of Dutch in a way which differed from the interpretation suggested by Dutch orthography.
In a second type of experiment pitch contours were manipulated by means of a resynthesis program. The same kind of sentences as in the first experiment were read by native speakers of French (French dominant French-Dutch bilinguals). On the sentences produced by these speakers a Dutch pitch contour was superimposed. This contour corresponded to the orthographic form in which the sentence had been presented to the native speakers of French. Other prosodie or segmental parameters were left unmodified. The resulting sentences were presented to native speakers of Dutch. The results showed that these native speakers of Dutch interpreted these manipulated sentences according to the orthography of the original Dutch stimulus.
To control for the influence of other prosodie or segmental features of French in the realisation of the Dutch sentences by the French speakers, a number of Dutch sentences of the same kind as in the previous experiments were read by native speakers of Dutch. Their realisations were provided with a pitch contour corresponding to the contours the French speakers had realised on the same type of sentences. The effect of the pitch modification on the interpretation of these sentences by native speakers of Dutch was the same as the effect of having French dominant bilinguals read the original Dutch sentences.
Auditieve Woordherkenning in Het Frans Als Vreemde Taal
Authors: Matter Johan
Published: March 2014

This article deals with some fundamental aspects of understanding spoken language in general and spoken French by non-native speakers of French in particular.
The problem is discussed within a theoretical framework based on Marslen-Wilson's cohort theory, Morton's Information Processing theory, and psychological skill theory. It is predicted i) that a word form is recognized the more readily as it resembles more its "canonic" (=citation) form and ii) that a word is recognized more rapidly by native than by non-native speakers. In French there are three phenomena that affect the canonic form. They all have to do with the specific structure of French, where syllable boundaries often do not co-incide with word boundaries, and where syllable structure generally has priority over word structure.
These three phenomena are elision, liaison and enchaînement. In experiments on the word recognition by native and non-native speakers of French we found that:
- Native speakers recognize words more rapidly than non-native speakers
- Elision has an important effect on word recognition when it occurs at the beginning of a word, none at all at the end of the word, whereas the influence of Enchaînement and Liaison on word recognition seems to be less important for both native and non-native speakers.
Vocabulairekennis In De Vreemde Taal Na Beëindiging Van Het Onderwijs
Authors: Schumans Jos , van Os Charles , Weltens Bert
Published: March 2014

This paper deals with the loss of FL-vocabulary in French and German learned in formal secondary Dutch education ("VWO). Using a cross-sectional design, we investigated the development of FL-vocabulary from the end of grade 4 - the moment at which pupils can drop one or two FLs - up to the end of grade 6 - the moment when they take their final exams in the seven subjects they did choose. We compared pupils from grades 4, 5, and 6 who had either dropped the FL, or had chosen it as an exam subject. A French and a German translation task were administered in which pupils had to fill in the target word in a meaningful, but noncoercive context. The tests consisted of a productive part (translation into the FL) and a receptive part (translation from the FL). Either part consisted of 48 equivalent items, 24 high-frequent and 24 low-frequent target words.
The main finding was that there was a loss of 16% for French in the second year of non-use, and a comparable loss for German in the first year of non-use. However, the loss for German was entirely redressed in the second year of non-use. It was concluded that this may have been due to the cross-sectional design, and that, therefore, longitudinal designs are to be preferred in this kind of research.
Spaanse Si En Cuando Zinnen En Hun Equivalenten In Het Nederlands Een Contrastieve En Foutenanalyse
Authors: Fraai G.Th.
Published: March 2014

The object of this investigation was to conduct a contrastive analysis of the following Spanish and Dutch conjunctions:.on the one hand the Spanish pair si_, as a conjunction of hypothesis or condition, and cuando, as a hypothetical/conditional or temporal conjunction, and, on the other hand, the Dutch equivalents als, wanneer, indien and the synonymous conjunctionless construction (0). On the basis of the"strong" predictive version of the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) one or more hypotheses were formulated, which served as predictors of errors likely to be made by Dutch learners of Spanish. The hypotheses were tested in an experimental investigation, involving 31 students.
Fouten In Het Nederlands Van Marokkanen, Theoretische Implicaties En Practische Remedies.
Authors: Groot P.J.M. , Otten R.Th. , de Ruiter Jan Jaap
Published: March 2014

This article reports on the first results of an investigation into the errors in Dutch as a 2nd language of Moroccans in Holland. Two competing models (Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis and Creative Construction Hypothesis) to explain second language acquisition are briefly described to demonstrate their implications for FL teaching as to the selection and ordening of FL syntax and especially the way errors are dealt with. One of the implications of the CAH is that the necessity of integrating the results of a contrastive analysis of source and target language will positively correlate with their typological distance. Consequently, it is highly important for the teaching of Dutch as a second language to Moroccans to choose between these two theoretical positions especially as regards the analysis and remedy of errors. To collect empirical data relevant to this theoretical controversy, an investigation was set up to determine the nature and origin of errors of Moroccan Dutch L2 speakers. Subjects were taken from four age groups to gather evidence on the persistence of certain errors, accounting for fossilisation phenomena.
Primaire Taalverwerving
Authors: Extra Guus , Verhoeven Ludo
Published: March 2014

Under the auspices of the Dutch National Science Foundation (ZWO), a research program on primary language development is being prepared. This text aims at contributing to the foundation of such a program by focusing on the main trends in research on primary language development in the Netherlands and abroad. After an Introduction on the goals and scope of the text, the main areas and approaches (section 2), and the main methods and techniques (section 3) of research on primary language development are discussed. Against this background, section 4 offers a survey of Dutch contributions in this field. Whereas sections 2 and 3 focus on main lines of research, our survey of Dutch contributions aims at giving a documented overall picture of the research efforts since 1970.
Contextuele Afhankelijkheid Bij Beginnende Schrijvers
Authors: Aalderink M.W.
Published: March 2014

Compared with speaking, writing can be considered to be relatively context independent with regards to both process and product. Young children appear to have problems creating, without interactional support, a discourse that can function as a meaningful whole for a non-present reader. As a result their writing can be contextual dependent in some sense. In this article contextual dependency is discussed on a theoretical level and by illustrating it by means of an example of a seven year old writer. Possible relations between contextual dependency and both cognitive development and individual differences in oral language are considered, and some empirical data are presented that show how frequent and in which ways the texts of beginning writers can be context dependent. From this study it can be concluded that the textuality of young childrens' written products should be defined from the perspective of the child and considering the context in which they were written.
Toetsen Van Taalvaardigheid, Onderzoek En Aandachtsgebieden.
Authors: Beheydt Ludovic
Published: March 2014

Recent developments in the area of testing have led to fundamental theoretical discussions of the nature of language proficiency and the ways in which it can be measured. The conflict supported by statistical theory between advocates of the unitary competence hypothesis and upholders of the divisible competence hypothesis has not yet been resolved unambiguously. However, the discussion has also offered new perspectives in investigating validity. It has become clear that the way language proficiency is viewed determines at the same time the view of validity. The controversy on construct, face and content validity can only be understood in the light of the different concepts of language proficiency. The implications of these various views both for the development and the use of specific tests forms and for validation and normation are briefly dealt with. The choice of direct proficiency tests is explained and the advantages and disadvantages of some frequently used test forms is discussed.
Amerikaanse Schrijfprogramma's
Authors: Dijck J.F.T.M. van
Published: March 2014

Writing instruction in American colleges has changed significantly over the last five years. Until the 1980s, the field of composition has been sustained by attention to the written product. Many researchers, however, have moved their focus to the writing process and its rhetorical context. The implications of this paradigmshift have become apparent in the practice of writing programs: many innovative writing programs base their freshman composition courses on 'writing-as-a-process' and 'writing-to-learn' principles.
At the University of California, San Diego two writing programs have adopted this approach and they have developed effective composition courses. Although the American college-curriculum is different, these recent developments in writing theory and practice could be quite relevant for Dutch post-secondary education.
Praten Vaders Anders Dan Moeders Tegen Hun Kind
Authors: Hamel B.R. , Rijnbout-Kuiper J.F.H.
Published: March 2014

This article presents and discusses empirical findings concerning the differences between fathers and mothers as to the language they use in the communication with their children. On the basis of the findings of other research two general expectations were formulated: fathers make higher demands upon their children and therefore adjust less to the language needs of the children than mothers do. For mothers it is the other way around.
Data were collected from four fathers and mothers and their child at their homes in two situations: one with a picture book and one in an unstructured play situation with standardized playing materials. The language input - per situation at least 20 minutes were tape-recorded - was analysed as to form and content.
The results indicate that there are no significant differences in the kind of language addressed to the child by its father and mother. These findings are interpreted with reference to our modern society, in which generally speaking fathers are more involved in educating their children than in former times.
Finally it is proposed to replicate this study with a larger sample and with social class as a variable, in order to ascertain whether social class affects parents' language input.
Woorden Leren in Een Vreemde Taal
Authors: Koster Loes
Published: March 2014

In an experiment two hypotheses were tested:
1. learning new words by extracting their meaning from context and by rehearsing them in context, facilitates the use of these words in situations involving the foreign language (e.g. a cloze test)
2. learning new words by linking them to mother tongue equivalents and rehearsing them in isolation, facilitates the use of these words involving the mother tongue ( e.g. an isolated word test).
Two methods of learning English words by 13 year old Dutch pupils were contrasted. All subjects were presented several English texts containing unfa-miliar word. In one condition they received with every unfamiliar word three English sentences containing the target word. The meaning of the word was to be extracted from the text and the sentences. In the other condition they received with every unfamiliar word the entry from a bilingual dictionary. The translation which best fitted the text was to be chosen. Subjects performed the task individually and at their own speed. Afterwards the teacher provided the translation of each target word.
Next the words were rehearsed. In one condition the subjects rehearsed the target words in English sentences. In the other condition they linked the target words to mother tongue equivalents.
Two tests were administered. One was a cloze test. Subjects had to fill in the target words in several unfamiliar English texts. The other was an isolated word test. Subjects had to provide the target words, cued by translations. Both hypotheses were confirmed. Type of learning activity and kind of test interacted. Looking for the best method to teach words therefore seems futile. Learning words in a foreign language is a task in which several factors must be taken into account: learner, learning activities, material and test.
Recent Sociolinguïstisch Onderzoek in Vlaanderen
Authors: van den Broeck Jef
Published: March 2014

In the introduction of this paper the author discusses the relevance of sociolinguistic research for Belgium. In this respect he mentions the problems of the pacification between the language communities in the Brussels area and the relation between dialect and standard language in Flanders. In this paper he mainly deals with the latter problem which is discussed along the following lines:
a. Who speaks in Flanders what variety (dialect or standard Dutch) to whom and when? (cf Fishman; research by Meeus and Geerts, Nootens and Van den Broeck).
b. What attitude do the Flemish show towards the Dutch used by the Flemish as compared to the Dutch used by the Dutch? What do they eventually reject in the Dutch as used by Dutch speakers? (Attitu-des, cf. Lambert & Giles, research by Geerts, Nootens and Van den Broeck and by Deprez).
c. Problems of standardisation ("the long road to the standard Dutch") illustrated by some concrete lexical and pronominal (jij-gij) variables, ("linguistic insecurity", cf. Labov; research by Deprez and Geerts in Kortrijk-Poperinge).
d. The relation between the dimension of dialect/standard language and the code-theory of Bernstein; research by Van den Broeck of the syntactic complexity in the actual use of both standard language and dialect by workers and middleclass in Maaseik (Bernstein, Labov, Ammon).
Convergence and Divergence of Dialects
Authors: de Bot Kees
Published: March 2014

In this paper two approaches to the concepts of convergence and divergence are described. The first concerns dialects as linguistic systems that may converge or diverge from each other or from the standard language, the second level concerns convergence and divergence as linguistic behaviour of in relation to the various registers a bilectal speaker has at his or her disposal. It is claimed that the latter approach is the more fruitful one in socio-dialectological research.
Het Begrip Van Teksten Met 10% tot 25% Onbekende Woorden
Authors: Nienhuis L.J.A.
Published: March 2014

This article describes two small scale studies aimed at defining the number of words necessary for comprehension.of written texts in the native language (Dutch) and in two foreign languages (English and French) In the literature one finds coverage percentages varying from 75% for global comprehension to 98% for almost complete comprehension. The subjects in these studies were students from different age groups and different learning backgrounds (HAVO-4, VWO-5 and university). It is concluded that it is not so much the knowledge of the language as the age and the greater knowledge of the world that account for the difference in scores.
Hm's En Andere Minimale Responsen Van Molukse En Surinaamse Sprekers. Een Kleinschalig Onderzoek.
Authors: Ayal Jane
Published: March 2014

Both men and women use minimal responses. Some studies, however, show functional differences (differences with regard to the organization of a conver-sation) as well as differences in the meaning of these responses (resulting in different paraphrases) between the sexes. For instance, Maltz and Borker (1982) argue that the minimal responses used by women can be interpreted as 'I am liste-ning, go on', whereas the minimal responses used by men can be interpreted as 'I agree with you'. Furthermore, they argue that women use minimal responses more often than men.
As a member of the Moluccan (speech) community I was very surprised by these arguments. In the Moluccan speech community many minimal responses are used in daily conversations. According to my intuitions, gender differences in the use of minimal responses do not exist. Furthermore, I argue that the meanings and functions of the minimal responses used by Moluccan speakers are more differentiated than the meanings and functions of the minimal responses found in the literature.
To test my intuitive presuppositions I investigated the minimal responses of Moluccan speakers and of Surinam speakers. On the basis of my experience with Surinam speakers I did not believe there to be any gender differences either.
In this paper, I focus on the minimal responses that I found in my data. Some of the categories from my data are examined in some detail on the basis of examples. Although the persons participating in this study did not exhibit any gender-related differences, it is hard to conclude one thing or the other, because of the small number of participants. From that point of view this study does not provide any conclusive evidence for the hypothesis that the minimal responses used by Moluccan and Surinam speakers are not gender related, nor does it provide any evidence for the hypothesis that the minimal responses used by Moluccan and Surinam speakers have more functions or meanings than found in the literature. Further research may provide some evidence for the non-existence of gender-related differences in the use of minimal responses by <oluccan and Surinam speakers. It may also provide some evidence for the existence of more meanings and functions of the minimal responses used by these groups.
Woordenschatontwikkeling Allochtone Kleuters
Authors: van der Helm Liane
Published: March 2014

This paper presents the results of a study on the effect of the vocabulary programme Taalplan Kleuters on the vocabulary acquisition of four- and five-year-old non-native speakers of Dutch. The basic question to be answered was the following:
What is the effect of a very structured and systematic vocabulary programme like Taalplan Kleuters on the vocabulary acquisition of four- and five-year-old non-native speakers of Dutch in comparison with the effect of the less structured programme Knoop het in je oren for four-year-old non-native speakers of Dutch and Laat wat van je horen for five-year-old non-native speakers of Dutch?"
For this study I used four groups of four- and five-year-old children: two experimental groups, one of four-year-olds and one of five-year-olds, and two control groups of the same age. In total 94 children took part in the study, which was conducted in the period from September till December 1993 at a primary school with 450 pupils, 95% of whom were of non-Dutch origin.
All the children took two pre-tests: a programme related test (Taalplan Kleuters') and a non-related test ('Passieve en Actieve woordenschattaak' from the 'Taaltoets Allochtone Kinderen'). After these tests the experimental group worked with Taalplan Kleuters. The controlgroup consisting of four-year-old children worked with Knoop het in je oren while the controlgroup consisting of five-year-olds worked with Laat wat van je horen.
After three months the children took the same tests again. The results showed that the two experimental groups scored significantly higher on both tests.
Tekstdekking, Tekstbegrip En Woordselectie Voor Het Vreemde-Talenonderwijs
Authors: Groot Peter
Published: March 2014

This article deals with an alternative approach to the problem of the selection of words in foreign language teaching at higher levels. Since frequency as a selection criterion is inadequate beyond the first 2.500 words, it is argued that the question as to how many and which words can only be answered on the basis of quantitative data on the relationship between lexical coverage and text comprehen-sion. Only after establishing what coverage goes with what level of comprehension will it be possible to come forward with valid suggestions concerning the number of words required for reading authentic L2 texts. As to which words, it is argued that these should be selected from a corpus of 10.000 words (beyond the first 2.500) to be constructed on the basis of a combination of selection criteria such as frequency, valency etc. Knowledge of any 5.000 words from this corpus (combined with the first 2.500) will yield such a dense coverage (at least 95%) of general L2 texts that the meaning of any remaining unknown words can be deduced via contextual clues utilisation.
To substantiate this claim the results of some experimental investigations of the relationship between coverage and text comprehension are reported.