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Volume 2 Number 1
  • ISSN 2950-189X
  • E-ISSN: 2950-1881
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Abstract

This paper shows that the combination of qualitative and (basic) quantitative methods is a fruitful approach in the case of a semantic analysis of comparable and parallel corpus data. This point is illustrated through a comparison of two close French dynamic prepositions with a medial polarity, i.e. and ‘across, through, by means of’ (often considered to be synonyms) with their intuitive equivalent in Dutch, ‘through, by’. The study relies on corpus data stemming from the Dutch Parallel Corpus 2.0. The results offer new insights (i.e. an important difference in distribution of concrete and abstract uses in French and Dutch) and contradict some existing (lexicographic) descriptions and intuitions, viz. a nonexistent mutual correspondence between and , and an unexpected preference for Dutch as equivalent for French in abstract configurations.

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2025-09-26
2026-05-11

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Qualitative and quantitative methods in the field of semantics
Nota Bene 2, 167 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1075/nb.00027.hoe
/content/journals/10.1075/nb.00027.hoe
/content/journals/10.1075/nb.00027.hoe
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): au travers (de); comparable data; door; Dutch; French; parallel data; spatial prepositions; à travers

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