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- Volume 1, Issue 2, 2024
Nota Bene - Volume 1, Issue 2, 2024
Volume 1, Issue 2, 2024
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Met zonder jas and other antonym errors in the spontaneous speech of Dutch children
Author(s): Jacqueline van Kampenpp.: 117–132 (16)More LessAbstractThis paper focuses on antonym pairs in child Dutch. Children sometimes erroneously use the opposite word from what they intend to mean with <±polar> pairs. Psycholinguistic studies in the 1970ties suggest that the <−polar> member of dimensional adjectives, motion verbs and temporal adverbs is acquired before the <+polar> one.
Another error occurs with the expression of absence. Dutch and German children sometimes say met zonder/mit ohne (‘with without’) as the antonym expression of met/mit. Sauerland, Meyer & Yatsushiro (2024) argue that the <−polar> negative member ohne can be conceptually decomposed in the positive member plus negation (mit-neg), which children fail to see. They ‘undercompress’ negation. The decomposition also holds for the <±polar> member of dimensional adjectives (neg-Adj).
I will argue against both claims, the acquisition order and the undercompression idea. First, I discuss the met zonder/mit ohne errors and offer a new alternative analysis. Subsequently, other spontaneous speech errors with <±polar> pairs are considered.
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When words sail through the desert
Author(s): Corentin Bourdeau and Luis Miguel Rojas-Bersciapp.: 133–150 (18)More LessAbstractWolof is generally classified as a North-Atlantic language within the Niger-Congo phylum. However, despite a considerable number of cognates (Merrill 2021b), this classification is more of a working hypothesis than a demonstrated fact. Linguists such as Wilson (1989) and Lüpke (2020) consider that the Atlantic group resembles more an areal/typological class rather than a genealogical unit, thus pointing to intense dynamics of language contact in the area. In this paper, as a follow-up of Bourdeau and Rojas-Berscia (2023), we focus on a potential Wolof-Songhay non-genetic connection, based on triangulation (q.v. Kuorikoski & Marchionni 2016) between linguistic, historical and archaeological evidence. We further argue that Wolof is a language in layers, resulting from constant polylectal interaction between various peoples of the West Sudan world-system (Kea 2004).
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Dialect variation in Dutch manner adverbs
Author(s): Lex Cloin-Tavenierpp.: 151–175 (25)More LessAbstractSome Dutch manner adverbs are marked with diminutive morphology and ‘adverbial -s’; cf. still-etje-s (quiet-DIM-S) ‘quietly’. This morphological material interacts with comparative/superlative formation: in Standard Dutch (SD), comparatives/superlatives of diminutive manner adverbs (DMAs) are ill-formed. Dialect reference grammars and novel questionnaire data reveal variation that is unaccounted for; some dialects allow comparative/superlative DMAs.
I propose a unified analysis of SD and dialectal DMA patterns. Based on a discussion of morphosyntactic and semantic properties of the Dutch diminutive and prior analysis of -s, I propose that DMAs decompose into a phrasal category featuring a manner noun marked by diminutive morphology and a small clause headed by -s. This analysis of DMAs is comparable to that of Dutch blootshoofds ‘bare-headed’. Identified loci of variable affix ordering and variation between SD and dialects are PF/linearization and variation in the functional domain, respectively.
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Can the Discriminative Lexicon Model account for the family size effect in auditory word recognition?
Author(s): Hanno Müller, Louis ten Bosch and Mirjam Ernestuspp.: 176–192 (17)More LessAbstractWords with larger morphological families elicit shorter response times (RTs) in lexical decision experiments (e.g., Bertram et al. 2000). One possible account for this family size (FS) effect draws on the Discriminative Lexicon Model (DLM; Chuang & Baayen 2021), positing that morphological family members strengthen relationships between forms and meanings. While it has been shown that the DLM successfully explains FS effects in reading (Mulder et al. 2014), we investigated whether it does so in listening too. We trained the computational model LDL-AURIS (Shafaei-Bajestan et al. 2023), which implements the DLM, on Dutch and show that a measure derived from LDL-AURIS accounts for variance in auditory lexical decision RTs in Dutch, and also partially accounts for the same variance in the RTs as the auditory FS effect. Future research should investigate whether some other measure derived from the DLM can fully explain FS effects in listening.
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The discourse function of verbal aspect in Ecuadorian Siona
Author(s): Jelle Christiaanspp.: 193–207 (15)More LessAbstractIn addition to indicating whether or not events have come to an end at a reference time (temporal function), the opposition between imperfective aspect and perfective aspect in Ecuadorian Siona can also fulfil a discourse function. Imperfective forms of the verb caye ‘to say’ can signal that a speech act will be followed by a reaction or an addition, whereas perfective forms can signal that this is not the case. This discourse function is related to the temporal function through metaphor. This particular discourse function is an addition to the typology of non-temporal functions of verbal aspect.
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Bilingual effects in foreign language learning
Author(s): Elena Tribushinina, Angela Radić and Gordana Hržicapp.: 208–224 (17)More LessAbstractThis study tests the hypothesis that bilingualism is associated with advantages in learning foreign languages. We compare oral (narrative) English skills of 15 Dutch monolinguals (aged 10–12) and 15 age-matched bilinguals acquiring Dutch and Serbian/Croatian. We also test the hypothesis that bilinguals speaking an aspectual home language have an advantage over Dutch monolinguals in learning the English progressive aspect. Narratives produced by adult L1 English speakers were used to establish a baseline of aspectual choices. The results demonstrate that bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on narrative length, lexical diversity and grammatical accuracy, but not on syntactic complexity. Regarding grammatical aspect, monolinguals overused simple forms and underused progressive verb forms, whereas bilinguals used progressives at native-like rates. However, bilinguals slightly overused simple (non-progressive) forms. Bilingual children with higher proficiency in English and Serbian/Croatian and those producing more imperfectives in Serbian/Croatian narratives were less likely to use non-progressive verb forms in English.
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How and why is ONE different?
Author(s): Irina Morozova and Sjef Barbierspp.: 225–241 (17)More LessAbstractThis paper argues that the word for ONE in Russian and Dutch is not a cardinal numeral but a classifier with an unvalued [Unit:_] feature. The value of this feature, e.g., [person], [gender], [place] is provided by the syntactic environment of ONE. Cardinal numerals ≥ TWO are phrasal quantifiers with a specific value for the feature [Partitioning:_]. We propose a novel structure for numeral containing nominal phrases, representing two types of classifiers, generally corresponding to count (lower classifier) and amount (higher classifier). In non-oblique environments the relation between the numeral (except for ONE) and the noun is established by a (silent) P. We show that this structure neatly captures the distinct distribution of ONE, Cardinals, and Indefinite Numerals (like veel ‘many’) with respect to the case assignment patterns and the availability of functional classifier-like nouns (Russian), as well as their cooccurrence with prepositions or diminutive morphology (Dutch).
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ChatGPT as an informant
Author(s): Iris Mulders and E.G. Ruyspp.: 242–260 (19)More LessAbstractWhile previous machine learning protocols have failed to achieve even observational adequacy in acquiring natural language, generative large language models (LLMs) now produce large amounts of free text with few grammatical errors. This is surprising in view of what is known as “the logical problem of language acquisition”. Given the likely absence of negative evidence in the training process, how would the LLM acquire the information that certain strings are to be avoided as ill-formed? We attempt to employ Dutch-speaking ChatGPT as a linguistic informant by capitalizing on the documented “few shot learning” ability of LLMs. We then investigate whether ChatGPT has acquired familiar island constraints, in particular the CNPC, and compare its performance to that of native speakers. Although descriptive and explanatory adequacy may remain out of reach, initial results indicate that ChatGPT performs well over chance in detecting island violations.
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Dutch willen’s steps towards a future marker
Author(s): Annemarie van Doorenpp.: 261–275 (15)More LessAbstractDesire verbs commonly change into markers of future events. Bybee et al. (1994) report of the common pattern in language change in which verbs like want become future markers. Van Dooren et al. (2019) observe that Dutch willen ‘want’ shows indications that it is currently on the path from desire to future: A sentence like Het wil nog wel regenen vandaag ‘It will probably rain today’ (lit. It wants particle particle rain today) indicates that rain might happen later today. The desire element has disappeared. In this short paper, we will further specify and explain van Dooren et al.’s semantic analysis of the future use of Dutch willen. We will argue that it is a root modal, which is pragmatically always future-oriented (extending Condoravdi 2002).
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Als dan or dan als?
Author(s): Thomas J.C. van der Leer and Lotte Hogewegpp.: 276–292 (17)More LessAbstractDutch conditional sentences can occur in canonical clause order, such that the antecedent precedes the consequent, but also in non-canonical order, with the antecedent in sentence-final position. One explanation for the existence of this variety lies in the implicatures they convey: predictive conditionals have what Reuneker (2022) labels a more direct connectedness, possibly resulting in a larger preference for the canonical order than speech act conditionals, which are known for their indirect connectedness. Clause order preference could also be influenced by the desire to optimise discourse coherency (Lee 2001). We put these two factors to the test in an online experiment and found evidence for both theories but not for their interaction. Interestingly, we also found a general preference for the canonical order across all conditions.
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The interaction between animacy, definiteness and topicality in the historical development of Differential Object Marking in Spanish
Author(s): Nienke Wesselpp.: 293–313 (21)More LessAbstractUsage of a as a marker of direct objects in Spanish has been a popular topic of research, but there is no clarity on how different factors interact. The current investigation looks at the historical change in usage of a, focussing on animacy, definiteness, and topicality. We analyzed the extent to which historical texts follow state-of-the-art theories, by combining automatic and manual annotation. The results indicate that the investigated texts to a large extent confirm existing theories, with some aspects worth noting. First of all, inanimate definite objects sometimes carry a, which is impossible according to prescriptive grammars. Second, we found an increase in the usage of a with definite human referents through time, which was predicted by Aissen (2003), although the limited amount of available data prevents us from drawing definitive conclusions. Furthermore, there is tentative evidence that topicality plays a role.
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The external and internal syntax of genoeg
Author(s): Malte Kootpp.: 314–332 (19)More LessAbstractIt has been known since Barbiers (2001) that genoeg ‘enough’ can turn predicate adverbs into sentence adverbs. When genoeg occurs in a sentence adverbial phrase, it is syntactically obligatory, but makes little to no semantic contribution:
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Kees heeft gek *(genoeg) niet gek genoeg gedanst. Kees has weird *(enough) not weird enough danced
‘Weirdly, Kees didn’t dance weirdly enough.’
In this paper, I analyse the external and internal syntax of such enough support adverbs. Using Cinque’s (1999) adverbial hierarchy, I observe that enough support splits into subject-oriented and evaluative adverbs. Next, I nuance the accepted theory that genoeg in adverbial phrases is an affix: only enough support is a full-fledged affix; regular enough is an affixoid. Finally, I analyse the internal syntax of enough support. I suggest that a Sentence Predicate Projection is needed for the formation of sentence adverbials.
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The example of ‘yawning’
Author(s): Geertje Heijkoop and Maarten Mouspp.: 333–351 (19)More LessAbstractBody part terminology has been studied cross-linguistically, but there are few studies on the typology of body actions. We present a pilot for a typological study of body action lexicalization taking the action of “yawning” as a test case. We look into the morphological properties of words for yawning cross-linguistically, but we also look into what is considered to be the stimulus of the action and to what extent it is under control: in popular opinion (culture), in linguistic expression, and biomedically. The pilot results in recommendations for data collection for such a typological study.
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Dynamic Linguistics
Author(s): Luis Miguel Rojas-Berscia
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