Nederlandse Taalkunde - Volume 25, Issue 2-3, 2020

Abstract Laboratory sentences in the era of quantitative linguistics This paper briefly compares an early (1996) and a later (2010) article that I published in Nederlandse Taalkunde, concentrating on the different methodologies underlying the two papers: A formal theoretical in-depth analysis of one idiolect in the first paper and a large-scale quantitative and theoretical approach in the second. It is argued that the two methods Read More

Abstract This article discusses the intuitionist approach to the study of syntax: the study of the internal structure of phrases/sentences with the help of data obtained by introspection. Some critics claim that this approach is inadequate (if not obsolete) on the assumption that introspection data are not empirical data and are therefore inherently inferior to corpus data based on ‘real language’. Fortunately, not all linguists who pr Read More

Abstract In this paper, I focus on strengths and weaknesses of corpus research in linguistics, and how it relates to intuition.

Abstract Frequency and arm-chair linguistics. A Frisian linguist looks back on Dutch Linguistics and on himself In this contribution I focus on a paper written by Maarten Lemmens on progressive constructions, which appeared in Dutch Linguistics (2015). This paper illustrates the usefulness of frequency in linguistic research convincingly. Additionally I discuss the tension within generative grammar between vision on the one han Read More

Abstract Expect the unexpected. About the different ways in which the Dutch and the Flemish use er In this paper I report experimental data I have ignored for almost ten years because I did not know what to do with them. I still don’t know exactly, but the 25th anniversary of this journal is a key occasion to share them, if only because they fittingly illustrate that the syntax of Netherlandic and Belgian Dutch are diverging. The new Read More

Abstract The acquisition of [PART+AUX] and [AUX+PART] word order in Flanders. A descriptive, methodological and theoretical addition toMeyer & Weerman (2016) This paper presents new data on the acquisition of verb clusters in Flemish children. The data were collected by means of a sentence repetition task and the results are in line with the development path for verb clusters in Dutch children as proposed by Meyer Read More

Abstract First-constituent-deletion in Dutch. What topic drop is and what it is not This paper discusses the phenomenon of pronoun deletion in Dutch. In the position before the finite verb a 3rd person pronoun may be deleted. The deletion of the pronoun is constrained by the recoverability condition, which requires that its referential features can be reconstructed from the context. It will be argued that only the deletion of a Read More

Abstract There is still no dictionary of particles, although particle research is on-going This paper seeks to explain why there is (still) no comprehensive descriptive work of the particles of Dutch. It does so by focusing on a number of particles that appear to go against common wisdom concerning Dutch sentence structure, in particular V2-violations and wide scope particles that are deeply embedded in complex phrases.

Abstract This paper discusses a pattern in which a finite verb is preceded by a locative PP which combines with an initial or final occurrence of the adverb dan (‘then’) and which may look like a violation of the V2 constraint. The paper is relevant in the context of how to handle what look like exceptions to the V2 pattern, a point that is sometimes neglected in the formal literature, though Zwart (2008a) draws attention to the i Read More

Abstract Reconciling with the prepositional object. On the influence ofVandeweghe (2011) In this paper I argue for the positive aspects of the claim in Vandeweghe (2011) that there are two types of prepositional object: a primary and a secondary type, which have a different relationship to the predicate. The most discussed consequence of this theory is that it allows a simple sentence to contain two prepositional objects provide Read More

Abstract New insights on the prepositional object An influential article by Hans Broekhuis in Nederlandse Taalkunde 9 (2004) treated PP complements (type He thought of her all day) in Dutch. It contained sharp observations, intriguing hypotheses and a somewhat puzzling classification of the verbs allowing these complements. It provoked a lively discussion, on matters such as the number of possible PP co Read More

Abstract The acquisition of word stress in perspective This paper reflects on the acquisition of Dutch word stress reported in Nederlandse Taalkunde 1 (1996), where I argued that children systematically build up a grammar for word stress that fits a parameter framework without assuming innate knowledge. In the past 25 years this work has been praised and criticized because (a) the theoretical framework changed to Optimality Read More

Abstract Light and right The adjectives licht and recht can be used as adverbs of degree; they can also be used to express a negative-polar meaning in combination with a restricted number of verbs. In this squib, we will focus on the negative-polar and collocational properties of licht and recht by means of corpus data. Licht is shown to be associated with futural clauses, often in combination with the verb vergeten ‘to forg Read More

Abstract Against linguistic prudishness. About -gate and other libfixes This study aims to discuss libfixing as a non-morphemic process of word formation. Libfixes are ‘liberated’ elements that originate from the reanalysis of existing words, usually opaque forms or blends. A well-known example of a libfix is -gate from Watergate, whose borrowing and spreading in Dutch has been discussed by Hüning (2000). Among the Read More

Abstract Two early construction-grammatical studies in Dutch Linguistics. Looking back onSchermer-Vermeer (2001) andVerhagen (2003a) This article looks back on the articles by Schermer-Vermeer (2001) and Verhagen (2003a), on the double object construction and a Dutch equivalent of the English ‘way’-construction, respectively, which can be considered the first two articles to have appeared in Nederlandse Taalkunde t Read More

Abstract A new look at the imperative participle This article presents an update of Coussé & Oosterhof (2012), which studies a small group of past participles in Dutch used with an imperative meaning. We revisit in particular the need for abstraction in the constructional schemas developed in the original study. Our analysis explores the role of prototypes and exemplars as an alternative to traditional abstractions in the open slo Read More

Abstract The loss of a personal pronoun. Why they will not be saying hun anymore The personal pronoun hun ‘them’ meets a lot of criticism in Dutch society, not just from language purists, but from language users in general. This can be attributed to a strong mistrust of the pronoun, given that it is well-known for violating no less than two prescriptive rules, one of which prohibits its use as a subject, and the other its use as a Read More

Abstract A subject what needs research. Revisiting DeSchutter & Kloots 2000 De Schutter & Kloots (2000) present an explorative analysis of the use of relative pronouns and relative adverbs in seventeenth-century literary Dutch, when w-forms are gradually replacing d-forms. They argue that the incoming w-forms were informal compared to the older d-forms. In the present paper, however, it is argued that recent historical-so Read More

Abstract The spine of language change In his contribution to the 2005 anniversary issue of the journal Nederlandse Taalkunde, Fred Weerman remarked on the famous S-curve underlying language change, and claimed that a good explanation for this pattern is still lacking. We pick up the thread and assess what 15 years of research have clarified about the nature of the curve. We look at two aspects: the onset of the curv Read More

Abstract The influence of prescriptivism on Dutch Weerman (2003) unequivocally rejected the possibility for language to be malleable. At the time, there was little empirical research to challenge or support this claim. Over the last two decades, however, a fairly large body of research has delved into this issue. In light of this, we review some of Weerman’s views, and discuss new findings of the recent literature, both for Dut Read More

Abstract Natiolectisms in crime fiction. Language variation in subtitles Sarah Van Hoof and Bram Vandekerckhove (2013) studied linguistic variation in a diachronic corpus of television series broadcast by the Flemish public service broadcaster (VRT). To establish whether there had been a decrease in oral standard Dutch language usage between the late 1970s and the late 2000s, they scrutinised the actors’ rendition of the Read More

Abstract More international, collective, gender diverse This contribution sheds light on three tendencies in the history of the journal Dutch Linguistics: the increase of Belgian authors, of female authors and of co-authors.

Abstract Early perspectives on language acquisition Early psycholinguistics used to be a neglected area, due to the spectacular restart of the discipline during the 1950s and 1960s. In an article published in Nederlandse Taalkunde 10 (2005), Marijke van der Wal and Ariane van Santen contribute to a correction of this disbalance by discussing early 20th-century Dutch research into language acquisition. Their discussion Read More

Abstract In a special issue of Nederlandse Taalkunde (vol. 13(2), 2008), eight discussants commented on the so-called written language bias thesis, which claims that in literate societies, both naive language users and linguists perceive spoken language in terms of units that are in fact properties of writing: letters, words, and sentences. This thesis was discussed and defended in a lengthy book from 2006, Homo loquens en homo s Read More

Abstract In 2003, Theo Janssen wrote a contribution for Nederlandse Taalkunde [Dutch Linguistics] about the incorporation of linguistic knowledge into the school subject of Dutch Language and Literature, hoping thus to enrich the content of the school subject and making it more inspiring. In our contribution we discuss the great relevance of Janssen's contribution, and we show that his plea is still extremely topical. In addition, Read More