Hypercorrect hen ‘them’ and dan ‘than’ in Dutch: an experimental study.

Abstract

Dutch prescriptive rules dictate the use of hun ‘them’ and hen ‘them’ and als ‘as’ and dan ‘than’ in specific constructions. However, this difference is artificial, resulting in difficulties applying the prescriptive rules. This may lead to hypercorrection, whereby people overgeneralize these prescriptive rules under sociolinguistic pressures. The current study investigated the extent to which prescriptive rules influence the grammar of Dutch high school students and shows a massive prevalence of hypercorrection across educational levels. This begs the question whether or not the prescriptive rules should be taught in schools.