The Northern Subject Rule: Studying the Type of Subject effect in Native Dutch speakers

dc.contributor.advisorKoeneman, O.N.C.J.
dc.contributor.advisorKemenade, A.M.C. van
dc.contributor.authorDitshuizen, N.F.
dc.date.issued2020-10-22
dc.description.abstractThe current study was designed to see whether advanced Dutch speakers of English show a sensitivity towards the Type of Subject constraint of the Northern Subject Rule (NSR). The NSR is a morphosyntactic phenomenon which allows for an -s on the verb in a third person plural context. This study only used irregular plural subject items because these items do not end on an -s. It could be argued that there is possible rhyming effect with regular plural items as both the verb and subject end on an -s. If Dutch learners show a sensitivity towards the Type of Subject-constraint, it cannot be due to the input they received but innate principles could be at work. A pre-test was needed so that the experimental test was unbiased. The unbiased pre-test was used for the experimental test. Both tests had two possible answers for the participants to choose from: one sentence with the Type of Subject constraint and one sentence without. The pre-test did not contain the -s on the verb which marks the NSR. The results suggest that Dutch learners show no significant preference for the Type of Subject constraint but show a step in the right direction.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://theses.ubn.ru.nl/handle/123456789/12374
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.thesis.facultyFaculteit der Letterenen_US
dc.thesis.specialisationEngelse taal en cultuuren_US
dc.thesis.studyprogrammeBachelor Engelse taal en cultuuren_US
dc.thesis.typeBacheloren_US
dc.titleThe Northern Subject Rule: Studying the Type of Subject effect in Native Dutch speakersen_US
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