Nederlandse Taalkunde - Volume 21, Issue 2, 2016

Abstract In this paper, we argue that ascending verb cluster orders (1-2 and 1-2-3, e.g. moet eten ‘must eat’ and moet hebben gegeten ‘must have eaten’) are not only the default verb cluster orders in Standard Dutch as spoken in the Netherlands, but also play a crucial role in the acquisition of verb clusters. We administered a series of three sentence repetition tasks (SRTs) to a total of 120 children (2;8–5;6), and found that child Read More

Abstract In this discussion paper, a comparative overview of the behaviour of adjectives in Afrikaans and Dutch is given by utilising two descriptive categories identified by Broekhuis (2013), viz complementation and modification. While noticeable areas of overlap and similarity between the two languages can be shown, some important systematic differences exist, both with regard to complementation and modification, and thes Read More

Abstract The present paper is part of an ongoing discussion between Hans Broekhuis and myself about the second opposition in the binary tense system originally proposed by Te Winkel (1866). This opposition connects the first one (between Past and Present) and the third one (between Imperfect(ive) and Perfect(ive)). Broekhuis is radical in proposing to do without it. This proposal is too radical in my view, so I want to te Read More

Abstract On verb frame alternations in the Syntax of Dutch This review article offers a critical discussion of the extensive treatment of verb frame alternations in the first volume on Verbs and Verb Phrases of the Syntax of Dutch (SoD). The article takes a usage-based perspective and focuses on a number of aspects of the grammatical description in the SoD that are too exclusively rooted in the theoretical framework of formal syntax.

Abstract This contribution is a review of Chapter 5.2 of Broekhuis & Corver’s (2015) Syntax of Dutch (pp. 765-935). The chapter describes Dutch infinitival constructions from a formal perspective. In this review I share several theoretical, descriptive and methodological considerations, which relate to the status of control as a purely syntactic phenomenon, the semantic and geographic variation of Dutch causative construction Read More

Abstract This paper provides some historical background of the rise of verb-second in Germanic by data from the earliest Germanic language of which we have authentic texts (rather than slavish translations from Latin): Old English (ca. 700-1100). The rise of verb-second can be seen as activating the C-head (i) by movement of another head V, in order to demarcate a focus domain, and (ii) by merging a ‘bespoke’ eleme Read More

Abstract Word order variation: theory vs. empiricism? In their chapter on word order variation in the middle field (scrambling), Broekhuis & Corver (2016) present a set of syntactic rules (generalizations) to derive word order patterns in Dutch. I will argue that their theoretical assumptions lead to the rejection of some sentences as being ungrammatical, while in my view they are perfectly grammatical. I conclude that it would b Read More

Abstract An extra position? The present paper discusses the VP-topicalization and the mirror effect. According to the Syntax of Dutch (Broekhuis & Corver 2016), these two tests can make a reliable, non-intuitive distinction between the postfield and the afterthought, as well as between the middle field and the postfield, which is often not noticeable in main clauses with only a finite verb. Although these tests seem valuable in Read More

Abstract This article is a rejoinder to the various reviews of the Syntax of Dutch (2012-2016) that have appeared in this and earlier volumes of Nederlandse Taalkunde. It focuses especially on one recurring theme in these reviews: the use of introspection for collecting data. Although many reviewers are of the opinion that data extracted from corpora are to be preferred, I will argue that such data are of limited use for the S Read More