Uncommon gender. Eyes and brains, native and second language learners & grammatical gender
PhD ceremony: Ms. H. Loerts, 11.00 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen
Dissertation: Uncommon gender. Eyes and brains, native and second language learners & grammatical gender
Promotor(s): prof. M.S. Schmid
Faculty: Arts
The Dutch gender system, which divides nouns into de-words and het-words, is extremely difficult to acquire. This is due to the skewed distribution of de- and het-words (75% - 25%), the unclear division of nouns into categories (‘ de kluis’ (‘theCOM vaultCOM’), ‘ het huis’ (‘theNEU houseNEU’)), and the abstract grammatical rules of the system (‘het mooie paard’ (‘the beautiful horse’), but ‘een mooi paard’ (‘a beautiful horse’)). Can speakers use gender while listening to language? And can second language learners, who acquired Dutch after puberty, ever master such an abstract system? The experiments in Loerts’s dissertation show that, despite its abstract rules, Dutch gender is used to facilitate comprehension: native speakers use the definite article ‘de’ to predict upcoming words. The definite article ‘het’ cannot be used in a predictive fashion, probably because all Dutch nouns may be preceded by ‘het’ when used as diminutives (as in ‘ het autootje’ (‘the tiny car’)). Despite this asymmetry, native speakers responded equally robust to violations of de- and het-words (such as ‘* het tuin’ (‘theNEU gardenCOM’) and ‘* de huis’ (theCOM houseNEU)). The asymmetry did impact late second language learners’ responses: they could recognize violations of de-words after extensive exposure to Dutch, but violations of het-words (such as ‘* de brood’ (‘theCOM breadNEU’)) were not recognized as being incorrect. Late learners were also unable to use gender-marking to predict upcoming words. Learning an asymmetrical and abstract system only seems feasible after years of exposure. And even then the uncommon gender, the het-words, remains a major stumbling block.
Last modified: | 13 March 2020 01.01 a.m. |
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