R.A.M.G. van Bezooijen

Identification of Language Varieties: The Contribution of Different Linguistic Levels

Three experiments are described investigating the role of different linguistic levels in the identification of language varieties. The results reveal that prosodic features play a minor role in the identification of language varieties, both in the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands. The role of pronunciation varies. In some cases, pronunciation alone leads to better identification than cues at all linguistic levels, including pronunciation. Further research is needed to gain insight into the precise nature of the processes underlying the identification of language varieties. Also, the role of identification of language varieties in relation to vocal stereotypes in the attribution of personality characteristics to speakers should be further investigated.

The mismatching hypothesis and its relevance for extraction phenomena in Dutch

They claim that it is syntactically coordinative, but semantically subordinative. The non-coordination-like behaviour of this coordination type, then, would be due to its conceptual structure. Its coordinative properties are thought to be syntactical. The general conclusion they draw from this analysis is that it is possible to separate syntactic conditions from semantic ones on linguistic form. Syntax is thus autonomous, which is one of the general assumptions of generative grammar. In this article I will show that this hypothesis about possible mismatches between syntactic and semantic representation holds true for some constructions in Dutch as well. Following this Mismatching Hypothesis, it will be demonstrated that those constructions which are exceptional with respect to the traditional coordinationsubordination dichotomy are a systematic part of the set of possible constructions in Dutch. Furthermore, the Mismatching Hypothesis will be supported by extraction phenomena. It will be argued that an interplay between syntactic and semantic conditions determines the possible and impossible extractions from symmetric coordination, asymmetric coordination, non-parallel coordination, insubordination and subordination. Semantic conditions do not overrule syntactic ones, which is in accordance with the assumption of an autonomous syntax and an autonomous conceptual level that may not match.