Addition, restriction, iteration

Focus particles in Dutch conditionals

Bibliographic Data

ID19437342
AuthorsAlex Reuneker (0000-0003-4206-3897, Leiden University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume39
Pages158-173
Publication date2022-11-04
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLinguistics in the Netherlands (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0929-7332 • E-ISSN: 1569-9919
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/avt.00067.reu
OpenAlexW4301586957
LanguageEN
References cited21

Conditional clauses in Dutch can be accompanied by focus particles, as in zelfs als ‘even if’ and alleen als ‘only if’. The literature focuses on these additive and restrictive particles, because they may influence the truth-conditional meaning of the sentence, which is uncommon for particles. Most of these studies are not based on empirical language data, or draw largely from formal written texts in English. This study investigates which focus particles occur in Dutch conditionals, and to which extent their uses are associated with spoken and written modes and with formal and informal registers. It is shown that restrictive and additive particles are most frequent in formal written texts, and that a third type of particle exists, which adds iterative meaning to the conditional, as in telkens als ‘everytime if [when]’. The results show this type of particles to be associated with informal spoken texts

Epistemology · Linguistics · Physics · Sentence · Computer Science · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Mathematics · Philosophy · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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