Reassessing morphological restructuring over time: The case of Dutch

Dutch morphology has undergone a deep simplification over time. Cases have gone lost and the original tripartite gender system has been simplified into a binary one where masculine and feminine have conflated into common gender. The morphological system was largely under pressure already in Middle...

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Main Author: Chiara Semplicini
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Ledizioni 2024-09-01
Series:Filologia Germanica
Online Access:https://www.ledijournals.com/ojs/index.php/filologiagermanica/article/view/2575
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author Chiara Semplicini
author_facet Chiara Semplicini
author_sort Chiara Semplicini
collection DOAJ
description Dutch morphology has undergone a deep simplification over time. Cases have gone lost and the original tripartite gender system has been simplified into a binary one where masculine and feminine have conflated into common gender. The morphological system was largely under pressure already in Middle Dutch, but the simplification was in part hidden by the standardization process carried on in the grammatical accounts to begin with Twe-spraack vande Nederduitsche letterkunst (1584). These treatises also strove to give Dutch a prestigious status. On the contrary, an analysis carried out on a cookbook and a selection of private letters dating to the end of the seventeenth century proves that the morphological simplification was much more ahead than the grammatical accounts would present. It also proves the existence of recurring patterns of morphological levelling in public and private written language, which is in line with the restructuring already begun in the Middle Ages.
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series Filologia Germanica
spelling doaj-art-bac3842b394b498cbfdeb7f5140a334e2025-08-20T03:12:57ZdeuLedizioniFilologia Germanica2036-89922024-09-01910.14672/fg.v9i.2575Reassessing morphological restructuring over time: The case of DutchChiara Semplicini0Dottore di ricerca in Filologia romanza e linguistica generale, Università di Perugia Dutch morphology has undergone a deep simplification over time. Cases have gone lost and the original tripartite gender system has been simplified into a binary one where masculine and feminine have conflated into common gender. The morphological system was largely under pressure already in Middle Dutch, but the simplification was in part hidden by the standardization process carried on in the grammatical accounts to begin with Twe-spraack vande Nederduitsche letterkunst (1584). These treatises also strove to give Dutch a prestigious status. On the contrary, an analysis carried out on a cookbook and a selection of private letters dating to the end of the seventeenth century proves that the morphological simplification was much more ahead than the grammatical accounts would present. It also proves the existence of recurring patterns of morphological levelling in public and private written language, which is in line with the restructuring already begun in the Middle Ages. https://www.ledijournals.com/ojs/index.php/filologiagermanica/article/view/2575
spellingShingle Chiara Semplicini
Reassessing morphological restructuring over time: The case of Dutch
Filologia Germanica
title Reassessing morphological restructuring over time: The case of Dutch
title_full Reassessing morphological restructuring over time: The case of Dutch
title_fullStr Reassessing morphological restructuring over time: The case of Dutch
title_full_unstemmed Reassessing morphological restructuring over time: The case of Dutch
title_short Reassessing morphological restructuring over time: The case of Dutch
title_sort reassessing morphological restructuring over time the case of dutch
url https://www.ledijournals.com/ojs/index.php/filologiagermanica/article/view/2575
work_keys_str_mv AT chiarasemplicini reassessingmorphologicalrestructuringovertimethecaseofdutch