Sprekertypologie met betrekking tot de realisering van de slot-n in het Standaard-Nederlands

Abstract

In this study we present a speaker typology of word fi nal n-deletion in standard Dutch. Data are taken from a quasi-experimental study in which the factors word type, lexical item and right hand environment are systematically incorporated. The subjects are 160 Dutch language teachers at high school level and stratifi ed for community (the Netherlands vs. Flanders), region (four in each community), age (<35 and >45) and sex. This study confi rms and extends a previous typology based on the relationship between the realization of word fi nal /n/ and the right hand environment. Three phonological processes are distinguished: liaison (high realization of [n] before a vowel), insertion (high realization of [n] before a pause) and deletion (strong deletion of [n] before a consonant). The new typology allows that speakers combine several phonological processes. This implies that a cluster of processes is involved in the realization and deletion of word fi nal /n/, and that speakers might differ in the (combination of) processes. Six types of speakers were distinguished, but in their distribution pattern only minor regional differences showed up.