Dataset abstract

The dataset includes annotated corpus data of N = 1811 utterances based on a picture description task that elicited semi-spontaneous oral production data from 15 Dutch learners of Hindi, from four (cross-sectional) stages (Years) of the Hindi course trajectory. The corpus data is annotated for (i) Learner, (ii) Year of study of the learner, (iii) the use of ne as an ergative marker, (iv) correct usage of the ne-marker, (v) the use of ko as a Differential Object Marker, (vi) the use of ko as another marker, and multiple features associated with ne- and ko-marking, including: (vii) specificity of the Direct Object, (viii) animacy of the Direct Object, (ix) transitivity of the sentence Verb, (x) perfectivity of the sentence Verb, (xi) other uses of the ko-marker, (xii) the semantic role of these other uses of the ko-marker.

Article abstract

We investigated the acquisition of Hindi split ergativity (ne-marking) and Differential Object Marking (zero or komarking) by L1 speakers of Dutch. Both grammatical phenomena are conditioned by multiple syntactic and semantic features. On a descriptive level, the study aims to examine when and how Dutch learners acquire and apply the conditional features associated with ne- and ko-marking. A specific learner corpus was created based on a picture description task that elicited semi-spontaneous oral production data from 15 Dutch learners of Hindi, from four (cross-sectional) stages of the Hindi course trajectory. We annotated the corpus data for multiple features associated with ne- and ko-marking. Using a mixed-effects logistic regression analysis, we found an increase in the use and accuracy of each case marker over the different years of study, but individual learner profile analyses revealed considerable intersubject differences in learner behaviour. We show that it is possible to define developmental stages for the acquisition of ne- and ko-marking in line with Processability Theory.

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