Processing of Causal Discourse Connectives in a Second Language: Dutch Want versus Omdat

Abstract

This is a proposal of a study which aims to investigate the way advanced English-speaking learners of Dutch process subjective and objective backward causal relations marked by want and omdat. An eye-tracking study is proposed to examine this. Although both English and Dutch native speakers show a slowdown in processing when reading subjective backward causal relations in their native language, this slowdown is observed at a dif ferent position. In English, it is observed at the main verb, while in Dutch, it occurs earlier, directly af ter reading the connective want. It is hypothesized that English-speaking learners of Dutch show L1 transfer when processing backward causal relations. Thus, it is expected that the data will show a slowdown in processing at the main verb, which indicates that Englishspeakinglearners of Dutch are unable to use the subtle dif ferences between want and omdat immediately during processing.