Hans Smessaert

Research Group Dutch Grammar and Language Use (NGTG)

Research Group Formal Linguistics (FormL)

Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in General and Dutch Linguistics
teaching
research topics
research supervision
publications
miscellaneous/links

Blijde-Inkomststraat 21, postbus 3308, 3000 Leuven
Erasmushuis, room 02.20

phone: ++32 (0)16 32 48 02
fax: ++32 (0)16 32 47 67
email: see coordinates of K.U.Leuven staff

Teaching

In the Bachelor in Language and Literature program (K.U.Leuven Campus Kortrijk):

In the Speech and Hearing Therapy program (K.U.Leuven, Faculty of Medecine):

In the Master in Linguistics program:

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Research topics

The research topics that I have published on can be subdivided into the following categories. More concrete information can be found in the survey of my publications. The topics of my recent and/or current research are marked with an asterisk (*).

Morpho-syntax

  • the morpho-syntax of pronominal clitics in West-Flemish (M.A. thesis).
  • differences between West-Flemish and English with short answers to polarity questions and question tags.
  • the morpho-syntax of cardinal numbers in West-Flemish.

Formal semantics

  • aspectual adverbs
    • aspectual particles in Dutch.
    • aspectual focus particles in Dutch and English (in collaboration with Alice ter Meulen).
    • the differences between Dutch and English w.r.t. the lexicalisation of aspectual adverbs.
    • the interaction between aspectual focus and negation in Dutch.
    • duality relations between aspectual adverbs.
    • temporal reasoning with aspectual adverbs (with Alice ter Meulen).
    • the evaluation of aspectual distance, speed and progress.*
    • elementary imperfective quantification and the scope of negation in Dutch.*
    • the interaction between aspectual adverbs and negation in counterfactual conditionals.*
  • determiners/quantifiers
    • nominal and aspectual comparative constructions in Dutch (Ph.D. dissertation).
    • monotonicity properties of comparative determiners in Dutch and English.
    • 3D visualisation of logical relations between standard quantifiers and comparative quantifiers.*
  • modal operators
    • 3D visualisation of logical relations between modal operators.*
  • logical geometry
    • 3D visualisation of Aristotelian and duality relations.*
    • The classical Aristotelian hexagon vs the modern duality hexagon.*
    • Duality and reversibility beyond the Square of Oppositions.*
    • On the distinction between Unconnectedness, Non-contradiction and Non-implication.*

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Syntactico-semantics:

  • (subordinating) conjunctions and adverbs
    • the syntax of conjunctive, adverbial and prepositional expressions in Dutch (with Jeannine Beeken).
    • the syntactico-semantics of (subordinating) conjunctions and conjunctive expressions in Dutch (with Bert Cornillie, Dagmar Divjak, José Tummers and Karel van den Eynde).
    • nominal versus sentential complementation and the status of Dutch the fact that (with José Tummers).
    • degrees of syntactico-semantic dependency with before-clauses in Dutch (with Karel van den Eynde).
    • Dutch anders ('differently/otherwise'): from manner adverb to epistemic discourse marker (with William Van Belle).*
    • Adpositional Constructions of Location and Direction (with Ingrid Van Canegem-Ardijns & William Van Belle).*
  • modality and negation
    • modal duality and the syntactico-semantics of negatively-bound of-constructions in Dutch.
    • the lexicalisation of legal norms (with Karen Deschamps).*
  • conditional clauses
    • direct versus indirect inferential conditionals (with Sara Verbrugge).*
    • inferential versus meta-inferential conditionals (with Sara Verbrugge).*

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Other:

  • lexical semantics
    • the logic of the label figurative in lexicography (with Dirk Geeraerts).
    • a typology of abbreviations in Dutch (with Frank Joosten).
  • language acquisition
    • the acquisition of subordinate structures in the differentiation stage (with Inge Zink).*

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Research supervision

Supervision Ph.D research projects

  • Sara Verbrugge :
      A psycholinguistic analysis of inferential conditional sentences. Supervisors: Prof. dr. W. Van Belle & Prof. dr. W. Schaeken. Graduation: May 29, 2007 (as a member of the supervision commission).
  • Liesbeth Mortier :
      Perspectives on grammaticalization and speakers' involvement. The case of progressive and continuative periphrases in French and Dutch. Supervisors: Prof. dr. L. Melis & Prof. dr. B. Lamiroy. Graduation: June 8, 2007 (as a member of the supervision commission).
  • Karen Deschamps :
      De lexicalisatie van rechtsnormen. Deontische modaliteit en negatie in Nederlandstalige regelgevende teksten (The lexicalisation of legal norms. Deontic modality and negation in Dutch legal texts). Supervisors: Prof. dr. W. Smedts & Prof. dr. H. Smessaert. Graduation: June 29 2009.
  • Karen Van de Cruys :
      Contrastieve analyse Russisch-Nederlands van enkele constructietypes in het overgangsveld tussen parataxis en hypotaxis (Contrastive analysis Russian-Dutch of some construction in the transition between parataxis and hypotaxis). Supervisors: Prof. dr. H. Smessaert & Prof. dr. T. Soldatjenkova. 2008-2014.
  • Gudrun Vanderbauwhede :
      Een corpusgebaseerde analyse van de definiete determinanten in het Frans en het Nederlands: van theorie over descriptie naar taalverwerving (A corpus based analysis of the demonstrative determiners in French and Dutch: from theory to description and language acquisition). Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Piet Desmet & Prof. Dr. Peter Lauwers. Graduation: September 2011 (as a member of the supervision commission).

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Supervision research projects

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Miscellaneous/links

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