CHAPTER TEN Conclusions

Abstract

In this final chapter I will recapitulate the more general questions underlying the present study. I will identify research questions one by one, in separate sections, and consider what evidence has been obtained in the dissertation, and formulate (tentative) answers to the questions. The first question, or rather group of questions, relates to the general issue of what determines the success of the communication between speaker and hearer. Given that Chinese is not related to English but that Dutch and English are closely related W est Germanic languages, we would expect Dutch speakers and hearers of English to be more successful in the communication process than Chinese interactants. This leads to the following questions: