Conceptualizing Modality: A Case Study of Polish Modal Verbs

2020 ◽  
pp. 275-292
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Kaleta
Keyword(s):  
Modal Verbs

scholarly journals Analyzing free variation with harmony – A case study of verb-cluster serialization

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-437
Author(s):  
Markus Bader
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Weighted Constraints ◽  
Corpus Data ◽  
Frequency Relationship ◽  
Zero Frequency ◽  
Free Variation

Abstract In German, a verb selected by another verb normally precedes the selecting verb. Modal verbs in the perfect tense provide an exception to this generalization because they require the perfective auxiliary to occur in cluster-initial position according to prescriptive grammars. Bader and Schmid (2009b) have shown, however, that native speakers accept the auxiliary in all positions except the cluster-final one. Experimental results as well as corpus data indicate that verb cluster serialization is a case of free variation. I discuss how this variation can be accounted for, focusing on two mismatches between acceptability and frequency: First, slight acceptability advantages can turn into strong frequency advantages. Second, syntactic variants with basically zero frequency can still vary substantially in acceptability. These mismatches remain unaccounted for if acceptability is related to frequency on the level of whole sentence structures, as in Stochastic OT (Boersma and Hayes2001). However, when the acceptability-frequency relationship is modeled on the level of individual weighted constraints, using harmony as link (see Pater2009, for different harmony based frameworks), the two mismatches follow given appropriate linking assumptions.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Interpersonal Meaning of Modal Verbs in Abstracts from Scientific Papers: Case Study of Progress in Aerospace Sciences

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-90
Author(s):  
Zhen Xu ◽  
Yi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Manual Sorting ◽  
Distribution Features ◽  
Scientific Papers

The aims of this study are to explore the distribution features of modal verbs in abstracts from scientific papers, analyze the reasons for those features and figure out the role modal verbs play in achieving interpersonal meaning. The study has selected 60 abstracts randomly from Progress in Aerospace Sciences from 2015 to 2019 as research samples. It combines Halliday’s value of modality with Biber et al.’s two classifications to process modal verbs. The instruments adopted in this research are AntConc 3.2.4, manual sorting and SPSS Statistics 21. Based on the results, the study finds that: firstly, the overall occurrence of modal verbs in 60 abstracts is 59 times, among which low-value modal verbs are the most frequently distributed (74.6%), median-value modal verbs the second (22.0%) and high-value modal verbs the least (3.4%); secondly, the achievement of interpersonal meaning relies on value of modality, and when the value of modality is lower, a better degree of interpersonal meaning can be achieved; thirdly, high-value modal verbs achieve tough interpersonal meaning, median-value modal verbs achieve comfortable interpersonal meaning, and low-value modal verbs achieve harmonious interpersonal meaning.

scholarly journals Case Study on Persuasiveness of Argument Texts Written by Proficient and Less Proficient Malaysian Undergraduates

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Hie Ting ◽  
Humaira Raslie ◽  
Leong Jin Jee
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Organisational Structure ◽  
Passive Voice ◽  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Text Type ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
University Level

Purpose – Research has shown that university students, particularly non-native speakers of English, encounter difficulties with various academic text-types and often lack the ability to organise the information in a structure considered effective by the discourse community or to use the significant language features of the text-type effectively to achieve the intended purpose. The study examined the persuasiveness of argument texts written by proficient and less-proficient undergraduates in a Malaysian university. The aspects examined were the organisational structure of the text and the language features significant for fulfilling the persuasive purpose of the text.   Method – Forty argument texts were analysed: 22 written by undergraduates who were more profi cient in English, and 18 by less proficient undergraduates. The analysis focused on the organization of the content of the argument text as well as selected language features, namely, connectors, modal verbs and passive voice.   Findings – The results showed that the proficient undergraduates used the structure considered effective for argument texts but the writing of the less-proficient group was characterised by unclear or absence of statement of stance and restatement of stance. To achieve the persuasive purpose of the text, the proficient undergraduates made use of connectors, modal verbs and passive voice more than the less-proficient group. However, the connectors ‘because’, ‘so’ and ‘besides’ were often used in a manner similar to spoken language, and there was an overdependence on the modal verbs ‘can’ and ‘will’. The lack of conditionals and nominalisations was obvious for both groups, suggesting that these are more difficult language features to master and greater pedagogical attention is needed.   Significance– The paper explores differentiated focus in the teaching of academic writing at university level for students with high and low proficiency in English.  

scholarly journals An Analysis of Interpersonal Meaning of Modal Verbs in Abstracts from Scientific Papers: Case Study of Progress in Aerospace Sciences

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 167-170
Author(s):  
Zhen Xu ◽  
◽  
Yi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Manual Sorting ◽  
Distribution Features ◽  
Scientific Papers

The aims of this study are to explore the distribution features of modal verbs in abstracts from scientific papers, analyze the reasons for those features and figure out the role modal verbs play in achieving interpersonal meaning. The study has selected 60 abstracts randomly from Progress in Aerospace Sciences from 2015 to 2019 as research samples. It combines Halliday’s value of modality with Biber et al.’s two classifications to process modal verbs. The instruments adopted in this research are AntConc 3.2.4, manual sorting and SPSS Statistics 21. Based on the results, the study finds that: firstly, the overall occurrence of modal verbs in 60 abstracts is 59 times, among which low-value modal verbs are the most frequently distributed (74.6%), median-value modal verbs the second (22.0%) and high-value modal verbs the least (3.4%); secondly, the achievement of interpersonal meaning relies on value of modality, and when the value of modality is lower, a better degree of interpersonal meaning can be achieved; thirdly, high-value modal verbs achieve tough interpersonal meaning, median-value modal verbs achieve comfortable interpersonal meaning, and low-value modal verbs achieve harmonious interpersonal meaning.

French

2018 ◽  
pp. 784-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Dagnac
Keyword(s):  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Fragment Answers ◽  
Different Types

This chapter is a case study of elliptical constructions in French. It reviews the elliptical constructions that French does and does not display, and the language-specific properties some of them show. It argues that French does not display predicate ellipses but only predicate anaphors, including in comparatives. It also shows that not all clausal ellipses may rely on the same mechanism: while the gap following modal verbs in French, known as French Modal Ellipsis, is an ellipsis based on clausal deletion, some cases of sluicing and fragment answers resist such an analysis, while stripping and gapping subsume different types of elliptical phenomena which cannot be given a homogeneous analysis. It also briefly presents the main properties of nominal ellipses and of the various short structures in comparative clauses.

The Genesis and Internal Dynamics of El Salvador's People's Revolutionary Army, 1970–1976

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (01) ◽  
pp. 102-129
Author(s):  
ALBERTO MARTÍN ÁLVAREZ ◽  
EUDALD CORTINA ORERO
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Internal Coherence ◽  
The 1960S

AbstractUsing interviews with former militants and previously unpublished documents, this article traces the genesis and internal dynamics of the Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (People's Revolutionary Army, ERP) in El Salvador during the early years of its existence (1970–6). This period was marked by the inability of the ERP to maintain internal coherence or any consensus on revolutionary strategy, which led to a series of splits and internal fights over control of the organisation. The evidence marshalled in this case study sheds new light on the origins of the armed Salvadorean Left and thus contributes to a wider understanding of the processes of formation and internal dynamics of armed left-wing groups that emerged from the 1960s onwards in Latin America.

Culture and the plasticity of perception

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lifshitz ◽  
T. M. Luhrmann
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Sensory Experience ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
The World

Abstract Culture shapes our basic sensory experience of the world. This is particularly striking in the study of religion and psychosis, where we and others have shown that cultural context determines both the structure and content of hallucination-like events. The cultural shaping of hallucinations may provide a rich case-study for linking cultural learning with emerging prediction-based models of perception.

Dual systems for all: Higher-order, role-based relational reasoning as a uniquely derived feature of human cognition

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Povinelli ◽  
Gabrielle C. Glorioso ◽  
Shannon L. Kuznar ◽  
Mateja Pavlic
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Reasoning ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Important Case ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Relational Reasoning ◽  
Dual Systems ◽  
First Order ◽  
Reasoning System ◽  
Role Based

Abstract Hoerl and McCormack demonstrate that although animals possess a sophisticated temporal updating system, there is no evidence that they also possess a temporal reasoning system. This important case study is directly related to the broader claim that although animals are manifestly capable of first-order (perceptually-based) relational reasoning, they lack the capacity for higher-order, role-based relational reasoning. We argue this distinction applies to all domains of cognition.

Sociocultural memory development research drives new directions in gadgetry science

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny Van Bergen ◽  
John Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Memory Development ◽  
Development Research ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Cross Cultural Research

Abstract Sociocultural developmental psychology can drive new directions in gadgetry science. We use autobiographical memory, a compound capacity incorporating episodic memory, as a case study. Autobiographical memory emerges late in development, supported by interactions with parents. Intervention research highlights the causal influence of these interactions, whereas cross-cultural research demonstrates culturally determined diversity. Different patterns of inheritance are discussed.

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