Towards a unified account of the Spanish subjunctive mood: Epistemic dominion and dominion of effective control

Lingua ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 131 ◽  
pp. 179-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Vesterinen ◽  
Emanuel Bylund
Keyword(s):  
Effective Control ◽  
Subjunctive Mood ◽  
Spanish Subjunctive

Instructions or dominion?

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Vesterinen
Keyword(s):  
Effective Control ◽  
Semantic Meaning ◽  
Subjunctive Mood ◽  
Interesting Study ◽  
Spanish Subjunctive ◽  
Verbal Mood

In a highly interesting study, Dam and Dam-Jensen (2010) put forward the idea that the indicative and the subjunctive mood in Spanish complementizer phrases can be explained by the instructions they convey. The indicative instructs the addressee to locate the situation created by the verb relative to the situation of utterance, whereas the subjunctive instructs the addressee not to locate the situation described by the verb relative to the situation of utterance. Although this explanation is most appealing, the present paper argues that it also may create explanatory problems. Thus, it is claimed that the notion of dominion can explain the semantic meaning of the Spanish subjunctive mood. This verbal mood designates events that are located outside the conceptualizer’s dominion, either in terms of epistemic control or in terms of effective control.

Control and dominion: Factivity and mood choice in Spanish

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Vesterinen
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Additional Analysis ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Cognitive Grammar ◽  
Subjunctive Mood ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
The One ◽  
And Control ◽  
Initial Classification ◽  
Mood Choice

AbstractThe present paper analyses the meaning of Spanish mood in factive contexts from a Cognitive Grammar perspective. It is argued that terms like assertion and presupposition do not explain the semantics of the subjunctive. Rather, they constitute an initial classification for finding a conceptually grounded explanation of it. The hypothesis is put forward that mood choice in factive contexts can be explained by the elaboration of Maldonado's (1995) notions of dominion and control. On the one hand, the conceptualizer has a low degree of effective control over the described event in presupposed contexts where the subjunctive mood occurs. On the other hand, presupposed contexts with the verb in the indicative mood equates with epistemic control over the described event. Thus, it is argued that the meaning of the subjunctive mood is related to the conceptualizer's epistemic dominion, and to the dominion of effective control. An additional analysis of the subjunctive mood in volitional, causative and perceptual contexts corroborates the initial claim.

Factividade e modo verbal

Revue Romane ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Vesterinen
Keyword(s):  
Active Control ◽  
The Other ◽  
Additional Analysis ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Cognitive Grammar ◽  
Subjunctive Mood ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Mood Variation

The traditional way of explaining the subjunctive mood in Portuguese is utterly related to the distinction made between reality and non-reality. That is, while the indicative mood has been explained in terms of reality, the subjunctive has been the mood of non-reality. Although this explanation covers many occurrences of the subjunctive mood, it is also recognized that it fails to explain the use of the subjunctive mood in factive contexts. This being so, the present study aims at explaining the variation between the indicative and subjunctive mood in factive contexts from a Cognitive Grammar perspective. The hypothesis put forward is that the mood variation can be explained in terms of dominion and control. Thus, it is claimed that the subjunctive mood in factive contexts can be explained by a reduced degree of active control, this being consistent with an event that is located outside the conceptualizer’s dominion of effective control. On the other hand, the indicative mood occurs in contexts of epistemic control that are located inside the conceptualizer’s epistemic dominion. An additional analysis of the subjunctive mood in other grammatical contexts corroborates the initial claim.

Extending the dominion of effective control – Its applicability to mood choice in Spanish and Portuguese

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Vesterinen
Keyword(s):  
Effective Control ◽  
Cognitive Grammar ◽  
Subjunctive Mood ◽  
The World ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Mood Choice

AbstractWithin the model of Cognitive Grammar, the concept of dominion is fundamental to the analysis of the conceptualizer's attitude toward an event or a proposition. However, the concept has, first and foremost, been understood in epistemic terms, whereas there has been less concern with the conceptualizer's efforts to influence and manipulate the course of events in the world. This being so, the present paper shows that the conceptualizer's dominion of effective control is relevant in a number of linguistic contexts. The analysis provides evidence for this particular feature in factive contexts, deontic contexts, contexts of volition and causation, and in adverbial clauses of purpose, manner and condition. The analysis further shows that the conceptualizer's dominion of effective control is capable of providing a conceptually grounded explanation for the occurrence of the Spanish and the Portuguese subjunctive mood in these grammatical contexts.

Mood choice in complements of Spanish comprender and Portuguese compreender (‘understand’) – distribution and meaning

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-302
Author(s):  
Rainer Vesterinen
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Cognitive Grammar ◽  
Subjunctive Mood ◽  
European Portuguese ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Mood Choice

Abstract The present paper analyzes the occurrence of indicative and subjunctive complements of the verbs comprender (Spanish) and compreender (Portuguese) in European Spanish and European Portuguese. A quantitative analysis based on 400 occurrences of the complements randomly selected from the newspaper genre shows that the indicative mood occurs more frequently than the subjunctive mood in both languages, although the subjunctive mood is more frequent in the Portuguese corpus than in the Spanish one. The analysis also shows that the occurrence of the subjunctive complement is highly restricted to contexts in which the subject of the main clause verb is either 1st person or 3rd person singular. From the theoretical perspective of Cognitive Grammar, the mood alternation is explained by the concept of dominion, i.e. the indicative complement designates an event that is located within the conceptualizer’s epistemic dominion, whereas the subjunctive complement designates an event that is located outside the conceptualizer’s dominion of effective control.

scholarly journals Interpretation and grammar interaction in the Spanish subjunctive adjuncts

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeannette Sanchez-Naranjo
Keyword(s):  
Actual World ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Subjunctive Mood ◽  
Dynamic View ◽  
Spanish Subjunctive ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
Multifactor Analysis

This article proposes a multifactor analysis of the Spanish subjunctive adjuncts. By examining the features that govern Spanish mood and their interaction, I present a complete overview of diverse accounts on the Spanish subjunctive. I outline the general principles of those explanations and comment on their advantages and disadvantages in formalizing an explanation concerning the interaction of mood with syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Next, from mood contribution to the flow in discourse, based on Quer’s (1998, 2001) approach, I provide a role for the subjunctive mood in the discourse, which can be established by a variety of factors. Instead of assigning rigid meanings to the subjunctive, this approach allows the speaker to relate the proposition to the actual world and provide an evaluation of it. In addition to this, I present a proposal to explain mood alternation in adjuncts considering the interaction of different components of the grammar in the process of interpretation. This contribution offers a dynamic view of meaning in which context and individuals are crucial for the interpretation of the Spanish subjunctive.

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