Sentential complements

2020 ◽  
pp. 651-676
Author(s):  
Gerjan van Schaaik
Keyword(s):  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
The Third ◽  
Existential Constructions ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
Deontic Modality

Not only transitive verbs can take a sentential complement. The lexical category of adjectives contains a limited number of items that can take a sentential complement. Also certain nouns, such as kinship terms, make sense only with some other notion in the background, and there are two ways in which this is expressed: by a genitive-possessive construction or by a nominal compound with a sentential complement. The third section shows that adjectives, nouns, and adverbs expressing an epistemic modality take their sentential complements in a similar way. An alternative is found in existential constructions with an infinitival complement in the dative. This pattern is common to predicates expressing a deontic modality as well. Postpositional sentential complements are treated in the final sections.

Morphological variability at the morphosyntactic/semantic interface

2014 ◽  
Vol 165 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie A. Massery ◽  
Claudio Fuentes
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Modal Interpretation ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Advanced Stages ◽  
Deontic Modality ◽  
Discourse Interface ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge

Recent literature in second language acquisition shows that syntax-driven structures give way to successful modal interpretation and morphological production, while discourse-dependent environments do not (Sorace, 2005; Tsimpli & Sorace, 2006, Borganovo, Bruhn de Garavito, & Prévost, 2008; Iverson, Kempchinsky, & Rothman, 2008). It has also been suggested that discourse-dependent environments involve both structural and pragmatic knowledge of L2, which intersect at the syntax-discourse interface (Sorace, 2005; Iverson, Kempchinsky, & Rothman, 2008), thereby requiring a multi-layered understanding of the target language. The present study contributes to this line of research by further examining morphological variability (Prévost & White, 2000; Sorace, 2000; Sorace, 2005; Iverson, Kempchinsky, & Rothman, 2008; Slabakova, 2009) in L2 acquisition at the morphosyntactic-semantic interface, following the work of Borganovo, Bruhn de Garavito, & Prévost (2008). The results of our study reveal that learners, even at advanced stages of acquisition, perform poorly in epistemic environments where syntax and discourse intersect. In such environments, there appears to be an interaction with pragmatics (cf. Iverson, Kempchinsky, & Rothman, 2008) that causes learners to opt for the indicative mood, even when the subjunctive is prescriptively required. Unlike deontic modality, which is essentially syntax-driven, epistemic modality requires structural knowledge, as well as knowledge from other domains (Sorace, 2005). Our study reveals that learners at all levels of instruction performed better in “purely syntactic” environments of deontic modality than in pragmatically challenging epistemic environments.

scholarly journals (Non)epistemic modality: English must, have to and have got to and their correspondences in Lithuanian

Kalbotyra ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (69) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Audronė Šolienė
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
The Other ◽  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Deontic Modality ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

This paper deals with the three types of modality – epistemic, deontic and dynamic. It examines the relation between the synchronic uses of the modal auxiliary must and the semi-modals have to and have got to as well as their Lithuanian translation correspondences (TCs) found in a bidirectional translation corpus. The study exploits quantitative and qualitative methods of research. The purpose is to find out which type of modality is most common in the use of must, have to and have got to; to establish their equivalents in Lithuanian in terms of congruent or non-congruent correspondence (Johansson 2007); and to determine how Lithuanian TCs (verbs or adverbials) correlate with different types of modality expressed. The analysis has shown that must is mostly used to convey epistemic nuances, while have to and have got to feature in non-epistemic environments. The findings show that must can boast of a great diversity of TCs. Some of them may serve as epistemic markers; others appear in deontic domains only. Have (got) to, on the other hand, is usually rendered by the modal verbs reikėti ‘need’ and turėti ‘must/have to’, which usually encode deontic modality.

scholarly journals Investigating the Semantic Development of Modal Markers: The Role of Context

Clotho ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-53
Author(s):  
Tomaž Potočnik ◽  
Matej Hriberšek
Keyword(s):  
Language Change ◽  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Semantic Change ◽  
Semantic Development ◽  
Modal Verb ◽  
Deontic Modality ◽  
Do So

The article tackles the problem of studying diachronic semantic changes of modal markers in Latin. It proposes to do so by using context as a proxy for tracing the development of otherwise unchanging forms. In the first part, the main theoretical positions in modality studies are presented, especially the notions of deontic modality, epistemic modality, and pathways of modality. In the second part, Heine’s model for studying the role of context in language change is presented and applied to the modal verb licet. In the case study of licet, an attempt is made to identify the so-called switch context which co-creates the conditions necessary for the semantic change.

scholarly journals The Difference Between Modal Verbs in Deontic and Epistemic Modality

Humaniora ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menik Winiharti
Keyword(s):  
Language Teachers ◽  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Modal Verb ◽  
Deontic Modality ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Single Proposition

Modality is always interesting to discuss. Understanding it is crucial for both language teachers and learners. This essay discusses the concept of modality, its types and uses. It has a goal to find the difference between deontic and epistemic modality that is indicated by their modal verbs. It also provides the readers a better understanding of modality, particularly of its types and uses. The result of the analysis shows that in general, deontic modality indicates obligation and permission, while epistemic modality expresses possibility and prediction. However, the difference between deontic and epistemic modality is not a clear cut, since one single modal verb can express both types, and one single proposition can be expressed by more than one modal verb.  

Light verbs as classifiers in Udi

Diachronica ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice C. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Directed Motion ◽  
Light Verbs ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
The Third ◽  
Light Verb ◽  
Change Of State ◽  
Third Stage ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
The Subject

In Udi, most verbal lexemes are composed, in all tense-aspect-mood categories, of a light verb and an ‘initial’. It is argued here that in the first stage of this development, simplex verbs were juxtaposed with focused constituents. In the second stage, initials and verbs formed compounds, and this pattern spread beyond those that had once involved focus. In the third stage, the subject of this paper, light verbs become classifiers, classifying the verb type — inchoatives, other unaccusatives, unergatives, transitive verbs of inherently directed motion, transitive change-of-state verbs, other transitives. I argue also that the classes identified by (some of) the light verbs have not become less semantically motivated; rather the semantics has shifted from a relatively narrow meaning to one of the three major classes.

scholarly journals EPISTEMIC MODALITY AND DEONTIC MODALITY: TWO SIDES OF A COIN

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jumino Suhadi
Keyword(s):  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Degree Of Confidence ◽  
Deontic Modality ◽  
Two Sides

Epistemic modality refers to the use of modality which is based on the speaker's evaluation and judgment in relation to the degree of confidence of the knowledge on the proposition. It functions to comment on and evaluate an interpretation of reality in carrying out speech functions. Deontic modality indicates whether the proposition expressed by a command is obligatory, advisable or permissible according to some normative background such as law, morality, convention, etc. In many instances, the meanings of both types of modality are relative and complements to each other. The evidence of some extrinsic modalities such as must, should, may, and can indicates that they may fall under both types; thus, they are like two sides of a coin which carry its value from the meaning conveyed by each side.

scholarly journals Intersubjective strategies in deontic modality: evidential functions of Spanish deber ‘must’

Kalbotyra ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (69) ◽  
pp. 246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Thegel
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Modal Verb ◽  
Shared Information ◽  
Deontic Modality ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Qualitative Analyses

The principal aim of this study is to examine the Spanish modal verb deber ‘must’ in its deontic readings, relating it to the notions of evidentiality and intersubjectivity. Deber has often been compared to the modal verb tener que ‘have to’ and described in rather vague terms, for example as an expression of weak, internal obligation, but this paper proposes that it is better understood as an intersubjective verb. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses have been carried out, with a special focus on the in-depth qualitative study. It will be shown that deontic deber can convey evidential meanings when used in the conditional form. First, it can refer to a norm shared between the speaker and the hearer, and, second, it can convey an inferential process, a conclusion presented by the speaker, which is based on shared information, available to a larger group (or all) of the interlocutors. Evidentiality is regarded here as an intersubjective strategy, used when the speaker wants to reach consensus, arguing for the most reasonable, morally defensible way to act. Thus, this study also offers a new perspective of evidentiality, looking at this notion in interaction with deontic modality instead of epistemic modality, which is usually the case.

The naked truth about the Chamorro dual

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 533-584
Author(s):  
Thomas Stolz
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Formal Expression ◽  
The Third ◽  
Traditional Belief ◽  
Third Person ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
The Third Person

Abstract It is argued that the traditional belief that the formal expression of the dual in Chamorro is restricted to intransitivity / low transitivity is inadequate since it precludes the possibility of accounting constructions in which the dual is also expressed in combination with transitive verbs. In the empirical part of the study, evidence of the recurrent violations of the intransitivity-based restrictions is discussed. It is shown that the dual is not excluded from transitive predicates. The dual is also firmly established in the realm of transitivity albeit only in the third person. In addition, the dual also exists in areas of Chamorro grammar for which it has hitherto been ignored. The hypothesis is put forward that the dual in the domain of transitivity is a diachronic innovation. The Chamorro facts are compared to those of Numic languages in North America.

Italian children's understanding of the epistemic and deontic modal verbs dovere (must) and potere (may)

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELISABETTA BASCELLI ◽  
MARIA SILVIA BARBIERI
Keyword(s):  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
The Other ◽  
Dual Function ◽  
Full Understanding ◽  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Epistemic Modal ◽  
Single Sentence ◽  
Modal Verb ◽  
Deontic Modality

This study assesses children's understanding of the Italian modal verbs dovere (must) and potere (may) in their dual function of qualification of the speaker's beliefs (epistemic modality) and behaviour regulation (deontic modality). 192 children and 60 adults participated in the experiment. Children aged 3;0 to 9;2 were presented with two tasks: one assessed their understanding of modal expressions in the epistemic domain – looking for an object by following the information contained in a sentence; the other assessed their understanding of modal expressions in the deontic domain – acting according to obligations, permissions and prohibitions in the context of a game. Half of the subjects carried out the tasks in a single-sentence format and half carried out the tasks in a double-sentence format. In the single-sentence format the subjects had to follow the directions supplied by a modalized sentence; in the double-sentence format they had to follow the directions supplied by the sentence containing the stronger modal verb. Our results show that the understanding of deontic modal forms precedes the understanding of epistemic modal forms and that a full understanding of the strength of different modal forms is achieved only at eight years.

Close encounters of the third code

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 61-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudy Loock
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
General View ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Comparable Corpora ◽  
Translation Quality ◽  
The Third ◽  
French And English ◽  
Existential Constructions ◽  
Quantitative Results

The aim of the article is to complement a quantitative study on existential constructions in French and English, both in translated and original texts and based on the exploitation of comparable corpora (Cappelle & Loock 2013). What this article shows is that such an overall quantitative approach should be complemented with a more qualitative approach, for two main reasons: (i) overall quantitative results provide only a general view on the differences between translated texts and original texts, hiding subtle but crucial variations; (ii) the use of comparable corpora does not provide any information on the strategies used by translators and on the translation process itself. The article also provides suggestions for implications in translators training and translation quality assessment.

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