Epistemic must in an English-Swedish contrastive perspective
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Karin Aijmer
Abstract
Must in English and måste in Swedish do not mean quite the same thing and they have different formal and functional properties as can be shown from a translation perspective. They occur for example with different frequencies in the two languages. Must is mainly epistemic while the deontic meaning predominates with måste. Several factors play a role for the semantic-pragmatic function of must such as the degree of speaker certainty and the type and source of evidence. It is shown that must is used both to express the speaker’s stance and with hearer-appeal in situations where the hearer is assumed to know more than the speaker. Måste is closely associated with certainty and with inferential meaning.
Abstract
Must in English and måste in Swedish do not mean quite the same thing and they have different formal and functional properties as can be shown from a translation perspective. They occur for example with different frequencies in the two languages. Must is mainly epistemic while the deontic meaning predominates with måste. Several factors play a role for the semantic-pragmatic function of must such as the degree of speaker certainty and the type and source of evidence. It is shown that must is used both to express the speaker’s stance and with hearer-appeal in situations where the hearer is assumed to know more than the speaker. Måste is closely associated with certainty and with inferential meaning.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- The (very) long history of corpora, concordances, collocations and all that 9
- Modes of analysis 35
- Keywords 77
- Europhobes and Europhiles, Eurospats and Eurojibes 95
- We can do without these words 127
- The individual and the group from a corpus perspective 163
- Tracking the third code 185
- Epistemic must in an English-Swedish contrastive perspective 205
- Translating fictional characters – Alice and the Queen from the Wonderland in English and Czech 223
- Biographical notes 255
- Index 259
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- The (very) long history of corpora, concordances, collocations and all that 9
- Modes of analysis 35
- Keywords 77
- Europhobes and Europhiles, Eurospats and Eurojibes 95
- We can do without these words 127
- The individual and the group from a corpus perspective 163
- Tracking the third code 185
- Epistemic must in an English-Swedish contrastive perspective 205
- Translating fictional characters – Alice and the Queen from the Wonderland in English and Czech 223
- Biographical notes 255
- Index 259
