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Epistemic modality and evidentiality from an enunciative perspective

  • Jean-Pierre Desclés
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Epistemic Modalities and Evidentiality in Cross-Linguistic Perspective
This chapter is in the book Epistemic Modalities and Evidentiality in Cross-Linguistic Perspective

Abstract

The aim of this article is to briefly compare and distinguish epistemic modalities and mediative enunciation in a network of concepts and to propose a semantic map construed within the framework of enunciation theory. Using the concept of enunciative stancetaking (Fr. ‘prise en charge enonciative’), we will show that it must not be confused with the notions of commitment and engagement (e.g. in assertions) which are more specific than general stancetaking. We will show that the notion of evidentiality, does not constitute a homogeneous area because it is grounded in semantic categorizations reflecting cognitive mechanisms which it is important to highlight and describe in precise detail.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to briefly compare and distinguish epistemic modalities and mediative enunciation in a network of concepts and to propose a semantic map construed within the framework of enunciation theory. Using the concept of enunciative stancetaking (Fr. ‘prise en charge enonciative’), we will show that it must not be confused with the notions of commitment and engagement (e.g. in assertions) which are more specific than general stancetaking. We will show that the notion of evidentiality, does not constitute a homogeneous area because it is grounded in semantic categorizations reflecting cognitive mechanisms which it is important to highlight and describe in precise detail.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Editorial Preface vii
  4. List of Contributors ix
  5. Part I: Germanic languages
  6. Epistemic modality, Danish modal verbs and the tripartition of utterances 3
  7. Epistemic evaluation in factual contexts in English 22
  8. SHOULD in Conditional Clauses: When Epistemicity Meets Appreciative Modality 52
  9. Part II: Romance languages
  10. Epistemic modality and evidentiality in Romance: the Reportive Conditional 69
  11. Epistemic modality and perfect morphology in Spanish and French 103
  12. Anchoring evidential, epistemic and beyond in discourse: alào, vantér and vér in Noirmoutier island (Poitevin-Saintongeais) 131
  13. A prosody account of (inter)subjective modal adverbs in Spanish 153
  14. French expressions of personal opinion: je crois / pense / trouve / estime / considère que p 179
  15. Mirative extensions in Romance: evidential or epistemic? 196
  16. The Italian epistemic future and Russian epistemic markers as linguistic manifestations of conjectural conclusion: a comparative analysis 217
  17. Epistemic modality, evidentiality, quotativity and echoic use 242
  18. Evidentiality, epistemic modality and negation in Lithuanian: revisited 259
  19. Part IV: Non Indo-European languages
  20. Two kinds of epistemic modality in Hungarian 281
  21. Epistemic modalities in spoken Tibetan 296
  22. Intersubjectification revisited: a cross-categorical perspective 319
  23. Inference crisscross: Disentangling evidence, stance and (inter)subjectivity in Yucatec Maya 346
  24. Part V: Theoretical perspectives
  25. Epistemic modality and evidentiality from an enunciative perspective 383
  26. About Contributors 403
  27. Author Index 409
  28. Subject Index 414
  29. Language Index 421
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110572261-017

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Editorial Preface vii
  4. List of Contributors ix
  5. Part I: Germanic languages
  6. Epistemic modality, Danish modal verbs and the tripartition of utterances 3
  7. Epistemic evaluation in factual contexts in English 22
  8. SHOULD in Conditional Clauses: When Epistemicity Meets Appreciative Modality 52
  9. Part II: Romance languages
  10. Epistemic modality and evidentiality in Romance: the Reportive Conditional 69
  11. Epistemic modality and perfect morphology in Spanish and French 103
  12. Anchoring evidential, epistemic and beyond in discourse: alào, vantér and vér in Noirmoutier island (Poitevin-Saintongeais) 131
  13. A prosody account of (inter)subjective modal adverbs in Spanish 153
  14. French expressions of personal opinion: je crois / pense / trouve / estime / considère que p 179
  15. Mirative extensions in Romance: evidential or epistemic? 196
  16. The Italian epistemic future and Russian epistemic markers as linguistic manifestations of conjectural conclusion: a comparative analysis 217
  17. Epistemic modality, evidentiality, quotativity and echoic use 242
  18. Evidentiality, epistemic modality and negation in Lithuanian: revisited 259
  19. Part IV: Non Indo-European languages
  20. Two kinds of epistemic modality in Hungarian 281
  21. Epistemic modalities in spoken Tibetan 296
  22. Intersubjectification revisited: a cross-categorical perspective 319
  23. Inference crisscross: Disentangling evidence, stance and (inter)subjectivity in Yucatec Maya 346
  24. Part V: Theoretical perspectives
  25. Epistemic modality and evidentiality from an enunciative perspective 383
  26. About Contributors 403
  27. Author Index 409
  28. Subject Index 414
  29. Language Index 421
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