Propositional aspect and the development of modal inferences in English
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Debra Ziegeler
Abstract
The alignment of deontic modality with perfective lexical aspect and epistemic modality with imperfective lexical aspect has been observed in a number of recent publications on the interface between aspect and modality (e.g., Abraham 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003). The present study considers the way in which such associations arise, considering the possibility of compositional (propositional) aspect as a determining factor, and, at the same time, proposes a solution to a question arising from an earlier study (Ziegeler 2003) in which the source context for the generation of deontic modal inferences in a recently-developing semi-modal, be supposed to, was ill-defined. The earlier data is re-examined from the perspective of generic sub-categories, and it is demonstrated that the sources of the deontic modal inferences begin to appear in a normative generic type expressing social or moral duty. Deontic modality thus emerges out of an environment in which perfective lexical aspect is already a necessary feature of the original source context.
Abstract
The alignment of deontic modality with perfective lexical aspect and epistemic modality with imperfective lexical aspect has been observed in a number of recent publications on the interface between aspect and modality (e.g., Abraham 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003). The present study considers the way in which such associations arise, considering the possibility of compositional (propositional) aspect as a determining factor, and, at the same time, proposes a solution to a question arising from an earlier study (Ziegeler 2003) in which the source context for the generation of deontic modal inferences in a recently-developing semi-modal, be supposed to, was ill-defined. The earlier data is re-examined from the perspective of generic sub-categories, and it is demonstrated that the sources of the deontic modal inferences begin to appear in a normative generic type expressing social or moral duty. Deontic modality thus emerges out of an environment in which perfective lexical aspect is already a necessary feature of the original source context.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction: Aspect-modality interfaces and interchanges across languages xi
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General
- On the logic of generalizations about cross-linguistic aspect-modality links 3
- The silent and aspect-driven patterns of deonticity and epistemicity: A chapter in diachronic typology 15
- Propositional aspect and the development of modal inferences in English 43
- Towards an understanding of the progressive form in English: The Imperative as a heuristic tool 81
- Epistemic modality and aspect contingency in Armenian, Russian, and German 97
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Slavic
- Indefiniteness and imperfectivity as micro-grammatical contexts of epistemicity in German-Slovene translations 119
- The connections between modality, aspectuality, and temporality in Modern Russian 147
- Aspectual coercion in Bulgarian negative imperatives 175
- Russian modals možet 'can' and dolžen 'must' selecting the imperfective in negative contexts 197
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African
- Tense, mood, and aspect in Gungbe (Kwa) 215
- The modal system of the Igbo language 241
-
Asian
- The aspect-modality link in the Japanese verbal complex and beyond 279
- The aspect-modality link in Japanese: The case of the evaluating sentence 309
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Amerindian
- The Lakota aspect/modality markers - kinica and tkhá 331
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Creole
- A note on modality and aspect in Saramaccan 359
-
Diachronic
- Aspects of a reconstruction of form and function of modal verbs in Germanic and other languages 371
- The autopsy of a modal – insights from the historical development of German 385
- Index of authors 417
- Index of subjects 419
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction: Aspect-modality interfaces and interchanges across languages xi
-
General
- On the logic of generalizations about cross-linguistic aspect-modality links 3
- The silent and aspect-driven patterns of deonticity and epistemicity: A chapter in diachronic typology 15
- Propositional aspect and the development of modal inferences in English 43
- Towards an understanding of the progressive form in English: The Imperative as a heuristic tool 81
- Epistemic modality and aspect contingency in Armenian, Russian, and German 97
-
Slavic
- Indefiniteness and imperfectivity as micro-grammatical contexts of epistemicity in German-Slovene translations 119
- The connections between modality, aspectuality, and temporality in Modern Russian 147
- Aspectual coercion in Bulgarian negative imperatives 175
- Russian modals možet 'can' and dolžen 'must' selecting the imperfective in negative contexts 197
-
African
- Tense, mood, and aspect in Gungbe (Kwa) 215
- The modal system of the Igbo language 241
-
Asian
- The aspect-modality link in the Japanese verbal complex and beyond 279
- The aspect-modality link in Japanese: The case of the evaluating sentence 309
-
Amerindian
- The Lakota aspect/modality markers - kinica and tkhá 331
-
Creole
- A note on modality and aspect in Saramaccan 359
-
Diachronic
- Aspects of a reconstruction of form and function of modal verbs in Germanic and other languages 371
- The autopsy of a modal – insights from the historical development of German 385
- Index of authors 417
- Index of subjects 419
