Epistemic modal verbs and negation in Japanese Sign Language
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Abstract
Epistemic modality conveys the speaker’s commitment of how likely the content of the proposition will be true. Sign languages show variation in how they express epistemicity: manually, non-manually, or a combination of both. Japanese Sign Language (JSL) uses manual modal verbs to indicate epistemic modality. In the current study, using Cinque’s (1999) model of cartographic syntax as a basis, we reclassified nine modal verbs which were previously identified as exclusively epistemic into three categories (possibility, epistemic, evidential). This reclassification is done based on the syntactic (word-order) restrictions and speaker judgements about the quality of commitment entailed by each modal category. Two different JSL expressions of negation, which take different scopes, also provided a clue for identifying the different categories of modal verbs. The modal verbs discussed in this paper are used also as lexical signs, which indicates that they might have acquired modal usage as JSL developed into an established language of the deaf community over 140 years. The issue of ordering between the evidential and the epistemic modal verbs are addressed in the discussion.
Abstract
Epistemic modality conveys the speaker’s commitment of how likely the content of the proposition will be true. Sign languages show variation in how they express epistemicity: manually, non-manually, or a combination of both. Japanese Sign Language (JSL) uses manual modal verbs to indicate epistemic modality. In the current study, using Cinque’s (1999) model of cartographic syntax as a basis, we reclassified nine modal verbs which were previously identified as exclusively epistemic into three categories (possibility, epistemic, evidential). This reclassification is done based on the syntactic (word-order) restrictions and speaker judgements about the quality of commitment entailed by each modal category. Two different JSL expressions of negation, which take different scopes, also provided a clue for identifying the different categories of modal verbs. The modal verbs discussed in this paper are used also as lexical signs, which indicates that they might have acquired modal usage as JSL developed into an established language of the deaf community over 140 years. The issue of ordering between the evidential and the epistemic modal verbs are addressed in the discussion.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
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Part 1: Manuals: Numerals, classifiers, modal verbs
- Historical relationships between numeral signs in Japanese Sign Language, South Korean Sign Language and Taiwan Sign Language 5
- Phonological processes in complex word formation in Shanghai Sign Language 37
- Classifiers and gender in Korean Sign Language 71
- Causative alternation in Tianjin Sign Language 101
- Epistemic modal verbs and negation in Japanese Sign Language 137
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Part 2: Non-manuals and space
- The Korean Sign Language (KSL) corpus and its first application on a study about mouth actions 169
- Negative polar questions in Hong Kong Sign Language 203
- Analyzing head nod expressions by L2 learners of Japanese Sign Language: A comparison with native Japanese Sign Language signers 241
- Composite utterances in Taiwan Sign Language 263
- Time and timelines in Tibetan Sign Language (TSL) interactions in Lhasa 311
- Index 347
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Part 1: Manuals: Numerals, classifiers, modal verbs
- Historical relationships between numeral signs in Japanese Sign Language, South Korean Sign Language and Taiwan Sign Language 5
- Phonological processes in complex word formation in Shanghai Sign Language 37
- Classifiers and gender in Korean Sign Language 71
- Causative alternation in Tianjin Sign Language 101
- Epistemic modal verbs and negation in Japanese Sign Language 137
-
Part 2: Non-manuals and space
- The Korean Sign Language (KSL) corpus and its first application on a study about mouth actions 169
- Negative polar questions in Hong Kong Sign Language 203
- Analyzing head nod expressions by L2 learners of Japanese Sign Language: A comparison with native Japanese Sign Language signers 241
- Composite utterances in Taiwan Sign Language 263
- Time and timelines in Tibetan Sign Language (TSL) interactions in Lhasa 311
- Index 347
