On the status and the interpretation of the left-peripheral sentence particles inu and ia in Old High German
Abstract
The paper deals with the semantic and pragmatic properties of inu and ia, two representatives of the Old Germanic system of left-peripheral sentence particles which are attested in early German but are no longer available in present times. The traditional treatment of these particles as interrogative sentence mood operators is rejected because sentences containing inu and ia are not uttered as requests for information. Instead, it is argued that inu and ia interact with the speech act of the utterance and assign expressive meaning to propositions, which makes them similar to modern German modal particles. But at the same time, there is no historical relation between the two systems, i.e. the current class of modal particles cannot be regarded the successor of the older one. The paper proposes a scenario showing that modal particles emerge independently, and sketches a reanalysis process which accounts for their inability to appear in the left periphery of the clause.
Abstract
The paper deals with the semantic and pragmatic properties of inu and ia, two representatives of the Old Germanic system of left-peripheral sentence particles which are attested in early German but are no longer available in present times. The traditional treatment of these particles as interrogative sentence mood operators is rejected because sentences containing inu and ia are not uttered as requests for information. Instead, it is argued that inu and ia interact with the speech act of the utterance and assign expressive meaning to propositions, which makes them similar to modern German modal particles. But at the same time, there is no historical relation between the two systems, i.e. the current class of modal particles cannot be regarded the successor of the older one. The paper proposes a scenario showing that modal particles emerge independently, and sketches a reanalysis process which accounts for their inability to appear in the left periphery of the clause.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Contents v
- The status quo of research on discourse particles in syntax and semantics 1
- The syntax and semantics of discourse particles 15
- What you see is what you get: Chinese sentence-final particles as head-final complementizers 49
- The syntax of Swedish modal particles 78
- Discourse particles and hvað-exclamatives 100
- Root infinitivals and modal particles. An interim report 115
- Modal particles ≠ modal particles (= modal particles) 144
- Discourse particles “embedded”: German ja in adjectival phrases 173
- Combining ja and doch: A case of discourse structural iconicity 203
- Discourse marker = discourse particle = thetical = modal particle? A futile comparison 241
- Stressed and unstressed particles in Old Indic 281
- On the status and the interpretation of the left-peripheral sentence particles inu and ia in Old High German 304
- Index 332
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Contents v
- The status quo of research on discourse particles in syntax and semantics 1
- The syntax and semantics of discourse particles 15
- What you see is what you get: Chinese sentence-final particles as head-final complementizers 49
- The syntax of Swedish modal particles 78
- Discourse particles and hvað-exclamatives 100
- Root infinitivals and modal particles. An interim report 115
- Modal particles ≠ modal particles (= modal particles) 144
- Discourse particles “embedded”: German ja in adjectival phrases 173
- Combining ja and doch: A case of discourse structural iconicity 203
- Discourse marker = discourse particle = thetical = modal particle? A futile comparison 241
- Stressed and unstressed particles in Old Indic 281
- On the status and the interpretation of the left-peripheral sentence particles inu and ia in Old High German 304
- Index 332
