Studies on English Modality

Studies on English Modality PDF Author: Frank Robert Palmer
Publisher: Peter Lang
ISBN: 9783034303101
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
Inspired by Frank Palmer's work, this book addresses a set of specific topics pertaining to the description of modality in English and places them in a broader context. A number of more general theoretical and typological matters are also raised, which bear upon the theory of syntax, semantics and pragmatics and their interfaces. The methodology adopted is mostly functional-typological, though some reference is made to various theoretical frameworks, ranging from cognitive linguistics to parametric variation. Modal meanings are seen to extend beyond particular lexical and grammatical exponents, through sentential semantics and into actual contexts of use. At the same time, the study of modality seems to challenge commonly held views on the relationship between different levels of linguistic analysis. Other languages discussed include Brazilian Portuguese, Classical and Modern Greek and Spanish.

Studies on English Modality

Studies on English Modality PDF Author: Frank Robert Palmer
Publisher: Peter Lang
ISBN: 9783034303101
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 406

Get Book

Book Description
Inspired by Frank Palmer's work, this book addresses a set of specific topics pertaining to the description of modality in English and places them in a broader context. A number of more general theoretical and typological matters are also raised, which bear upon the theory of syntax, semantics and pragmatics and their interfaces. The methodology adopted is mostly functional-typological, though some reference is made to various theoretical frameworks, ranging from cognitive linguistics to parametric variation. Modal meanings are seen to extend beyond particular lexical and grammatical exponents, through sentential semantics and into actual contexts of use. At the same time, the study of modality seems to challenge commonly held views on the relationship between different levels of linguistic analysis. Other languages discussed include Brazilian Portuguese, Classical and Modern Greek and Spanish.

Modality in English

Modality in English PDF Author: Raphael Salkie
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110196344
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Book Description
Main description: This volume presents strongly empirical, corpus-based studies of a range of English modal auxiliaries and modal constructions in specific uses. It also approaches some of the classic issues in the field of modality from new perspectives, notably that of the 'Theory of Enunciative Operations' developed by the French linguist Antoine Culioli and his colleagues.

Modality and the Japanese Language

Modality and the Japanese Language PDF Author: Yuki Johnson
Publisher: U of M Center for Japanese Studies
ISBN: 9781929280186
Category : Japanese language
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In English, the concept of modality has been the subject of studies crucial to the understanding and functioning of the language. Modality and the Japanese Language is innovative as an English-language text that examines a wide range of grammatical categories in terms of both modal and propositional content - namely, modal auxiliaries, aspectual categories, and conditionals - and reveals a new approach to Japanese modality that relies more centrally on concepts developed in studies of English modality. Johnson finds many practical and theoretical similarities between English and Japanese modal auxiliaries and argues that modality can be thought of as an expression of the degree of a speaker's conviction concerning a proposition's truth or realization in the form of possible/non-actual words. Such a definition provides practical and applicable perspective to the study of Japanese modality: propositions, for example, become objects of that study in the form of conditional sentences and aspectual categories.

Modality in Contemporary English

Modality in Contemporary English PDF Author: Roberta Facchinetti
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110895331
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
This book offers original theoretical accounts and a wealth of descriptive information concerning modality in present-day English. At the same time, it provides fresh impetus to more general linguistic issues such as grammaticalization, colloquialization, or the interplay between sociolinguistic and syntactic constraints. The articles fall into four sections: (a) the semantics and pragmatics of core modal verbs; (b) the status of emerging modal items; (c) stylistic variation and change; (d) sociolinguistic variation and syntactic models. The book is of considerable value to students and teachers of English and Linguistics at undergraduate and graduate level worldwide.

Modality in Grammar and Discourse

Modality in Grammar and Discourse PDF Author: Joan L. Bybee
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027285721
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 586

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Book Description
This volume brings together a collection of 18 papers that look into the expression of modality in the grammars of natural languages, with an emphasis on its manifestations in naturally occurring discourse. Though the individual contributions reflect a diversity of languages, of synchronic and diachronic foci, and of theoretical orientations — all within the broad domain of functional linguistics — they nonetheless converge around a number of key issues: the relationship between 'mood' and 'modality'; the delineation of modal categories and their nomenclature; the grounding of modality in interactive discourse; the elusive category 'irrealis'; and the relationship of modal notions and categories to other categories of grammar.

Modality in Contemporary English

Modality in Contemporary English PDF Author: Roberta Facchinetti
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 9783110176865
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.

Thinking Modally

Thinking Modally PDF Author: Elena Domínguez
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443885649
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 485

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Book Description
This volume brings together a selection of the papers presented at the 4th International Conference on Modality in English, held in Madrid on 9–11 September 2010. The book is divided into two parts, with the first encompassing contributions focusing on the notions of modality, evidentiality and temporality, and the second those that explore modality and its connection with stance and evaluation in specific genres and discourse domains.

Modality in English and Chinese

Modality in English and Chinese PDF Author: Renzhi Li
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
ISBN: 1581122357
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Modality is a grammatical, or semantic-grammatical, category. It is an important component of human languages. This is at least the case in most European languages. To what extent is it a near-universal? This thesis is to contribute to the question. It focuses on modal verbs in English and Chinese, two genetically and geographically unrelated languages, and analyzes what these two languages have in common and how they differ in their systems of modality. To achieve the aim, the thesis adopts the theoretical framework proposed by van der Auwera (1996, 1998 with Plungian, 2001) for the typological study of modality. Its language-specific descriptions involve the morphosyntactic features, notional functions, modal logic, and diachronic development. With these descriptions, it constructs a cross-linguistic database in a uniform, parallel structure. Then on the basis of this database, it deals with the cross-linguistic issues about modality in English and Chinese. Like many of the studies in this area, this research makes use of the well-sampled data in the relevant literature, thereby assuring the same degree of representativeness. When the data do not meet this need, it resorts to computer-based corpora. In the diachronic study of Chinese modality, quantitative analysis is adopted in proposing a development path for the senses of a modal. English translation is given particular attention in the description of Chinese modality and cross-linguistic analyses. One can only know one's own language only if one compares it with other languages. The present study is conducive to a better understanding of English and Chinese. It contributes not only to the investigation of language universals, but also to the study of human cognition and other linguistic or applied linguistic issues.

Modals and Quasi-modals in English

Modals and Quasi-modals in English PDF Author: Peter Collins
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9042029099
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
Modals and Quasi-modals in English reports the findings of a corpus-based study of the modals and a set of semantically-related ‘quasi-modals’ in English. The study is the largest and most comprehensive to date in this area, and is informed by recent developments in the study of modality, including grammaticalization and recent diachronic change. The selection of the parallel corpora used, representing British, American and Australian English, was designed to facilitate the exploration of both regional and stylistic variation.

Modality

Modality PDF Author: Alex Klinge
Publisher: Equinox Publishing (UK)
ISBN: 9781845539108
Category : Modality (Linguistics)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Modality: Studies in Form and Function reflects the diversity of theoretical frameworks and the heterogeneity of linguistic phenomena under the general heading of modality. Researchers in the fields of logic, philosophy and linguistics have for many years been pondering the elusive nature of modality and grappled with ways of capturing it. The 11 studies included here cover the span from contributions that seek to clarify controversial theoretical constructs to studies which take an empirical approach to linguistic categories and cross-linguistic typological issues. The key concepts addressed are the structure of modal subcategories, subjective vs. objective modality, force dynamics, evidentiality, Spanish and English modal auxiliaries, modal uses of Italian tenses, linearization patterns in German verb chains, determinant TAM categories, modal polyfunctionality across languages and rapport management in discourse. This volume raises new questions and offers re-examination of known phenomena which should provide interesting reading to linguists and students of linguistics of all theoretical persuasions.