Modality and subordinators / Jackie Nördstrom.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nordstrom, Jackie.

Series:

Studies in language companion series ; v. 116.

Studies in language companion series, 0165-7763 ; v. 116

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Modality (Linguistics).

Grammar, Comparative and general--Subordinate constructions.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (364 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins Pub. Co., 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book connects two linguistic phenomena, modality and subordinators, so that both are seen in a new light, each adding to the understanding of the other. It argues that general subordinators (or complementizers) denote propositional modality (otherwise expressed by moods such as the indicative-subjunctive and epistemic-evidential modal markers). The book explores the hypothesis both on a cross-linguistic and on a language-branch specific level (the Germanic languages). One obvious connection between the indicative-subjunctive distinction and subordinators is that the former is typically manifested in subordinate clauses. Furthermore, both the indicative-subjunctive and subordinators determine clause types. More importantly, however, it is shown, through data from various languages, that subordinators themselves often denote the indicative-subjunctive distinction. In the Germanic languages, there is variation in many clause types between both the indicative and the subjunctive and that and if depending on the speaker's and/or the subject's certainty of the truth of the proposition.

Contents:

Modality and Subordinators

Editorial page

Title page

LCC data

Dedication page

Table of contents

Preface and acknowledgements

Abbreviations

1. Introduction

1.1 Presentation

1.2 Disposition

1.3 Research paradigms

1.3.1 Language typology and language universals

1.3.2 Generative grammar and universal grammar

1.3.3 Evaluation and application

1.4 Methods and material

Part I. Modality and subordinators in the languages of the world

2. Modality

2.1 Terms and defi nitions of modality

2.1.1 Three domains of modality

2.1.2 Factuality vs. assertion

2.1.3 Epistemic and evidential modality

2.1.4 The declarative

2.1.5 The conditional

2.2 The indicative-subjunctive and realis-irrealis distinctions

2.2.1 The indicative-subjunctive distinction

2.2.2 The realis-irrealis distinction (Chafe 1995, Mithun 1995)

2.2.3 Th e universal realis-irrealis distinction (Palmer 2001)

2.2.4 Factuality as the focal meaning of the realis-irrealis distinction

2.2.5 Refutation of the assertion analysis

2.2.6 Conclusion

2.3 Notions related to modality

2.3.1 Complement-taking predicates and the indicative-subjunctive distinction (Noonan 2007)

2.3.2 Speech acts and performatives (Austin 1962, Searle 1969)

2.4 Conclusion

3. The morphosyntactic status of modality

3.1 Morphosyntax

3.2 The Semantic-relevance hypothesis (Bybee 1985)

3.2.1 Assessment of the semantic-relevance hypothesis

3.3 The split-inflection hypothesis (Cinque 1999)

3.3.1 Assessment of the split-inflection hypothesis

3.4 Syntactic heads and word formation (Julien 2002)

3.4.1 Assessment

3.5 Two typological surveys of the morphosyntactic status of propositional modality

3.5.1 Survey of the internal order between propositional modality and tense in Julien's (2002) 530 languages.

3.5.2 Independent survey of the internal order between propositional modality and tense in the languages of the world

3.5.3 Comparison of the two investigations

3.6 Conclusion

4. Subordinators and modality

4.1 Subordination and subordinators

4.1.1 Subordination

4.1.2 Subordinators

4.2 The functional category complementizer and modality

4.2.1 V2, complementizer, and mood (Bhatt 1999)

4.2.2 The split-complementizer hypothesis (Rizzi 1997, 2002, Stroh-Wollin 2002)

4.3 Complementizers and modality from a typological perspective

4.3.1 Complementizers and the realis-irrealis distinction in the languages of the world (Noonan 2007)

4.3.2 Complementizers as modal categories (Frajzyngier 1995)

4.5 Conclusion

5. Investigation of semantic, functional, and notational similarities between propositional modality and subordinators in the languages of the world

5.1 Subordinating moods of propositional modality

5.2 Subordinating propositional-modal particles and clitics

5.3 Realis and irrealis subordinators

5.4 Conclusion

Part II. Modality and subordinators in the Germanic languages

6. The Germanic indicative and subjunctive as propositional modality markers

6.1 The speech-act functions of the Germanic subjunctive

6.2 The Germanic indicative-subjunctive as propositional-modality markers

6.2.1 The indicative-subjunctive in conditional constructions

6.2.2 Subjunctive licensing in complement clauses

6.3 Fossilized subjunctive forms

6.4 Conclusion

7. Modal markers and word order in the Germanic languages

7.1 Th e modal past

7.2 Verum focus and emphatic do-insertion

7.3 V2 and V1 as Realis and Irrealis

7.4 Negative polarity-sensitive items and the Irrealis

7.5 V2 in that-clauses

7.6 Modal verbs

7.7 Modal particles

7.8 Conclusion.

8. General subordinators and propositional modality in the Germanic languages

8.1 That and if as markers of propositional modality

8.2 That- vs. if-selection

8.2.1 Swedish

8.2.2 German

8.2.3 English

8.3 The grammaticalization of if and a typological comparison

8.4 Comparison between that-if and the indicative-subjunctive

8.5 That-omission and the subjunctive

8.6 Other interrogative and conditional subordinators

8.7 Conclusion

9. Speech-act modality

9.1 The interrogative

9.1.1 Polar questions

9.1.2 Content questions

9.2 The imperative

9.3 Conclusion

10. Relative and adverbial subordinators

10.1 Relative and comparative subordinators

10.2 Adverbial subordinators

10.2.1 The Scandinavian languages

10.2.2 The West Germanic, Celtic, and Gallo-Iberian languages

10.3 Th e for-to-construction

10.4 Conclusion

11. Conclusion and final remarks

11.1 Hypothesis

11.2 Research paradigms

11.3 Part I: Modality and subordinators in the languages of the world

11.3.1 Defining the relevant modality category

11.3.2 The morphosyntactic status of propositional modality

11.3.3 General subordinators and propositional modality

11.4 Part II: Modality and subordinators in the Germanic languages

11.4.1 The indicative-subjunctive distinction

11.4.2 The modal past, word order, and other modal morphemes

11.4.3 General subordinators and propositional modality

11.4.4 Speech-act modality

11.4.5 Relative and adverbial subordinators

11.5 Final remarks

Appendix A.Two typological surveys of the morphosyntactic status of propositional modality

Appendix B. Sources for the typological surveys

References

Text corpora used

Literature

Language index

Subject index

The Studies in Language Companion Series.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612484940

9781282484948

128248494X

9789027288608

9027288607

OCLC:

608696725