Modal adjectives : English deontic and evaluative constructions in synchrony and diachrony / by An Van linden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Linden, An van, 1982-

Series:

Topics in English linguistics ; 75.

Topics in English linguistics, 1434-3452 ; 75

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Modality.

English language.

English language--Adjective.

Modality (Linguistics).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (384 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter Mouton, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The book revisits the notion of deontic modality from the perspective of an understudied category in the modal domain, viz. adjectives. On the basis of synchronic and diachronic corpus studies, it analyses the semantics of English adjectives like essential and appropriate, and uses this to refine traditional definitions of deontic modality, which are mainly based on the study of modal verbs. In a first step, it is shown that the set of meanings expressed by extraposition constructions with deontic adjectives is quite different from the set of meanings identified in the literature on modal verbs. Adjectival complement constructions lack the directive meanings of obligation or permission, which are traditionally regarded as the core deontic categories, and they have semantic extensions towards non-modal meanings in the evaluative domain. In a second step, the analysis of adjectives is used to propose an alternative definition of deontic modality, which covers both the meanings of verbs and adjectives, and which can deal with the different extensions towards modal and non-modal categories. This is integrated into a conceptual map, which works both in diachrony, defining pathways of change from premodal to modal to evaluative meaning, and in synchrony, accommodating refinements within each set of meanings. In the process, this study points to the emergence of partially filled constructions, and it offers additional evidence for well-established changes in the history of English, such as the decline of the subjunctive and the rise of the to-infinitive in complement constructions. The book is of particular interest to researchers and graduate students with a focus on mood and modality, and the interface between syntax, semantics and pragmatics, as well as that between synchrony and diachrony.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Acknowledgements

Table of contents

List of tables

List of figures

Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1. The notion of modality

Chapter 2. Adjectives in the modal-evaluative domain

Chapter 3. Data and methods of the diachronic analysis

Chapter 4. The semantic development of the adjectival matrix

Chapter 5. The diachrony of the clausal complement patterns

Chapter 6. The diachrony of the complex constructions: The development of propositional complements

Chapter 7. Data and methods of the synchronic synthesis and refinement

Chapter 8. Synchronic constructions: Refinements of the conceptual map

Chapter 9. Conclusion

References

Author index

Subject index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9786613626653

9781280596827

1280596821

9783112191705

3112191706

9783110252941

3110252945

OCLC:

784886926