Modality in English : theory and description / edited by Raphael Salkie, Pierre Busuttil, Johan van der Auwera.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Salkie, Raphael.

Busuttil, Pierre.

Auwera, Johan van der.

Series:

Topics in English linguistics ; 58.

Topics in English linguistics, 1434-3452 ; 58

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Modality.

English language.

Modality (Linguistics).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (390 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; New York : Mouton de Gruyter, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This volume presents two kinds of studies on English modality. On the one hand, there are strongly empirical, corpus-based studies of individual uses of English modal auxiliaries and modal constructions, such as may in interrogatives, might in concessive clauses, shall and may vs must in legal English, the use of surprised if and surprising if constructions, the use and history of adhortative constructions, or the modal-aspectual use of come to in I came to realize that X. The book also contains work that presents new views on some of the classical issues, like the relations between modality and time, modality and commitment, modals and (inter)subjectivity. A special place is given to work that approaches the English modals from the perspective of the 'Theory of Enunciative Operations' developed by the French linguist Antoine Culioli and his colleagues. Thus the book provides new perspectives and answers on basic questions about modality, in general, and its expression in English, in particular.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

Towards a typology of modality in language

'Not-yet-factual at time t': a neglected modal concept

Semantic ascent, deixis, intersubjectivity and modality

Degrees of modality

Another look at modals and subjectivity

For a topological representation of the modal system of English

Epistemic might in the interrogative

MAY in concessive contexts

When may means must: deontic modality in English statute construction

Legal English and the 'modal revolution'

Posteriority in expressions with must and have to: a case of interplay between syntax, semantics and pragmatics

Using the adjectives surprised/surprising to express epistemic modality

Commitment and subjectivity in the discourse of a judicial inquiry

Hearsay adverbs and modality

When Yes means No, and other hidden modalities

Modality and the history of English adhortatives

On the "great modal shift" sustained by come to VP

Backmatter

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9786612296512

9781282296510

1282296515

9783110213331

3110213338

OCLC:

500808549