Modalisations a priori et a posteriori : le cas de would
The analysis presented in this paper is based on a distinction between modality and modalization – the latter being defined as the use which is made of modality according to what the speaker and the addressee know (or do not know) concerning the truth value of the modalized proposition. The two main...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Presses Universitaires du Midi
2015-07-01
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| Series: | Anglophonia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/anglophonia/457 |
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| Summary: | The analysis presented in this paper is based on a distinction between modality and modalization – the latter being defined as the use which is made of modality according to what the speaker and the addressee know (or do not know) concerning the truth value of the modalized proposition. The two main types of modalization are a priori modalization and a posteriori modalization; the latter can be constative, evaluative or counterfactual. The paper discusses two particular uses of would: (i) with verbs of epistemic judgement (think, guess, expect, imagine, seem, etc.), as in I’d think you’re right and (ii) in contexts which can be called ‘conjectural-factual’ (as in I can’t believe he would do this to me). It is shown that, although would may seem ‘semantically bleached’ in these contexts, it retains a full modal meaning. |
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| ISSN: | 1278-3331 2427-0466 |