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The Semantics of the Modal Auxiliaries

Author : Jennifer Coates

Publisher : Routledge Library Editions: Linguistics

Page : 272 pages

File Size : 15,15 MB

Release : 2015-12-09

Category : English language

ISBN : 9781138989986

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Book Description

This book is a report of an investigation into the meanings of the modal auxiliaries in modern British English. The investigation took the form of a large-scale corpus-based project, looking at modal auxiliaries in both written and spoken language, and taking into account stylistic variation. The analysis of a corpus of a ¿real¿ language brings the analyst face-to-face with a problem which has frequently been avoided or ignored in theoretical semantics: language is not an orderly phenomenon, and, as far as meaning is concerned, indeterminacy seems to be a feature of all languages. But it is one thing to recognise the existence of indeterminacy, and another to deal with it adequately. Semantic analysis conventionally consists in distinguishing one meaning from another, in recognising discrete categories, but the acknowledgement of indeterminacy explicitly denies the existence of such discrete categories. This book examines in detail this problem and its relationship to a study of modals.





Modality in Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics

Author : Werner Abraham

Publisher : Cambridge University Press

Page : 455 pages

File Size : 21,86 MB

Release : 2020-09-17

Category : Language Arts & Disciplines

ISBN : 1108861083

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Book Description

What do we mean when we say things like 'If only we knew what he was up to!' Clearly this is more than just a message, or a question to our addressee. We are expressing simultaneously that we don't know, and also that we wish to know. Several modes of encoding contribute to such modalities of expression: word order, subordinating subjunctions, sentences that are subordinated but nevertheless occur autonomously, and attitudinal discourse adverbs which, far beyond lexical adverbials of modality, allow the speaker and the listener to presuppose full agreement, partial agreement under presupposed conditions, or negotiation of common ground. This state of the art survey proposes a new model of modality, drawing on data from a variety of Germanic and Slavic languages to find out what is cross-linguistically universal about modality, and to argue that it is a constitutive part of human cognition.



Corpus Linguistics and Sociolinguistics

Author : Beke Hansen

Publisher : BRILL

Page : 437 pages

File Size : 35,53 MB

Release : 2018-12-24

Category : Language Arts & Disciplines

ISBN : 900438152X

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Book Description

In Corpus Linguistics and Sociolinguistics, Beke Hansen analyses variation and change in the modal systems of three second-language varieties of English in Asia by taking a sociolinguistic approach to corpus data. Her study focuses on the modal and semi-modal verbs of strong obligation and necessity in Hong Kong English, Indian English, and Singapore English based on the relevant ICE component corpora. She adopts a typologically-informed perspective on variation in World Englishes by comparing the structures of the speakers’ first languages with the structures of the emergent varieties in the expression of epistemic modality. Beyond this, she analyses language change by constructing apparent-time scenarios to compensate for the lack of diachronic corpora in World Englishes.





Modality in Contemporary English

Author : Roberta Facchinetti

Publisher : Walter de Gruyter

Page : 412 pages

File Size : 23,51 MB

Release : 2012-02-13

Category : Language Arts & Disciplines

ISBN : 3110895331

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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.



Grammar for Teachers

Author : Andrea DeCapua

Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media

Page : 454 pages

File Size : 25,50 MB

Release : 2008-01-31

Category : Education

ISBN : 0387763317

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Book Description

The purpose of Grammar for Teachers is to encourage readers to develop a solid understanding of the use and function of grammatical structures in American English. It approaches grammar from a descriptive rather than a prescriptive approach; however, throughout the book differences between formal and informal language, and spoken and written English are discussed. The book avoids jargon or excessive use of technical terminology. It makes the study of grammar interesting and relevant by presenting grammar in context and by using authentic material from a wide variety of sources.



Modals and Quasi-modals in English

Author : Peter Collins

Publisher : BRILL

Page : 203 pages

File Size : 24,76 MB

Release : 2015-06-29

Category : Language Arts & Disciplines

ISBN : 9042029099

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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.



English Grammar

Author : Angela Downing

Publisher : Taylor & Francis

Page : 652 pages

File Size : 29,39 MB

Release : 2006

Category : Foreign Language Study

ISBN : 9780415287876

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Book Description

Presenting the linguistic basis for courses and projects on translation, contrastive linguistics, stylistics, reading and discourse studies, this book illustrates grammatical usage through authentic texts from a range of sources, both spoken and written. This new edition has been thoroughly rewritten and redesigned to include many new texts and examples of language in use. Key features include: chapters divided into modules of class-length materials; a wide variety of authentic texts and transcriptions to illustrate points of grammar and to contextualise structure; clear chapter and module summaries enabling efficient class preparation and student revision; exercises and topics for individual study; answer key for analytical exercises; comprehensive index; select biography; suggestions for further reading; and a companion website. This up-to-date descriptive grammar is a complete course for first degree and postgraduate students of English, and is particularly suited for those whose native language is not English.



Modality: Issues in the Semantics-Pragmatics Interface

Author : Anna Papafragou

Publisher : BRILL

Page : 251 pages

File Size : 30,77 MB

Release : 2021-10-01

Category : Language Arts & Disciplines

ISBN : 0585474192

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Book Description

This volume focuses on the interplay between grammatical and pragmatic factors in the comprehension of lexically communicated meaning. It uses a case-study, modality, in order to illustrate how the plasticity of lexically conveyed information can be accounted for without assuming semantic polysemy. The author's approach to the semantics and pragmatics of the English modal verbs is developed within the relevance-theoretic framework of communication.