1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910788707203321

Titolo

Modality in contemporary English / / edited by Roberta Facchinetti, Manfred Krug, Frank Palmer

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berlin ; ; New York : , : Mouton de Gruyter, , 2003

ISBN

3-11-089533-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (412 pages) : illustrations

Collana

Topics in English linguistics ; ; 44

Classificazione

HF 177

Disciplina

425

Soggetti

English language - Modality

Modality (Linguistics)

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Preface -- Contents -- Modality in English: Theoretical, descriptive and typological issues / Palmer, Frank -- The semantics and pragmatics of core modal verbs -- Irrealis, past time reference and modality / Larreya, Paul -- Modal auxiliary constructions, ΤΑΜ and interrogatives / Matthews, Richard -- A pragmatic analysis of the epistemic would construction in English / Ward, Gregory / Birner, Betty J. / Kaplan, Jeffrey P. -- Towards a contextual micro-analysis of the non-equivalence of might and could / Gresset, Stéphane -- The status of emerging modal items -- On two distinct uses of go as a conjoined marker of evaluative modality / Bourdin, Philippe -- Had better and might as well·. On the margins of modality? / Mitchell, Keith -- What you and I want: A functional approach to verb complementation of modal WANT TO / Verplaetse, Heidi -- Between epistemic modality and degree: The case of really / Paradis, Carita -- Stylistic variation and change -- Modality on the move: The English modal auxiliaries 1961-1992 / Leech, Geoffrey -- Changes in the modals and semi-modals of strong obligation and epistemic necessity in recent British English / Smith, Nicholas -- Shall and will in contemporary English: A comparison with past uses / Gotti, Maurizio -- Pragmatic and sociological constraints on the functions of may in contemporary British English / Facchinetti, Roberta -- Sociolinguistic variation and syntactic models -- The role of epistemic modality in women's talk / Coates, Jennifer -- Double modals in the southern United States: Syntactic



structure or syntactic structures? / Nagle, Stephen J. -- Modal verbs in Tyneside English: Evidence for (socio)linguistic theory / Trousdale, Graeme -- Subject index

Sommario/riassunto

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.