Epistemic modality : functional properties and the Italian system / / Paola Pietrandrea

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910968137203321
• Autore: Pietrandrea Paola
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Amsterdam ; ; Philadelphia : , : John Benjamins Pub., , 2005; ©2005
• ISBN: 9786613092403; 9781283092401; 1283092409; 9789027285348; 9027285349
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (xii, 232 pages) : illustrations
• Collana: Studies in Language Companion Series ; ; 74; Studies in language companion series, , 0165-7763 ; ; v. 74
• Disciplina: 425/.6
• Soggetti: Italian language - Modality; Italian language - Semantics; Epistemics
• 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 (p. [217]-229) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Epistemic Modality Functional properties and the Italian system -- Editorial page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Table of contents -- ABBREVIATIONS -- INTRODUCTION -- 1. The theoretical approach -- 2. The structure of the book -- 3. Data -- I. THE NOTIONAL CATEGORY OF EPISTEMIC MODALITY -- 1. Introductory remarks -- 2. The boundaries of (epistemic) modality -- 2.1 Deontic and epistemic modality -- 2.2 Mood and modality -- 2.3 Illocution and modality -- 2.4 Reality status and modality -- 2.5 Evidentiality and modality -- 3. Modality as a non-designative category -- 4. Modality and subjectivity -- 4.1 Performativity -- 4.2 Meta-propositionality -- 4.3 Genuine Epistemicity -- 5. A working definition -- II. A TYPOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF EPISTEMIC SYSTEMS -- 1. Parameters -- 2. Specific vs. parasitic markers -- 3. One form vs. degrees of certainty -- 4. Genuine epistemicity vs. inferential evidentiality -- 5. Reportive, modalized and complex evidential systems -- 6. Degrees of ; performativity -- 7. Summary -- III. EPISTEMIC MODALITY IN ITALIAN -- 1. Introductory remarks -- 2. Epistemic forms -- 3. Grammaticality scales -- 4. Grammaticalized epistemic forms -- 5. Summary -- IV. SEMANTIC OPPOSITIONS -- 1. Introductory remarks -- 2. Degrees of certainty -- 2.1. DEVE "must" vs. PUÔ "can -- 2.2. Degrees of certainty and inference conditions. DEVE "must" vs. DOVREBBE "should -- 3. The epistemic-deonttc axis -- 3.1 The asymmetry between dovere "muss" and potere "can -- 3.2 PUÔ "can" vs. PPTREBBE "could -- 4. Evidentialiy and epistemic modality. The opposition between modals and epistemic future -- 4.1 The evidential nature of DEVE "must -- 4.2 The evidential nature of the other modals -- 4.2.1 DOVREBBE "Should -- 4.2.2 PUò "can" and POTREBBE "could -- 4.3 The epistemic nature of the future -- 5. Summary.; V. A TYPOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ITALIAN EPISTEMIC MODALITY -- 1. Introductory remarks -- 2. Parasitic forms -- 3. Three degrees of certainty -- 4. The distinction between genuine epistemicity and inferential evidentiality -- 5. A complex evidential system -- 6. Low performativity -- 7. Summary -- VI. INFLECTIONAL AND DISTRIBUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS. THE (LOW) PERFORMATIVITY OF ITALIAN EPISTEMIC MODALITY -- 1. Introductory Remarks -- 2. Constraints on the tense. The (low) performativity of Italian epistemic forms -- 2.1 Past tense -- 2.2 Future tense -- 2.3 Low performativity and the evidential nature of modals -- 3. Constraints on the personal inflection. Speech situation and epistemic control -- 3.1 DEVE, PUÔ, and the epistemic future -- 3.2 DOVREBBE and POTREBBE -- 4. Constraints on the distributton -- 4.1 Conditional constructtons -- 4.2 Interrogative contexts -- 5. Summary -- VII. ASPECTUAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE PROPOSITIONAL CONTENT -- 1. Introductory remarks -- 2. Tools of analysis. Actional class and aspect -- 3. Stativity of the propositional content -- 4. The aspect of the propositional content -- 4.1 Progressives -- 4.2. Habituais -- 4.3 Perfects -- 5. Conclusions -- 5.1. Asymmetries among epistemic forms -- 5.2. The incompleteness of the propositional content -- 5.3 A topological representation of aspeccual lncompleteness -- VIII. THE INCOMPLETENESS OF THE PROPOSITIONAL CONTENT AND THE METAPROPOSITIONALITY OF EPISTEMIC MODALITY -- 1. Introductory remarks -- 2. Semantic projections on complements -- 3. Incompleteness as an index of metapropositionality. A hypothesis -- 4. Linguistic relevance of the distinction between predications and propositions -- 5. The incompleteness of Italian propositional complements -- 5.1 Propositional predicates -- 5.2 The incompleteness of the infinitives governed by sapere.; 5.3 The incompleteness of the infinitives governed by dire -- 6. The aspectual completeness of predicational complements -- 6.1 Predicational predicates -- 6.2 The aspectual completeness of the infinitives governed by predicates of perception and practical manipulation -- 6.3 Refinements: the destativizaiion of some predicaiional complements -- 7. Incompleteness as an index of simultaneity with the ongoing speech process -- 7.1 The self-referentiality of linguistic tense. The enenciation process and other linguistic temporal references -- 7.2 The semiotic meaning of incompleteness -- 8. Typological validity of the relation between incompleteness and propositionality -- 9. Summary -- IX. A DIACHRONIC HYPOTHESIS -- 1. Introductory remarks -- 2. Background -- 2.1 The semantic relation between the deontic and the epistemic meaning of modals -- 2.2 The semantic relation between the temporal and the epistemic meaning of the future -- 2.3 Diachronic evidence -- 3. A new reconstructivist hypothesis -- 4. Summary -- CONCLUSIONS ; -- NOTES -- INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER 2 -- CHAPTER 3 -- CHAPTER 4 -- CHAPTER 5 -- CHAPTER 6 -- CHAPTER 8 -- CHAPTER 9 -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- SUBJECT INDEX.
• Sommario/riassunto: This volume offers an original theoretical and methodological approach to the hotly debated issue of epistemic modality. The analysis is conducted in a rigorous typological frame developed after a careful consideration of a wealth of cross-linguistic data, and focuses on Italian, a language often disregarded in comparative analyses. The complexity of the Italian epistemic system provides relevant information that will undoubtedly foster a better understanding of the topic. A new definition of epistemic modality is proposed on a functional basis and the structure of the Italian epistemic system.