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Modality and illocutionary force

Problems for complementation and assignment of attitudes

 | Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

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Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

Published online: 23 January 2026
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https://doi.org/10.1075/elt.00061.wie
Abstract
The article proposes a systematic spell-out of the conditions for clausal complementation, and it pinpoints principled problems concerning the “diagnosis” of complementation in authentic linguistic data. In particular, the article presents a comprehensive functional classification of clause-initial connectives which, under certain conditions, can be considered complementizers, i.e. word units that flag clauses as complements (= arguments) of higher-order clauses. This classification is provided for modern Slavic languages across the board. The onomasiological background for the classificatory grid of the relevant connectives is supplied by a discussion of the underlying concepts and dimensions. Concomitantly, the conditions under which complementation may arise are detailed, together with possible alternative analyses: often, relevant clause-initial connectives need not be qualified as complementizers, and the clauses introduced by them as complements, even if favorable conditions apply. The same holds true for clause pairs without any such connective. This creates systematic delimitation problems of clausal complements against parenthetical comments and quotation. These problems are shown to be fundamental: they usually originate in syntactic indeterminacy, both in the relation between adjacent clause pairs and concerning the status of clause-initial connectives. The discussion of these problems shows their relevance for linguistic theory and the methodology of empirical analysis.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Clarification of concepts
    • 2.1Modality, illocutionary force, and other ingredients of verbal interaction
      • 2.1.1‘Attitudinal’ performative — descriptive contrast
      • 2.1.2Modality vs illocutionary force
      • 2.1.3Mood and clause type
      • 2.1.4Ir/realis
      • 2.1.5Summary on distinctions and dimensions
    • 2.2Clause-linkage and complementation
  • 3.Contrasts in (potential) clausal complementation
  • 4.Principled problems in determining (asyndetic) complementation
    • 4.1Relative discourse prominence and (lacking) flagging of structural asymmetry
    • 4.2Speech reports, attitudes and egocentricals
    • 4.3What can we learn?
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations in glosses
  • Other abbreviations
  • References
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