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Perspectival mechanisms of modality

Semantic shifts of modal verb sollen (‘shall’) + inf. in German

 | Universität Hamburg
 | Universität Augsburg
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Abstract
In recent years, it has been shown that perspectivization is not a pragmatic add-on but central to human cognition and linguistic conceptualization (see e.g. MacWhinney, Brian. (2005). The emergence of grammar from perspective. In Diane Pecher & Rolf A. Zwaan (Eds.), The grounding of cognition: The role of perception and action in memory (pp. 198–223). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, Verhagen, Arie. (2023). The origins of perspective taking lie in iconic language use: Unifying theories of signs, conversation, and narrative perspective. Frontiers in Communication, 81, 623662. (07.03.2026).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). One linguistic aspect where this is particularly obvious is modality as the semantic domain whose core function is commonly seen in denoting speakers’ attitudes towards a proposition, and as such, dependent on viewpoint (e.g. Bybee, Joan L. & Fleischman, Suzanne. (1995). Modality in Grammar and Discourse. An Introductory Essay. In Joan L. Bybee & Suzanne Fleischman (Eds.), Modality in Grammar and Discourse (pp. 1–14). Amsterdam / Philadelphia: Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, Papafragou, Anna. (2002). Modality and theory of mind. Perspectives from language development and autism. In Sjef Barbiers, Frits Beukeman, & Wim van der Wurff (Eds.), Modality and its interaction with the verbal system (pp. 185–204). Amsterdam / Philadelphia: Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, . (2006). Epistemic modality and truth conditions. Lingua, 1161, 1688–1702. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, . (2012). Introduction: Theory of mind elements across languages. Traces of Bühler’s legacy in modern linguistics. In Werner Abraham & Elisabeth Leiss (Eds.), Modality and Theory of Mind Elements across Languages (pp. 1–36). Berlin / New York: De Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, Abraham, Werner. (2020). Modality in Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). In this paper, we want to support this view by showing that the viewpoint constellation is a central semantic component which is responsible for the (synchronic as well as diachronic) shifts between different readings of German modal verbs. With this aim in mind, the paper brings together previous formal semantic and functional cognitive approaches and offers a unified analysis of the perspectival mechanism that allows for various semantic readings of modal verbs. We will show this exemplarily for one particular modal verb in German, i.e. sollen (‘shall’) + inf. Based on historical empirical evidence, we will work out a unified analysis of the viewpoint constellation which is able (i) to unify root, epistemic and evidential readings, (ii) to describe the semantic development, and (iii) to explain the complementary distribution to the imperative. By doing so, our aim is to shed light on fundamental processes of perspectivization in modal verbs and their status in linguistic theory.
Article outline
  • 1.Modality and perspectivization
  • 2.‘sollen’ + inf. in the German modal verb system
  • 3.‘sollen’ + inf. — The evidential shift
    • 3.1Modality and evidentiality
    • 3.2From root to epistemic / evidential meaning
    • 3.3Empirical evidence for evidential readings
  • 4.‘sollen’ + inf. — The imperative shift
    • 4.1Modality and imperative mood
    • 4.2Empirical evidence for imperative readings
  • 5.A unified analysis for ‘sollen’ + inf
  • 6.Modality in linguistic theory
  • Notes
  • References
References (65)
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