The internal structure of evidentiality in Romance

Squartini, Mario

doi:10.1075/sl.25.2.05squ

Article published In: Studies in Language
Vol. 25:2 (2001) ► pp.297–334

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The internal structure of evidentiality in Romance

Mario Squartini | Università di Torino

Published online: 7 December 2001

https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.25.2.05squ

This article discusses the evidential uses of the Future, Conditional and Indicative Imperfect in various Romance languages (mostly French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish) and the semantic factors that underlie the choice between them. The Romance data are used as a background for an evaluation of proposed taxonomies of evidentiality (Willett 1988; Frawley 1992; Botne 1997). It is shown that Willett’s model, based on the primary distinction direct vs. indirect type of evidence, is better suited to account for evidentiality in Romance, while the notion of source should be considered as independently interacting with the type of evidence/mode of knowing.

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