Cover not available

In:Modes of Modality: Modality, typology, and universal grammar
Edited by Elisabeth Leiss and Werner Abraham
[Studies in Language Companion Series 149] 2014
► pp. 167–192

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
authorization required

Modal semantics and morphosyntax of the Latvian DEBITIVE

 | University of Latvia, Riga
 | University of Latvia, Riga
Published online: 24 January 2014
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.149.06lok
The paper discusses the Latvian debitive from the viewpoint of modality and syntactic structure. In typological linguistics the system of moods in Latvian and in particular the Latvian debitive as a unique linguistic form has been rarely described. The debitive is a mood expressing meaning of necessity or obligation in Latvian. Therefore the introductory part of the paper offers a brief description of the mood system in Latvian explaining the functions of the debitive, its morphosyntax, and its modal semantics. The paper does not discuss exhaustively all the properties of the debitive and thus should be viewed as an initial discussion of this under-investigated subject matter. It proposes an overview of the forms of the debitive as well as a description of its modal meanings and distribution. Further research should involve a more detailed description of modal meanings as well as the distribution of the debitive and its seeming likeness to impersonal and passive constructions.
References (42)
References
Abraham, Werner. 2002. Modal verbs: Epistemics in German and English. In Modality and its Interaction with the Verbal System [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 47], Sjef Barbiers, Frits Beukema & Wim van der Wurff (eds), 19–50. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2008. On the logic of generalizations about cross-linguistic aspect-modality links. In Abraham & Leiss (eds), 4–13.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Abraham Werner & Leiss, Elisabeth. 2008. Introduction. In Abraham & Leiss (eds), xii–xxiv.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Abraham, Werner & Leiss, Elisabeth (eds). 2008. Modality-Aspect Interfaces. Implications and Typological Solutions [Typological Studies in Language 79]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Aikhenvald, Aleksandra Y. 2004. Evidentiality. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ambrazas, Vytautas (ed.). 1997. Lithuanian Grammar. Vilnius: Baltos lankos.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Andronovs, Aleksejs V. 1998. 'Vajadzības izteiksme' latviešu valodas gramatiskajā tradīcijā (The descrepition of the 'Debitive' in Latvian grammars). 1. daļa (XVII–XVIII gs.). Baltu Filoloģija VIII: 154–177. (Rīga: Latvijas Universitāte)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bybee, Joan & Fleischman, Susanne. 1995. Modality in grammar and discourse. In Modality in Grammar and Discourse [Typological Studies in Language 32], Joan Bybee & Susanne Fleischman (eds), 1–14. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Endzelīns, Jānis. 1981. Latviešu valodas skaņas un formas (Sounds and forms of Latvian). Darbu izlase IV1 : 303–525.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fennells, Trevors G. 1995a. Verbu konjugācija pirmajās latviešu gramatikās. Lingua Lettica: 95–109.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1995b. Teikuma priekšmets latviešu valodas teikumos ar verbu vajadzības izteiksmē. Lingua Lettica: 39–46.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Haan, Ferdinand. 2006. Typological approaches to modality. In The Expression of Modality, William Frawley (ed.), 27–70. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gisborne, Nikolas. 2007. Dynamic modality. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics 4(2). <[URL]>Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Holvoet, Axel. 2001. Studies in the Latvian Verb. Kraków: Wydawnictwo universitetu Jagiellońskiego.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007. Mood and Modality in Baltic. Kraków: Wydawnictwo universitetu Jagiellońskiego.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kalme, Vilma & Smiltniece, Gunta. 2001. Latviešu literārās valodas morfoloģija un vārddarināšana (Morphology and Derivation of Standard Latvian). Liepāja: LiePA.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kalnača, Andra. 2000. Izteiksmju sinonīmija latviešu valodā (Synonymy of moods in Latvian). Baltu Filoloģija IX: 173–186.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007. Modalitātes tipoloģija un latviešu valodas izteiksmes (Typology of modality and moods in Latvian). Vārds un tā pētīšanas aspekti 11: 166–173.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2011. Atstčstījuma izteiksme un modalitāte palīgteikumos ar lai (Oblique mood and modality in subordinate clauses with lai ‘let, in order’). Baltistica. XLVI(2): 286–298.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2012. Darbības vārda izteiksmes un modalitāte (Moods and modality). Vārds un tā pētīšanas aspekti 16: 122–129.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Leiss, Elisabeth. 2008. The silent and aspect-driven patterns of deonticity and epistemicity. In Abraham & Leiss (eds), 15–42.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Līdzsvarots mūsdienu latviešu valodas tekstu korpuss (The Balanced Corpus of the Modern Latvian). <[URL]>
Lokmane, Ilze. 2002. Datīvs latviešu valodas sintaktiskajā sistēmā (Dative in the syntactical system of Latvian). Linguistica Lettica 10: 151–161.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007. Datīva funkciju paplašināšanās mūsdienu latviešu valodā (Widening of the functions of dative in modern Latvian). Valoda dažādu kultūru kontekstā, XVII: 272–278.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marvans, Jirži. 1967. Par verbu izteiksmes kategoriju mūsdienu latviešu valodā (Category of mood in modern Latvian). Latviešu valodas apcerējumi: 127–133. Rīga: Zvaigzne.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mathiassen, Terje. 1997. A Short Grammar of Latvian. Columbus OH: Slavica.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sokols, Ēvalds (ed.). 1959. Mūsdienu latviešu literārās valodas gramatika, I: Fonētika un morfoloģija (The Grammar of Modern Standard Latvian, I: Phonetics and Morphology). Rīga: LPSR ZA izdevniecība.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nau, Nicole. 1998. Latvian [Languages of the World/Materials 217]. Munich: Lincom.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nītiņa, Daina. 2001. Latviešu valodas morfoloģija (Latvian Morphology). Rīga: Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nordström, Jackie. 2010. Modality and Subordinators [Studies in Language Companion Series 116]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nuyts, Jan. 2005. The modal confusion: On terminology and the concepts behind it. In Modality. Studies in Form and Function, Alex Klinge & Henrik Høeg Müller (eds), 5–38. London: Equinox.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nuyts, Jan, Byloo, Pieter & Diepeveen, Janneke. 2005. On Deontic Modality, Directivity, and Mood. A Case Study of Dutch mogen and moeten [Antwerp Papers in Linguistics 110]. Antwerp: University of Atwerp.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Paegle, Dzintra. 2003. Latviešu literārās valodas morfoloģija (Morphology of Standard Latvian). Rīga: Zinātne.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Palmer, Frank R. 2001. Mood and Modality, 2nd edn. Cambridge: CUP. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Paulauskienė, Aldona. 1994. Lietuvių kalbos morfologija (Lithuanian Morphology). Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Plungian, Vladimir. 2001. The place of evidentiality within the universal grammatical space. Journal of Pragmatics 33: 349–357. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2011. Vvyedyeniye v grammatichyeskuyu semantiku: grammatichyeskiye znachyeniya i grammatichyeskiye sistyemi yazikov mira. Moskva: RGGU.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Portner, Paul. 2007. Imperatives and modals. Natural Language Semantics 15: 351–383. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Testelec, Jakov. 2001. Vvyedyeniye v obschiy sintaksis. Moskva: RGGU.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Van der Auwera, Johan, Ammanns, Andreas & Kindt, Saskia. 2005. Modal polyfunctionality and Standard Average European. In Modality. Studies in Form and Function, Alex Klinge & Henrik Høeg Müller (eds) 247–272. London: Equinox.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wiemer, Björn. 2007a. Hearsay in European languages: Toward an integrative account of grammatical and lexical markers. In Linguistic Realization of Evidentiality in European Languages, Gabriele Diewald & Elena Smirnova (eds). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007b. Kosyvennaja zasvydetyel’stvovannost’ v litovskom jazyke. In Evydentsial’nost’ v yazikah Yevropi i Azii, V.S. Hrakovskiy (ed.), 197–240. Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (4)

Cited by four other publications

Korostenskiene, Julija
2022. Baltic topmost superlexical prefixes as the left periphery of the verb: the permissive, the restrictive, the negative, and the debitive. Journal of Baltic Studies 53:3 ► pp. 325 ff. DOI logo
Viti, Carlotta
2018. Syntax and semantics of modal predicates in Indo‐European. Transactions of the Philological Society 116:2 ► pp. 257 ff. DOI logo
Seržant, Ilja A.
2016. The nominative case in Baltic in a typological perspective. In Argument Realization in Baltic [Valency, Argument Realization and Grammatical Relations in Baltic, 3], ► pp. 137 ff. DOI logo
Seržant, Ilja A. & Jana Taperte
2016. Differential Argument Marking with the Latvian debitive. In Argument Realization in Baltic [Valency, Argument Realization and Grammatical Relations in Baltic, 3], ► pp. 199 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 3 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue