Modality in Contemporary English

This book offers original theoretical accounts and a wealth of descriptive information concerning modality in present-day English. At the same time, it provides fresh impetus to more general linguistic issues such as grammaticalization, colloquialization, or the interplay between sociolinguistic and syntactic constraints. The articles fall into four sections: (a) the semantics and pragmatics of core modal verbs; (b) the status of emerging modal items; (c) stylistic variation and change; (d) sociolinguistic variation and syntactic models. The book is of considerable value to students and teachers of English and Linguistics at undergraduate and graduate level worldwide.

Auteur

Roberta Facchinetti is Associate Professor at the University of Verona, Italy.

Manfred Krug is Associate Professor at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Frank R. Palmer is Professor Emeritus at the University of Reading, UK.

Résumé

The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies, which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.

For further publications in English linguistics see also our Dialects of English book series.

To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Natalie Fecher.

Contenu

Preface
Roberta Facchinetti, Manfred Krug, Frank Palmer

Modality in English: theoretical, descriptive and typological issues
Frank Palmer

The semantics and pragmatics of core modal verbs

Irrealis, past time reference and modality
Paul Larreya

Modal auxiliary constructions, TAM and interrogatives
Richard Matthews

A pragmatic analysis of the epistemic would construction in English
Gregory Ward, Betty J. Birner, Jeffrey P. Kaplan

Towards a contextual micro-analysis of the non-equivalence of might and could
Stéphane Gresset

The status of emerging modal items
On two distinct uses of go as a conjoined marker of evaluative modality
Philippe Bourdin

Had better and might as well: on the margins of modality?
Keith Mitchell

What you and I want: A functional approach to verb complementation of modal want to
Heidi Verplaetse

Between epistemic modality and degree: the case of really
Carita Paradis

• *Stylistic variation and change

Modality on the move: the English modal auxiliaries 1961-1992
Geoffrey Leech