Interactions between Modality and Other Semantic Categories

Abstract

This article examines the relationships between modality and other linguistic categories such as time/tense and aspect, evidentiality, and negation from a semantic perspective. It shows that alternative views on these relationships are associated with differences in the definition of modality. The article first considers interactions between modality and tense and aspect. It then analyses in great detail alternative views on the special relationship between modality and evidentiality, focusing among others on the questions whether evidentiality should be considered a modal category, and how evidentiality relates to epistemic modality. Finally, the article surveys discussions in the literature on the question how modality and negation relate and interact.