Interpretive deontics: A definition and a semantic map based mainly on Slavonic and Baltic data

Abstract

This article introduces the notion of interpretive deontics, i.e. deontic expressions used interpretively (in the sense of Sperber and Wilson 1986). It is argued that languages may develop grammaticalized or semi-grammaticalized means to refer to other people's acts of volition (typically, but not only, demands put on the speaker). This gram type, here illustrated from Slavonic and Baltic, encompasses different usage types ranging from requests for permission and deontic requests to negative assessments of other people's acts of volition and even other people's assumptions (an extension into the epistemic domain eventually leading to evidential use of originally deontic expressions). The authors also propose a semantic map, showing typical types of input, meaning shifts within the interpretive deontic domain and further developments beyond this domain into epistemic and evidential meaning.