Visual perception-based adverbials: Cross-linguistic equivalence and differences

Abstract

The present study explores structural and functional properties of two sets of evidential adverbials in English, Polish and Lithuanian by addressing their scope, position, evidential status, functional extension, grammaticalization and distribution in different types of discourse. The first set includes units originally related to the meaning ‘visible to the eye’: evidently, ewidentnie, oczywiście and akivaizdžiai; the second set covers units connected with the original meaning of distinctness and transparency: clearly, wyraźnie and aiškiai. The findings suggest that formal and functional cross-linguistic similarities are shared mostly by clearly, wyraźnie and aiškiai, which function as manner adverbials or inferential evidentials. By contrast, significant differences mirroring the functional extension of the adverbials and their degree of grammaticalization have been displayed by evidently, oczywiście, ewidentnie and akivaizdžiai. Unlike the English and Polish adverbials, the Lithuanian akivaizdžiai tends to occur as a manner adverbial or show ambiguous interpretation between the manner and evidential use, which reflects its least grammaticalized status. However, the Polish oczywiście has displayed a variety of interpersonal functions that show a complete bleaching of its evidential use, supported by the high frequency, positional mobility, interactional contexts of use of the marker, incompatibility with perceptual evidence and discourse marker status.