“You may think that; I couldn’t possibly comment!” Modality studies: Contemporary research and future directions. Part I

Abstract

This two-part article critically reviews eight recent works in the field of mood and modality. Part I explores three different theoretical approaches – generative, cognitive–pragmatic, and typological – with the main focus on languages other than English. Within the framework of generative grammar, research issues include: the epistemic-root interpretations of modal verbs; transitive–intransitive (dyadic–monadic) alternations; modal verb complementation, and the interaction of the modals with other systems, including negation, and alternate ways of encoding modality. The cognitive–pragmatic approach hones in on epistemic modality, and focuses on the cognitive mechanisms that become activated once speakers express evaluations of given states of affairs, involving various modal expression types. Reflecting mounting interest in grammatical typology as a whole, typological approaches to modality recognize this domain as a valid cross-language grammatical category, similar to tense and aspect, and establish a range of typological categories, which include propositional modality (epistemic and evidential) and event modality (deontic and dynamic). Part I also includes a descriptive account of the modal verb system in Danish. In Part II, the emphasis is on work in relation to (primarily) English, much of which is corpus-driven, and on non-verbal as well as verbal carriers of modal meanings. Thus, description and analysis move purposefully towards a more comprehensive account of the field, to embrace modal expressions such as modal lexical verbs, modal adverbs, and modal adjectives. The pragmatics of modality; the discursive functions of modal expressions, especially modal adverbs; and the treatment of modality in modern descriptive grammars of English are also covered. The article reflects mounting interest in recent years in modality studies. Whilst broadening the scope of modality studies to include treatment of non-verbal modal expressions is to be welcomed, comparatively little attention has so far been given to how different types of modal expression may combine in text to create modal synergy. Following a case study investigation into pragmatics and modality in Part II, the paper outlines an agenda for further research within a discourse and pragmatic perspective.