Epistemic Meaning Research Articles

Linguistic Means of Expressing Objective Epistemic Modality in Scientific Discourse

The predicates typical of scientific discourse shown, proved, established , etc., which are used to present the results of the study are discussed in the article. The relevance of the study is due to the scientific significance of addressing the problem of discursive research of epistemic indicators of reliability in the context of the principles of the language postclassical logical analysis. The purpose of the study is to justify the “modality” of these constructions and describe the epistemic modal meaning that they bring to the proposition, as specific propositional attitudes. The methodology used in the article is based on some basic principles of modal (in particular, epistemic) logic and linguistic semantics of J. Lyons and E. V. Paducheva. The novelty of the study is in the fact that the pragmatic functions of the considered predicates are described. It is shown that, in addition to a simple statement, their value contains an epistemic modal component, which is based on the value of “provability” described by modal logic. It is established that this modal meaning correlates with the category of objective language modality. Particular attention is paid to logical and linguistic grounds on which these predicates are classified as modal. The question is raised about the functioning of these predicates in contexts complicated by indicators of subjective epistemic modality with a value of problematic certainty. It is concluded that the predicates shown, proved, established, and similar ones indicate the “objective” (verifiable) nature of the information presented and the author’s conviction of the reliability of the described data, and constructions with the indicated predicates also perform a rhetorical function and enhance the “persuasiveness” of the text.

Leaving Obligations Behind: Epistemic Incrementation in Preschool English

ABSTRACT Does language development drive language change? A common account of language change attributes the regularity of certain patterns to children’s learning biases. The present study examines these predictions for change-in-progress in the use of must in Toronto English. Historically, modal verbs like must start with root (deontic) meanings, eventually developing epistemic (probability) meanings in addition. Epistemic uses increase over successive generations, phasing out root uses (incrementation). The modal becomes unambiguously epistemic and eventually disappears from the language. Such cyclic changes are predictable and common across languages. To explore whether children contribute to incrementation and loss, we tested intuitions about must in preschoolers (n = 141) and adults (n = 29). In a picture-preference task (deontic vs. epistemic), children selected epistemic interpretations of ambiguous sentences (e.g., Michelle must swim) at higher rates than adults. Two context-based preference tasks tested children’s overall sensitivity to the presence of modals. We found sensitivity in deontic contexts. In epistemic contexts, where must is optional and functions like an evidential marker, we found little discrimination, and general avoidance of the modal. These results (epistemic overgeneration, must-avoidance) correspond to predictions of the incrementation hypothesis, suggesting children likely play an active role in language change, beyond well-known overregularization processes.

Children's epistemic inferences through modal verbs and prosody.

This study explores how young children infer nuances in epistemic modality through prosody. A forced-choice task was used, testing children's (ages three to seven) comprehension of the might/will distinction (modal condition) as well their ability to modulate the strength of might through two prosodic tunes (prosody condition). Positive and negative valence conditions were included. Younger children were shown to start off performing above chance for the modal condition, and at around chance for the prosody condition, but after age four performance on the prosody condition quickly improved. For both modal verbs and prosody, children performed significantly better when valence was positive. By age seven, children performed at ceiling for all conditions. Qualitative analysis of children's justifications for prosody responses showed metalinguistic awareness of prosodic meaning as early as age four, with the ability to relate prosody to epistemic modal meaning becoming quite common by age seven.

Introduction: Evidentiality, Epistemicity and Mitigation in Spanish

This volume brings together six articles which explore the connections and relations between the domains of evidentiality, epistemicity and mitigation in Spanish. Works included in this special issue explore the pragmatic effects of deploying evidentials in discourse, such as mitigation of the speaker commitment and evaluation. All studies offer empirical and corpus-driven analysis (including oral and written, informal and formal genres). Some contribute to describing the argumentative functioning of evidential mechanisms in specific genres (Villalba and Kotwica); epistemic and evidential strategies of mitigation (Estelles); and cognitive and affective facets of mitigation (Figueras). Others add to the understanding of the pragmatics of several Spanish language units with evidential and/or epistemic meanings that can be deployed, among others, for mitigating (Albelda; Rodriguez Rosique) or managing knowledge in conversation (Ucles). As a result, this volume contributes to widening the scope of the existing studies on evidentiality, taking into account the complex nature of interconnections between this category and other domains related to the speaker’s discursive stance.

The Contribution of ”Folia Turistica” to the Development and Popularisation of Philosophical Research on Tourism

Purpose. A review and discussion of philosophical works published in the “Folia Turistica” journal and the categorical, thematic and problematic contribution of philosophical reflections contained in them to multidisciplinary research on tourism. Method. Query of 49 issues of “Folia Turistica”, selection of articles and reviews on tourism from the perspective of philosophical disciplines or selected philosophical concepts. Analysis, comparison, interpretation oriented towards an existential sense, values and ideas, synthesis. Findings. The review of philosophical publications in the “Folia Turistica” journal has demonstrated the quantitatively and qualitatively significant contribution of philosophical approaches, interpretation and conceptualisation of tourism and the mobility of human travel to tourism research. The specificity of the philosophical problematisation of the phenomenon of travel consists in highlighting and analysing its ideal, essential, existential, epistemic and symbolic qualities and meanings that find its significance in the axiological preferences, in the area of intentionality, attitudes and experiences. Research and conclusions limitations. The work is limited to the description and comparative analysis of articles published on the pages of one journal, its results and generalisations are, therefore, not a universal concept. Practical implications. Promotion of the “Folia Turistica” journal in the Polish and global academic debate on the multi-faceted phenomenon of tourism. Outlining the philosophy of tourism as an innovative and inspirational field of research. Originality. The work is a discussion and interpretation of publications of other authors-philosophers, but it contains elements of independent interpretation and synthetic recapitulation. Type of work. Presentation, description and qualitative interpretation of theoretical analyses of tourism in the field of philosophy and its sub-disciplines, as well as investigations conducted from the perspective of selected philosophical positions (phenomenology, hermeneutics, existentialism, metaphysics of hope, etc.).

Means of Expression of Epistemic Modality in Russian Political Discourse

This paper discusses the means of epistemic modality used in Russian political discourse. Russian political leaders most often use epistemic modal adverbs and mental state predicates in their speeches for hedging purposes. Modal particles and modal expressions are employed more often than predicatively used adjectives, modal auxiliaries are never used due to the peculiarities of the Russian language. Most commonly used words expressing epistemic modality in Russian belong to the group of modal adverbs. Due to the structure of Russian, groups of particles and modal expressions conveying epistemic modality are analysed. The study reveals that Russian politicians use words with epistemic meanings mainly to convince the listener that the information is reliable, and rarely to mitigate the content of the proposition or to reduce the author’s responsibility for what is being claimed. The cognitive processes help to recognize the ideas encoded in epistemic utterances. Those processes are based on the shared knowledge and understanding of the context.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF ”FOLIA TURISTICA” IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND POPULARISATION OF PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH ON TOURISM

Purpose. A review and discussion of philosophical works published in the "Folia Turistica" journal and the categorical, thematic and problematic contribution of philosophical reflections contained in them to multidisciplinary research on tourism. Method. Query of 49 issues of "Folia Turistica", selection of articles and reviews on tourism from the perspective of philosophical disciplines or selected philosophical concepts. Analysis, comparison, interpretation oriented towards an existential sense, values and ideas, synthesis. Findings. The review of philosophical publications in the "Folia Turistica" journal has demonstrated the quantitatively and qualitatively significant contribution of philosophical approaches, interpretation and conceptualisation of tourism and the mobility of human travel to tourism research. The specificity of the philosophical problematisation of the phenomenon of travel consists in highlighting and analysing its ideal, essential, existential, epistemic and symbolic qualities and meanings that find its significance in the axiological preferences, in the area of intentionality, attitudes and experiences. Research and conclusions limitations. The work is limited to the description and comparative analysis of articles published on the pages of one journal, its results and generalisations are, therefore, not a universal concept. Practical implications. Promotion of the "Folia Turistica" journal in the Polish and global academic debate on the multi-faceted phenomenon of tourism. Outlining the philosophy of tourism as an innovative and inspirational field of research. Originality. The work is a discussion and interpretation of publications by other authors-philosophers, but it contains elements of independent interpretation and synthetic recapitulation. Type of work. Presentation, description and qualitative interpretation of theoretical analyses of tourism in the field of philosophy and its sub-disciplines, as well as investigations conducted from the perspective of selected philosophical positions (phenomenology, hermeneutics, existentialism, metaphysics of hope, etc.).

Another Look at the Development of Epistemic Meanings in English: A Historical Collocational Approach

Another Look at the Development of Epistemic Meanings in English: A Historical Collocational Approach

Wor(l)d order and coloniality in language education for migrants. Key ideas for thinking otherwise

Abstract Migration has become an important phenomenon in the contemporary world. In receiving countries, language policies have been put into place to offer migrants education in the national language, in order to give them tools to communicate with and to create a feeling of belonging to the local community. These policies claim to be integration policies; however, they are frequently based on a concept of languages disconnected from the notions of knowledge, culture, politics and power. Languages are shaped in a specific global order and in local practices, in which power relationships that respond to a political, social and economic world system are enmeshed. This paper uses “key-ideas” constructed from data generated in classroom observations and open-ended interviews in Padova, Italy and São Paulo, Brazil as theory promoting insights, and also reflects on the concepts of language, nation and integration. I will engage in a dialogue with the readers, stimulating reflection on encounters with the “other” and on the implications of actions when situated in contexts that are based on a homogenous concept of language, nation and culture. Moreover, through the theorization of coloniality, this article aims to offer a diversified reading of these encounters, suggesting that a process of subordination of the other is put into place by hierarchizing languages and their epistemic meanings. Together with theory, some questions will be offered to stimulate readers in the process of developing their own pedagogical activities.

先秦情態副詞“必”的語義演變 : 兼論兩種“必”構式的語義特點

The modal adverb Bi(必) in pre-Qin period has two major kinds of meaning, i.e. epistemic modality and deontic modality. Both meanings are derived from ‘firm, definite’, which is the meaning of adjective Bi(必). The semantic feature of it is [+fixed] [+ event] (= [+necessity]). The addition of the [+affirmative] feature to them becomes an objective epistemic meaning of adverb Bi(必), which also has type-event feature. The disappearance of the [+fixed] feature of them further becomes a subjective epistemic meaning of it, which also has token-event feature. The addition of the [+mandatory] feature to them becomes an objective deontic meaning of adverb Bi(必), which moral source is general rule. The disappearance of the [+fixed] feature of them further becomes a subjective deontic meaning of it, which moral source is authoritative individual. The development of epistemic and deontic meaning of Bi(必) is consistent with the process of subjectification. Bi(必) can also has two interpretations in certain constructions, the reason for that is related to the source of meaning of Bi(必) and the properties of its constructions.

Speaker-oriented syntax and root clause complementizers

AbstractThe object of study of this paper is a Romance construction characterized by the presence of the complementizer in root clauses and by an evidential or epistemic meaning (i.e.C-constructions). In these structures, the complementizer is preceded by a functional element that morphologically coincides with an adjective or an adverb. From a morphosyntactic viewpoint, we show that these structures are monoclausal and that the epistemic or evidential item preceding the complementizer has undergone a process of grammaticalization becoming a functional element. As for their use and interpretation, we describe their primary semantic meaning, as well as their pragmatic extensions and functions, which involve subjectification and intersubjectivity. We finally propose a syntactic configuration that can account for C-constructions and their properties in the syntax representation. This configuration involves the assumption of a projection – in fact, a set of projections – above ForceP which encode speaker-oriented and pragmatic features (e.g. evaluative, evidential, epistemic values).

On subjects of necessity verbs in Latvian

The analysis of data extracted from the Balanced Corpus of Modern Latvian reveals that the non-modal variant of vajadzēt is mostly used with pronouns, especially those referring to the speaker. The modal variant of vajadzēt, on the contrary, is similar to the debitive in that the majority of their dative subjects are non-participants of the speech act, mostly represented by substantives which can be not only animate but also inani-mate. In those cases where the modal vajadzēt and the debitive have the speaker as their subjects, they are more likely to receive dynamic meaning. If the subject corresponds to the addressee or non-participants of the speech act, the most frequent interpretation is a deontic one. Epistemic meaning is relatively more common with the modal vajadzēt than with the debitive irrespective of the subject type.
 

The Meanings of Modal Auxiliary Verbs in the Movie "The Perks of being a Wallflower"

This research attempts to investigate the meanings of modal auxiliary verbs in the movie The Perks of being a Wallflower. In particular, it aims to identify and classify the modal auxiliary verbs according to their meanings. The data used in this research were dialogues containing modal auxiliary verbs. The modal auxiliary verbs are analyzed semantically and pragmatically. Based on the data analysis, 171 modal auxiliary verbs were found in the movie. The most commonly used modal auxiliary verb in the movie is the modal auxiliary will (28.7%), followed by can (24.0%), would (21.6%), could (14.0%), should (7.0%), might (2.9%), and must (1.8%). From the 171 modal auxiliary verbs, 43 (25.1%) are used to express epistemic meanings, 23 (13.4%) are used to express deontic meanings, and 105 (61.3%) are used to express dynamic meanings. It was found in this research that the modal auxiliary verbs are most frequently used to express dynamic meanings.

The representation of modal meaning of French sentence adverbs in a qualitative and quantitative approach

Our aim is to give a representation of the modal contribution of sentence adverbs in comparison to other forms conveying modal meaning, such as tenses and modal verbs. Our analysis will focus on modal sentence adverbs conveying epistemic meaning. These will be compared with the modal verbs pouvoir (can) and devoir (must) as well as with some uses of the future tense (called epistemic uses), with the purpose to present a model allowing to apprehend modal meanings transmitted by lexical and grammatical forms in order to differentiate their functioning. We will then substantiate our qualitative analysis by quantitative studies on the collocates that the modal sentence adverbs co-occur with in contemporary corpora constituted of 21st century newspapers, as well as in two other corpora representing two different genres and time periods: Universalis Encyclopedia and the digital edition of the Encyclopedia of Diderot and d’Alembert.

A corpus-driven analysis of certainty stance adverbs: Obviously, really and actually in spoken native and learner English

This paper examines the most frequent certainty adverbs in the extended LOCNEC (Aguado et al. 2012) and their frequency and use in three datasets of the LINDSEI (Chinese, German and Spanish LINDSEI components). Our analysis of certainty adverbs yields a complex picture. Obviously was fundamentally used by English speakers while really was used significantly more frequently by German speakers. The frequency of actually was not significantly different between the English native speakers and two of the learner language datasets, but Germans also showed significant differences with the English and the other two non-native groups. NSs and Chinese frequencies of use for actually and really were not significantly different, which reinforces the notion that, quantitatively, these two groups of speakers approached the picture task in ways that diverged from the German and Spanish speakers. An examination of the pragmatic contexts of use of the certainty adverbs revealed that both NSs and NNSs restricted their semantic choice to classic epistemic meanings with few instances of more complex pragmatic meanings. However, the position of those adverbs was different in the English data.

Modal Verbs Hedging: The Uses and Functions of “Will” and “Shall” in Nigerian Legal Discourse

This is a corpus-based study on the uses and functions of modal verbs “will” and “shall” in the Nigerian legal discourse. It aims at examining their pragmatic functions as hedges in the legal discourse. It specifically aims to investigate how hedges are used in the legal texts to indicate precision and uncertainty. To achieve these objectives a specialised corpus was constructed which we named as “Nigerian Law Corpus” (NLC). The compilation of NLC is based on the Nigerian court proceedings and law reports. Hence, the compiled NLC corpus contains 546,313-word tokens. Meanwhile, reference corpus of law with 2.2 million word tokens based on the British National Corpus (BNC) is retrieved for comparison with NLC. To this end, two concordance tools were utilised to analyse the data of this study viz. “AntConc version 3.5” a semi-automated computer-aided tool and a web-based tool “Lextutor version 7”. Based on the frequency distribution the results revealed that model verb “will” featured in 493 instances in the NLC and 7,711 instances in the BNC Law, while, “shall” occurred at 401 instances in NLC and 1,348 instances in BNC Law. The results also indicated that “shall” was an overused element in NLC than in BNC Law with standardised concordance hits per million (NLC=734, BNC Law =589) while, “will” is the least used element of NLC (902 instances per million) compared to BNC Law (3,369 instances per million). The study also enumerated different semantic and pragmatic functions of “will” and “shall” in legal discourse, citing examples from both tag corpus (NLC) and reference corpus (BNC Law). Some of the functions as hedges (conveying a truth value of a proposition) are epistemic meanings: politeness, obligation, precision, duty, intention, and permission. In nutshell, the results indicated that “will” and “shall” are used by legal practitioners more especially lawyers in a courtroom to achieve precision in their argument in a case to persuade the court by showing the true value of commitment of the proposition.

Rises inform, and plateaus remind: Exploring the epistemic meanings of “list intonation” in American English

This paper looks at the meaning of an understudied contour in American English, a plateau, as it contrasts with a rise, using a context (list intonation) in which they have been said to have different meanings. Results from a metalinguistic experiment (Experiment 1) suggested that plateaus and rises contrast on two dimensions. The first is epistemic: the plateaus indicate that a speaker believes the listener already knows the list items (a reminding meaning), while rises indicate that the speaker believes the listener doesn't already know the list items (an informing meaning). The second is attitudinal: the plateaus are heard as condescending, and the rises, helpful. An experiment (Experiment 2) confirmed these general findings using lists with three items. Experiment 3 replicated the results for the epistemic meanings with a single instance of the contours, suggesting that these meanings can be associated with plateaus and rises more generally, rather than just in lists. Experiment 4 explored how context might affect the attitudinal interpretation of these contours. Our results, showing that our proposed meanings for plateaus and rises hold across contexts, are consistent with other approaches to linguistic meaning focused on how intonation cues belief states, rather than being tied to specific speech acts like listing.

The Palm-Up Puzzle: Meanings and Origins of a Widespread Form in Gesture and Sign

During communication, speakers commonly rotate their forearms so that their palms turn upward. Yet despite more than a century of observations of such palm-up gestures, their meanings and origins have proven difficult to pin down. We distinguish two gestures within the palm-up form family: the palm-up presentational and the palm-up epistemic. The latter is a term we introduce to refer to a variant of the palm-up that prototypically involves lateral separation of the hands. This gesture—our focus—is used in speaking communities around the world to express a recurring set of epistemic meanings, several of which seem quite distinct. More striking, a similar palm-up form is used to express the same set of meanings in many established sign languages and in emerging sign systems. Such observations present a two-part puzzle: the first part is how this set of seemingly distinct meanings for the palm-up epistemic are related, if indeed they are; the second is why the palm-up form is so widely used to express just this set of meanings. We propose a network connecting the different attested meanings of the palm-up epistemic, with a kernel meaning of absence of knowledge, and discuss how this proposal could be evaluated through additional developmental, corpus-based, and experimental research. We then assess two contrasting accounts of the connection between the palm-up form and this proposed meaning network, and consider implications for our understanding of the palm-up form family more generally. By addressing the palm-up puzzle, we aim, not only to illuminate a widespread form found in gesture and sign, but also to provide insights into fundamental questions about visual-bodily communication: where communicative forms come from, how they take on new meanings, and how they become integrated into language in signing communities.

МОДАЛЬНЫЕ ГЛАГОЛЫ НЕМЕЦКОГО ЯЗЫКА КАК ФЕНОМЕН ГЛАВНОГО ПРЕДЛОЖЕНИЯ

The properties of the modal verbs of the German language in their secondary, i.e. epistemic meaning are considered in the article. It is shown that they possess the features typical of modal particles, namely: they cannot be questioned, they cannot be in the sphere of negation and they cannot be used in illocutionally dependent clauses. On this basis the modal verbs of the German language are designated as syntactically unsubordinated constructions. This property is not typical of the modal words of the German language.

On the Idea of a ‘Method’ in Moral Philosophy

The paper discusses the two meanings that ‘method’ is often assumed to have in moral philosophy: the epistemic meaning, according to which a method is a procedure to reach moral knowledge, and the normative meaning, according to which it is a criterion of right and wrong in actions. The origin of these two, clearly connected meanings can be traced to Sidgwick’s work The Methods of Ethics . It is argued that Sidgwick’s seminal idea of a “reflective equilibrium” is a valuable and lasting contribution to the debate on moral epistemology; however, Sidgwick’s characterisation of the different normative options is biased against non consequentialist approaches by its concentration on “methods”, rather than on theories and “ultimate reasons”. This consequentialist bias still lingers in contemporary ethics.